Through Body Watani, dancers reclaim Palestinian identity

Through Body Watani, dancers reclaim Palestinian identity

In a sandy, shaded clearing of Crosby Farm Park on a hot, humid July day, sisters Leila and Noelle Awadallah danced without music, accompanied only by the sound of the wind whooshing through giant cottonwoods. There is no stagy excess, no costumes or makeup. Their bodies contracted and expanded, balancing, twisting and turning, sometimes away from each other, and sometimes towards.  The sisters, who started a dance practice they call Body Watani…