Dance and drums may serve as instruments of protest. Curator and moderator Mojdeh Feili talked about dance as a form of resistance in Iran and engaged in conversation with authors whose recent books feature dance and drums as a central form of resistance.

José Eduardo Agualusa's novel Mestre dos batuques (Master of Drums, 2024) was published January 2026 in The Netherlands, titled Meester van de trommels.

The programme concluded with a dazzling dance performance by Sarah Safi Harb.

José Eduardo Agualusa has published an extensive body of work comprising novels, short stories and novellas. As an important literary voice and a leading author of the Portuguese-speaking world, his narratives, often rich in historical context, humor and references to his homeland Angola, also appeals to many readers outside that world. His novel is Mestre dos batuques (2024, Master of Drums) rewrites history and describes how drums played an important role in the resistance against the Portuguese colonisers. He also collaborated with Mia Couto on the screenplay for José Miguel Ribeiro's magical realist animated feature film Nayola (2022), which explores this theme.

Simone Atangana Bekono is a writer of prose and poetry. She made her debut with a collection of poems and letters titled Hoe de eerste vonken zichtbaar waren (How the first sparks became visible). Her debut novel Confrontaties (Confrontations) was highly praised and won the Hebban Debut Prize, the Anton Wachter Prize, and the Best Book for Young Adults Award. In 2022, Simone wrote the novella Zo hoog de zon stond for the Brabants Book Present. In 2024, her second poetry collection Marshmallow was awarded with the Jan Campert-prijs.

Sarah Safi Harb is a Raqs Sharqi dancer and teacher. She moved to The Netherlands in 2007, started teaching dance classes and founded The Dance Movement in 2010, through which she enthusiastically shares the rich cultural heritage of various dance styles from the MENA region with her students. Sarah specializes in Raqs Sharqi - literally oriental dance - as it developed first in Egypt and became known in the Western world as bellydance.

Mojdeh Feili is a writer, editor, book reviewer and programme maker. She writes for Het Parool, Oneworld, Storytel, Dipsaus and Lilith Magazine. In 2021, her story Zeemeermens was published in the collection Damn Horny and in 2020, her story Eindelijk als Alice was published in the collection De goede immigrant.

The Language of Dance and Drums was curated for Writers Unlimited Festival by Mojdeh Feili.