Mourad Merzouki: Folia

A piece for 16 dancers and 8 musicians

Baroque and hip hop are two completely different worlds – here they come together in a magical piece of theatre full of flying stars and whirling dances. Mourad Merzouki has elevated break dance to a performing art, and with his Compagnie Käfig he repeatedly confronts hip hop with other styles and other artists. This dialogue produces new and striking images. For Folia he has united the spontaneous power of street art with the sublime artistry of the Baroque to create a poetic world theatre. Together with the renowned Baroque ensemble Concert de l’Hostel Dieu from Lyon Merzouki finds in the wild rhythms of the tarantella a magical connection beyond space and time. Spins and virtuoso tricks occur here and there when the folia, an old Baroque musical form, accelerates its dynamic to the point of abandon. Merzouki shows the emotional power inherent in hip hop movements, mixing in contemporary and Spanish dance, girls on pointe and a whirling dervish. Stardust shimmers and a thousand lamps glow in this danced deluge of imagery.

“There are things of such rare beauty and poetry that you would like to continue watching them all night.” – Culture Box, France

“The performance is a long crescendo which mixes styles, dancers and musicians and in the finale becomes an irresistible spiral of energy.” – Le Figaro, Paris

“A moving celebration of rhythm and brotherhood.” – Radio RCF, Lyon
 

Dauer // Duration: ca. 60 Minuten ohne Pause // approx. 60 minutes with no intermission

Künstlerische Leitung & Choreographie // Artistic direction & Choreography: Mourad Merzouki
Assistenz // Assistant: Marjorie Hannoteaux
Musik // Music creation: Franck-Emmanuel Comte – Le Concert de l’Hostel Dieu and Grégoire Durrande
Bühnenbild // Stage design: Benjamin Lebreton assisted by Quentin Lugnier and Caroline Oriot (painting), Mathieu Laville, Elvis Dagier and Rémi Mangevaud (locksmith), Guillaume Ponroy (carpentry)
Lichtdesign // Light design: Yoann Tivoli
Kostüme Musiker*innen // Costumes musicians: Pascale Robin assisted by Pauline Yaoua Zurini
Kostüme Tänzer*innen // Costumes dancers: Nadine Chabannier
Tänzer*innen // Dancers: Nedeleg Bardouil, Salena Baudoux, Kader Belmoktar, David Bernardo, Marion Blanchot, Mélissa Cirillo, Sabri Colin, Joseph Gebrael, Sofiane Felouki, Pauline Journe, Mélanie Lomoff, Nassim Maadi, Anthony Mezence, Manon Payet, Kevin Pilette and Yui Sugano
Musiker*innen // Musicians: David Bruley, Franck-Emmanuel Comte, Reynier Guerrero, Nicolas Janot, Nicolas Muzy, Heather Newhouse (soprano), Florian Verhaegen and Aude Walker-Viry
Uraufführung // World premiere: June, 1st 2018 at the Festival des Nuits de Fourvière, Lyon 
Photos: Julie Cherki

Produced by Pôle en Scènes
Coproduced by Les Nuits de Fourvière, Centre chorégraphique national de Créteil et du Val-de-Marne / Cie Käfig
With the support of Caisse des Dépôts, Spedidam & Musique nouvelle en Liberté