NAWAYA — Absichten

Nawaya, Arabic for “intentions,” is a music and dance performance that follows a quiet rupture: between what was destined for her and what she discovered for herself. For years, she followed a predetermined path—until her body began to speak a language different from the one she had been given.

The piece is about reclaiming authorship over one’s own path—about the distance between an inherited story and one chosen for oneself. Nawaya centers a female artistic perspective not as a biography, but as a process of unfolding: a negotiation of expectations, origins, and the freedom to set one’s own intentions.

The Ramal Ensemble was founded in Damascus in 2011 and blends Arabic maqamat with Western classical and contemporary music. After fleeing the war in Syria, the musicians continued their work in Germany, performing at venues including the Rudolstadt and Roskilde festivals, as well as at the Pierre Boulez Saal and the Konzerthaus Berlin. Trained at the Barenboim-Said Academy and in the West-Eastern Divan Orchestra, they were mentored by Daniel Barenboim and Yo-Yo Ma, among others.