Zephyr
artistic direction, choreography: Mourad Merzouki
assisted by: Marjorie Hannoteaux
music design: Armand Amar
lighting design: Yoann Tivoli
assisted by: Nicolas Faucheux
stage design: Benjamin Lebreton
costume design: Emilie Carpentier
additional music: Long Distance Productions
vocal: Isabel Sörling
violin: Sarah Nemtanu
viola: Lise Berthaud
cello: Grégoire Korniluk
piano: Julien Carton
recording, mixing, sound design: Vincent Joinville at Studios Babel, Montreuil-sous-Bois
production: Katrin Oebel
light control: Cécile Robin, Amélie Verjat, Alice Nedelec
sound control: Capucine Catalan, Alexis Lazar, Thibaut Le Henaff
stage management: Patrick Ligarius, François Michaudel, Florent Denoyer
photos: Laurent Philippe, Benoîte Fanton, Julie Cherki
with: (alternating) Soirmi Amada, Ethan Cazaux, Ludovic Collura, Emma Guillet, Adrien Lichnewsky, Simona Machovičová, Camilla Melani, Mourad Messaoud, Tibault Miglietti, James Onyechege, Vanessa Petit, Wissam Seddiki
produced by: National Choreographic Centre of Créteil and Val-de-Marne / Company Käfig
co-produced by: Département de la Vendée, Maison des Arts de Créteil
premiere: Vendéspace, 2021
duration: 70’
“The most beautiful trip is the one we haven’t done yet” said an old sailor. It is because there is always an archipelago of possibilities to explore, an unknown elsewhere to marvel at, that I pursue this quest which pushes me to sail from territories to territories. Here, this territory is that of the Vendée, the starting point of mythical expeditions, and more widely turned towards an ocean of fantasies around the taming of winds and tides. Artists or explorers, we are looking for spaces of freedom with our dreams and determination as baggage. The desire to embark on a singular adventure and to share an extraordinary experience with as many people as possible. Artists or funambulists of the seas, this ambition brings us closer together. I have chosen as a course for this new creation the human challenge in the face of the forces of nature, which is the very essence of life at sea: a hand-to-hand combat with the wind. Giving shape to what by definition has none. Sculpting through the wind where the ineffable cannot be told. Transforming the impalpable into concrete matter through dance. Making air become a substance that can be tamed…
Mourad Merzouki
A major figure on the hip-hop scene since the early 1990s, choreographer Mourad Merzouki works at the crossroads of many different disciplines: he adds circus, martial arts, fine arts, video and live music to his exploration of hip-hop dance. Beginning at the age of seven, he trained in the circus school in Lyon, while also practicing martial arts. At age 15, inspired by hip-hop culture, he gravitated towards dance. He created his first company Accrorap, in 1989, with Kader Attou, Eric Mezino and Chaouki Saïd. He continued to develop his unique brand of hip-hop movement while simultaneously exploring other dance genres with contemporaries Maryse Delente, Josef Nadj and Jean-François Duroure. Accrorap performed “Athina” during the Lyon Dance Biennale in 1994 and earned acclaim for bringing hip-hop from the street to the stage. In 1996, Merzouki decided to establish his own company. Naming it after his inaugural piece “Käfig” (cage in Arabic), he set a symbolic tone that paradoxically represents his openness and refusal to become locked into a single style. From 1996 to today, he has created 40 pieces, the broadcast of which continues to expand. In total, more than 2 million spectators have discovered the creations of his company during more than 4 000 performances across 65 countries. In order to support hip-hop creation, he designs a place for creation: the Choreographic Center Pôle Pik opens its doors in Bron in 2009. The establishment of this place stimulated the implementation of the Karavel festival, which became an important event for hip-hop dance on the national scene. In 2009, Merzouki becomes director of the National Choreographic Center in Créteil and Val-de Marne In 2013, he has created the Kalypso Festival, offering a new level of exposure to hip-hop dance companies in the Paris region. After 13 years at the head of the Center in Créteil and Val-de-Marne, he will reinstall the Käfig in Lyon, in Bron and Saint-Priest, reconnecting with the territory that saw him grow up. Merzouki has been a member of the support committee to choreographic art of the French Ministry of Culture. He has made his entry in the Petit Larousse in 2019. His company Kafig performed twice at the Belgrade Dance Festival (“Boxe, Boxe” and “Pixel”) with amazing success.
The highly cinematic music by Armand Amar is the perfect accompaniment to this odyssey that takes us to all the shores of the earth. You almost forget that you are watching hip-hop: Mourad Merzouki turns this street dance into a stage dance. The dancers wear neither trainers nor caps, and nothing underlines the social origin of this dance. The point is elsewhere, even if it is ambivalent: where is this wind blowing us to?
© Le Figaro
