Choreographer: Fouad Boussouf
Dancers: Elias Ardoin, Sami Blond, Mathieu Bord,
Maxime Cozic, Yanice Djae, Loïc Elice, Justin Gouin
Assistant choreographer: Bruno Domingues Torres
Lighting Designer: Fabrice Sarcy
Costumes and Scenography: Camille Vallat
Music: Roman Bestion, Fouad Boussouf, Marion Castor
First there is rhythm, the sounds of immemorial time, unceasing and obsessive. From this rhythm is born the communion of seven dancers, a fusion of energies and bodies, the power of the community with its inherent violence and weaknesses.
On the border between the sacred and the profane, between frenetic modernity and ancestral rituals, Näss challenges contradictory physical states and affirms the fusion between the popular and urban aspects of hip-hop. It questions its proper roots tracing their evolution until today. Sources of inspiration are the regional dances of Morocco taskiwine and regadda, as well as the mysticism of the Gnawa tradition.
“The history of the famous band Nass el Ghiwane* from the 1970s in North Africa has been of key inspiration to me. Their lyrics reminded me of the strange connection with the anti-establishment current of rap and hip-hop from the same period in the United States. I discovered a type of hip-hop that is more spiritual, impregnated with ancestral traditions.” – Fouad Boussouf
Näss reveals a universal dimension, the eternal quest of men and women for someplace else, spiritual or physical, using as language the rhythm, that which unites and moves the bodies. Fouad Boussouf stands behind a kind of hip-hop that is strongly anchored in its tribal African roots.
Production
Compagnie Massala
Coproduction
Théâtre Jean Vilar – Vitry-sur-Seine / Le Prisme – Élancourt / Institut du Monde Arabe – Tourcoing / Fontenay-en-Scènes – Fontenay-sous-bois / Théâtre des Bergeries – Noisy-le-Sec / La Briqueterie – CDCN du Val-de-Marne / Le FLOW – Pôle Culture Ville de Lille / Institut Français de Marrakech
Financial support
ADAMI / Conseil départemental du Val-de-Marne / Région Ile-de-France / Ville de Vitry-sur-Seine / SPEDIDAM / Institut Français du Maroc
Residencies / Support
La Briqueterie – CDCN du Val-de-Marne / Le POC d’Alfortville / Centre National de la Danse / Le FLOW – Pôle Culture Ville de Lille / Cirque Shems’y – Salé, Maroc / Royal Air Maroc
“…NÄSS is a celebration. This is men in unity, exploring their weaknesses and strengths and supporting one another; a world apart from stereotypical machismo.
From simmering aggression to despair, the rhythms and movements of NÄSS connect us all at an instinctive human level. It is a remarkable and universal piece in which everyone can find his or her place. “ VANESSA MUDD, THE CULTURE VULTURE – theculturevulture.co.uk
“With Näss, choreographer Fouad Boussouf skilfully blends urban and contemporary dance styles: it’s a meeting between different times, different cultures – between the earthly and the spiritual.” SOPHIE AMMANN, SPRINGBACK MAGAZINE
“Fouad Boussouf gives us 45 minutes of energising dance that urges us to find stories in the swarm. As we journey with them from isolation to friendship, from troubled existence to joy, the dancers of Company Massala hold us mesmerised in the palm of their hands.” KELLY APTER, SPRINGBACK MAGAZINE
12/09/21 – Piteå, Sweden
16/09/21 – Piteå, Sweden
28/09/21 – Le Vellein, scène de la CAPI, Villefontaine
29/09/21 – Théâtre du Parc, Andrézieux-Bouthéon
9/10/21 – Festival Karavel, Bron
13/10/21 – Panama
18/11/21 – Centre culturel Juliette Drouet, La Selle en Luitré, Fougères
19/11/21 – Le Quatrain, Haute Goulaine
20/11/21 Espace Culturel Capellia, La Chapelle-sur-Erdre
22-24/11/21 – Vandœuvre-lès-Nancy
25/11/21 – Théâtre de Charleville-Mézières
26/11/21 – ACB Bar le Duc, scène nationale
2/12/21 – Théâtre Edwige Feuillère de Vesoul
5/12/21 – L’Octagone de Pully, Lausanne, Switzerland
17/12/21 – Centre culturel Jean Houdremont, La Courneuve
08/01/22 – CIRCa, Auch
11/01/22 – Scène nationale d’Albi
28/01/22 – La Caravelle, Marcheprime
29/01/22 – Espace culturel Treulon, Bruges
30/01/22 – Centre Culturel L’Arcanson, Biscarrosse
1/02/22 – Espace d’Albret, Nérac
3/02/22 – Bonn, Germany
16/02/22 – Espace Culturel des Corbières, Lézignan-Corbières
18/02/22 – Théâtre Romain Rolland, Villejuif
1/03/22 – Le Quai des arts, Rumilly
3/03/22 – Le Théâtre des Collines, Annecy
5/03/22 – La Mégisserie, Saint-Junien
12/03/22 – Théâtre des Aspres, Thuir
17/03/22 – Théâtre de la Ville d’Aurillac
18/03/22 – Espace Mitterrand, Figeac
19/03/22 – Théâtre de Mende
22/03/22 Théâtre de la Maison du Peuple, Millau
30-31/03/22 – Théâtre Cournouaille, Quimper
7/04/22 Salle Guy Obino, Vitrolles
12-15/04/22 – Maison de la Danse de Lyon
24/05/22 Maison de la Culture de Nevers (58)
26 mai-11 juin 2022 – Tour in Morocco
5-31/10/22 – Tour in USA / Canada
19/09/20 Théâtre Louis Aragon, Tremblay-en-France (93)
13/10/20 Théâtre de Villefranche-sur-Saône (69)
27/10/20 Théâtre de l’Olivier, Istres (13)
13-14/11/20 TEAT, Ile de la Réunion
08/01/21 Centre culturel Jean Houdremont, La Courneuve (93)
19/01/21 CIRCa, Auch (32)
21/01/21 Espace d’Albret, Nérac (47)
22/01/21 La Caravelle, Marcheprime (33)
23/01/21 Espace culturel Treulon, Bruges (33)
24/01/21 Centre Culturel L’Arcanson, Biscarrosse (40)
27/01/21 Le Quai des arts, Rumilly (74)
28/01/21 Le Théâtre des Collines, Annecy (74)
30/01/21 Festival Ici&Là , Tournefeuille (31)
03/02/21 Equinoxe, scène nationale de Châteauroux (36)
16/02/21 Quai des arts, Pornichet (44)
17/02/21 La Soufflerie, Rezé (44)
18/02/21 CC Juliette Drouet, La Selle-en-Luitré, Fougères (35)
19/02/21 Le Quatrain, Haute-Goulaine (44)
20/02/21 Espace Culturel Capellia, La Chapelle-sur-Erdre (44)
23/02/21 La Rampe, Échirolles (38)
25/02/21 Lux, scène nationale de Valence (26)
26-27/02/21 Théâtre du Parc, Andrézieux-Bouthéon (42)
03/03/21 Maison de la Culture de Nevers (58)
05/03/21 Espace François Mitterrand, Figeac (46)
06/03/21 Théâtre de la Baleine, Rodez (12)
09/03/21 Scène nationale, Albi (81)
11/03/21 Théâtre d’Aurillac (15)
13/03/21 Scènes croisées de Lozère, Théâtre de Mende, Municipality of Mende (48)
16-21/03/21 La Maison de la Danse de Lyon (69)
23/03/21 La Mégisserie, Saint-Junien (87)
06/04/21 Théâtre de Grasse (06)
08/04/21 Salle Guy Obino, Vitrolles (13)
09/04/21 Le ZEF, scène nationale de Marseille (13)
10/04/21 Festival Imprudanse, Théâtres en Dracénie, Draguignan (83)
15/04/21 Maison de la Musique de Nanterre (92)
01/05/21 L’Octogone, théâtre de Pully, Lausanne, Suisse
04/05/21 Le Vellein, scènes de la CAPI, Villefontaine (38)
12/05/21 Théâtre Romain Rolland, Villejuif (94)
14/05/21 Le Phoenix, scène nationale de Valenciennes (59)
31/05-13/06/21 Tour in Morocco
18-19/06/21 – Maison de la Danse de Lyon
13/01/18 POC, Alfortville
23/01/18 Théâtre des Bergeries, Noisy-le-Sec
20/02/18 Festival Hip Open Dance, Maison Folie Wazemmes, Lille
16/03/18 Salle Jacques Brel, Fontenay-sous-Bois
23/03/18 Aerowaves Spring Forward Festival, Sofia, Bulgaria
29/03/18 Festival Moving-Futures, Amsterdam, Netherlands
30/03/18 Centre Communal Culturel d’Orly
8-9/04/18 Théâtre Jean Vilar, Vitry-sur-Seine
03/05/18 Le Prisme, Élancourt
31/05/18 Le Manège, scène nationale de Reims
01/06/18 Théâtre André Malraux Chevilly-Larue
01/07/18 Carthage Dance Days, Tunis, Tunisia
03/11/18 Tanzfestival Rhein-Main, Darmstadt, Germany
24/11/18 International Dance Theater Festival, Lublin, Poland
29/11/18 Théâtre Jacques Carat, Cachan
30/11/18 Festival Kalypso, L’Embarcadère, Aubervilliers
01/12/18 Les Nuits d’Orient, Grand Théâtre – Opéra de Dijon
29/01/19 Théâtre d’Arles
01/02/19 Théâtre de Brétigny
02/02/19 Riley Theatre, NSCD, Leeds, UK
21/03/19 Teatro dell’Aquila, Fermo, Italy
23/03/19 Teatro Rossini, Pesaro, Italy
02/04/19 Le Safran, Amiens
03 – 05/04/19 CDCN Pôle Sud, Strasbourg
18/04/19 Biennale de Danse du Val-de-Marne, Maisons-Alfort
18 – 19/05/19 Le French May Festival, Hong Kong
24/05/19 ARC for Dance Festival, Athens, Greece
05/06/19 June Events, Festival de l’Atelier de Paris
13/06/19 Festival Perspectives, Saarbrucken, Germany
10 – 20/07/19 Les Hivernales, CDCN d’Avignon
21/07/19 San Vincenti Festival, Croatia
28/07/19 Beijing Dance Festival, Beijing, China
02 – 03/08/19 Shanghai International Dance Center, China
3/09/2019 Norrlandsoperan, Umeå, Sweden
6-7/09/19 Dansens Hus, Oslo, Norway
16/09/19 – 18/10/19 Sweden Tour – Dancenet Sweden
22/10/19 Chai du Terral, Saint-Jean-de-Védas
15/11/19 L’Alpillium, Saint-Rémy-de-Provence
20 – 21/11/19 La Filature, scène nationale, Mulhouse
22/11/19 Espace Culturel Boris Vian, Les Ulis
29 – 30/11/19 Théâtre de St-Quentin-en-Yvelines, scène nationale
6 – 7/12/19 Les Rencontres transmusicales de Rennes
12/12/19 December Dance, Bruges, Belgium
4/02/20 Espace Michel-Simon, Noisy-le-Grand
7/03/20 KVS – Brussels City Theatre, Festival Lezarts Urbains, Brussels, Belgium