A Wee Journey: Dance and music show raises awareness about migration 'in artistic way' across Scotland

A show combining dance and music to explore the experiences of migration and refugeehood is touring Scotland.

A Wee Journey has been created by composer Oğuz Kaplangi, from Turkey, and Palestinian refugee Farah Saleh, who choreographed the piece.

They both wanted to raise awareness about migration “in an artistic way” with all of the performers sharing their own experiences.

A Wee Journey explores the experiences of migration and refugeehood. A Wee Journey

“It’s reflecting all of the emotions of the journey, of the wee journey, that is personal to me but also personal to all of the performers in the piece,” Farah said.

“Between happiness, to denial to anger – different states that one goes through when leaving one home and going to another place.

“It’s just how to make people understand that, empathise with that, connect [with] people who had this experience before but people who never experienced it as well.”

The piece reflects on the current situation in the world where there is constant movement across borders, with the co-creators highlighting “anyone could become a refugee or a migrant at a certain point of their lives”.

Oğuz Kaplangi composed the music for A Wee Journey. A Wee Journey

“It can be any reason: economical, financial, religious, so many reasons are causing this migration,” Oğuz said.

“People in their comfort zone should have an idea… that it isn’t something that’s happening from east to east only.”

Kemono L Riot is one of the performers and sees it as a “deep dive of human experience”.

The piece means a lot to him and has helped him connect with others who have made similar journeys from their motherlands to their new homes.

“Each time you come off stage you feel more and more, you connect more deeper to the piece because it’s all close to all the dancers hearts and the directors, we all put a little bit of ourselves inside of it,” he said.

“No matter where you’re from or where you came from, we’re all connected in some ways.”

A Wee Journey will be in Inverness (Eden Court) March 21, St Andrews (Byre Theatre) March 23 and Stirling (Macrobert Arts Centre) March 24.