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The holocaust, most famously lamented in literature and film, has also been explored in dance. From direct responses in modern dance (Anna Sokolow’s ‘Dreams’) to reflections on its impact on the present (Rami Be’er for KCDC’s ‘Aide Memoire’), no dance company has yet incorporated an Auschwitz survivor in its works. This was the brave move of dance duo The Symptoms, who presented their piece ‘Sea Lavander’ as part of the Hungarian Contemporary Dance Festival in Berlin. With their heartwarming duet, dancer Emese Cuhorka and 90-year-old Auschwitz-Birkenau survivor Éva Fahidi gave a deeply personal account of the historic destruction and the reality of the life that followed.

“You must learn how to live with your traumas. You don’t need to let them drive you mad, like many do,” Eva Fahidi said in a clip from the upcoming documentary “Crying Will Get You Nowhere.” “I cannot afford to let them make me unhappy, because they are beyond my control. And I do want to be happy, you see.” She’s 90 now and an Auschwitz survivor. But when she’s dancing, Fahidi is 18 again, as she replays the carefree days in Hungary before the horror. Then her youthful motions slow, the lights dim and a black-clad figure enters the stage.

BERLIN - Eva Fahidi, a 90-year-old Holocaust survivor, commemorates the anniversary of the liberation of Auschwitz with a dance performance about her years in the concentration camp. Fahidi performed the dance, "Sea Lavender or the euphoria of being," with Emese Cuhorka, who plays her younger self in the piece. "You can express yourself much better and more precisely with gestures and especially with dance than verbally," said Fahidi, who performed the piece ahead of International Holocaust Remembrance Day on Jan. 27. Fahidi's parents and sister died in the Holocaust. After the liberation Fahidi returned to Hungary and later joined the Budapest dance group "The Symptoms," which helped her tell her story through dance.

Eva Fahidi, Hongroise de 90 ans ayant survécu aux camps de la mort, monte sur scène pour trois représentations en Allemagne, à l'occasion de la Journée internationale dédiée à la mémoire des victimes de l'Holocauste, le 27 janvier. Eva Fahidi fait partie de ces rescapés d'Auschwitz qui témoignent, écrivent, transmettent, inlassablement. Au soir de sa vie, cette Hongroise de 90 ans monte également sur scène pour danser, «parce qu'il n'est jamais trop tard.»

Eva Fahidi hat den Holocaust überlebt. Wie mutig diese Frau ist, zeigt sie gemeinsam mit ihrer Tanzpartnerin Emese Cuhorka bei dem biografischen Tanztheaterstück „Sea-Lavender oder die Euphorie des Seins“, das im Berliner Theater im Aufbau in Kreuzberg Premiere feiert.