Mosaic: a dance concert about peace, justice, culture and conflict in the Middle East

The 2011 preview of Mosaic was described by author, professor, activist and 2006 Peace Scholar of the Year Stephen Zunes as the "most powerful on target creative effort I have ever witnessed on the issue" in the nearly 40 years he has spent "working actively on Israel/Palestine". In 2013, Karl Schaffer, Maria Basile, Saki and other well regarded area dancers will join forces with Fattah Abbou of the Moroccan fusion musical group AZA and the women's a cappela choir Zambra to cast an artistic light on the struggles, culture and politics of the Middle East, with a sharp focus on the conflicts between Palestine and Israel.

Karl has received numerous grants from the NEA and other institutions for his dance and choreography. Soloist Maria Basile was a nominee for the Isadora Duncan Award for best dance performance in the Bay Area; she performs with Limón West and sjDANCEco. Saki, Simon Harrison and Jane Real perform with Tandy Beal as well as Karl and other area dance companies.

Ann Simonton, founder of Media Watch, says "Karl is brilliant at combining exciting dance movement with information". Mosaic will include the premiere of Karl's latest solo choreography, performed by himself. As yet untitled, the piece combines the personal and the political with fast paced challenging choreography, all based on Karl's awakening to the Israeli/Palestinian conflict while he was growing up Jewish in the segregated Birmingham Alabama of the 1960's.

The 2011 Mosaic shows sold out- buying tickets in advance at http://www.motionpacific.com/event/karl-schaffer-mosaic/ is recommended.
More information on Mosaic is also available on this webpage.