The Barbarian Nights - Hervé Koubi(7+)
27th Cyprus Contemporary Dance Festival
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Balcony, Box Left, Box Right, Orchestra
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This piece takes root in the awe-inspiring and unavoidable story of our Mediterranean basin. This is a story about a path; it is always about a path... Five years have been lived between France and Algeria, on opposite shores of the Mediterranean—the sea that lies at the origin of these uprooted people, who share a common lineage and fundamental background, and whom we call Mediterraneans. I think it is necessary for everyone to believe in a universal culture that is at once shared, mixed, and interconnected, in order to envision an inevitably common future. Who were these Barbarians storming in from the North, the mysterious peoples of the sea often described in the Bible, chronicles, and ancient monuments—frequently mentioned without truly being defined, without knowing who they were or where they came from? Who were these Barbarians of the East—these Persians, Ionians, and Babylonians, the Arabo-Muslims? From what unknown, forgotten, reworked, assimilated, or erased histories have we inherited? I have chosen to turn my gaze towards what I feel is the most beautiful: the mixture of cultures and religions over time, allowing me to draw the foundations of a common geography on which we stand today, all too often without knowing. I also want to seize history, open my eyes, and move towards freedom, while remembering that the word ‘Barbarian’ is also expressed as ‘Amazigh’, which signifies the Free Man.
Trained at the École de la Danse, notably under Rosella Hightower, Hervé Koubi began his career as a performer in works by Jean-Christophe Paré and Emilio Calcagno. He subsequently danced with the Centre Chorégraphique National de Nantes under Claude Brumachon and Benjamin Lamarche, then with the Centre Chorégraphique National de Caen under Karine Saporta, and with Compagnie Thor in Brussels under Thierry Smits. In 2000, he decided to develop his own choreographic work. It was first Tradition—and the oral and embodied transmission it carries—that captured his interest: a dance that brings people together, that unites, that forges connections between the balls of the past, rave parties, and today’s collective dance gatherings. In 2009, his artistic path was profoundly impacted by urban dance forms, even though they had already been present, like a foreshadowing echo, in his earlier creations. Since then, he has explored the permeability between techniques as a space for experimentation—one that transcends technical and aesthetic boundaries and affiliations. A choreographer rooted in the field, he also develops numerous community-based projects with his team, grounded in encounters and exchanges between his works, audiences, and diverse practices. These projects question and shape, in subtle ways, the contours of a 21st-century ballet—one that is at once rooted in its history, open, and contemporary. In July 2015, he was awarded the rank of Chevalier of the Ordre des Arts et des Lettres. Since 2017, he has collaborated on all his creations with Fayçal Hamlat, a dancer and choreographer with whom he shares a common vision.
Fayçal Hamlat, a dancer and choreographer from the urban dance scene, whom Hervé Koubi met while he was the official choreographer of the National Ballet of Algiers, first performed in Koubi’s works and later became his assistant. While Hervé Koubi was influenced by hip-hop dance, Fayçal Hamlat followed the opposite path, becoming, in turn, influenced and enriched by contemporary dance. Since then, Fayçal Hamlat has made a significant contribution and has become an essential collaborator for Hervé Koubi in shaping a hybrid choreographic style.
Choreography: Hervé Koubi
Assistant: Fayçal Hamlat
Performers: Badr Benr Guibi, Giacomo Buffoni, Mohammed Elhilali, Youssef El Kanfoudi, Islam Kunakkulov, Abdelghani Ferradji, Oualid Guennoun, Vladimir Grev, Bendehiba Maamar, Nadjib Meherhera, Houssni Mijem, Ismail Oubbajaddi, Ayoub Rouifi, El Houssaini Zahid
Music: Mozart – Fauré – Wagner – Traditional Algerian music
Music creation: Maxime Bodson
Arrangements: Guillaume Gabriel
Lighting design: Lionel Buzonie
Costumes: Guillaume Gabriel, assisted by Claudine G-Delattre
Props: Esteban Cedres
@hervekoubi
Duration: 60'
* 27th Cyprus Contemporary Dance Festival.
Organised by: Deputy Ministry of Culture (Department of Contemporary Culture) and Rialto Theatre.
Tickets: €10
Free entrance to students, soldiers, pensioners, holders of the Disability Card and dance professionals.
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