Mohamed Toukabri
+ More info- Live performance
- 1h10
- maison Folie Wazemmes
- Pass Latitudes
The Power (of) The Fragile
Latifa had always dreamed of becoming a dancer. Her son chose dance as his profession. The Power (of) The Fragile is therefore an encounter between the choreographer Mohamed Toukabri and his mother, whom he invites onstage after the two had been separated for several years.
The Power (of) The Fragile is the union of two separate worlds, two bodies, two generations and two minds. As we watch, genders and ages blur, the bodies’ weight changes direction, lines are crossed. Where does one body begin, where does the other end? Mohamed and Latifa Toukabri share with us an intimate, organic journey about what the relationship between a mother and her son could be, what it means to leave the family home, to be separated, and then to be back together. An interwoven portrait both unexpected and tender, which plays itself out on a framework of fragility yet gives it so much power.
Accessibility information :
Sudden changes of lights, lights with stroboscopic effects, speeches in French and foreign languages (Arabic), surtitles in French
Biography(s)
Mohamed Toukabri was born in Tunis and started breakdancing at the age of 12. He then joined the Sybel Ballet Theatre (TN) directed by Syhem Belkhodja (2002 – 2008). At the age of 16, Mohamed continued his training in Paris at the Académie Internationale de la Danse. He collaborated with choreographer Imed Jemaa in five of his pieces (2006-2008).
In 2008, he joined the Brussels dance school P.A.R.T.S, directed by Anne Teresa De Keersmaeker. During his studies, he participated in Babel, by Sidi Larbi Cherkaoui and Damien Jalet, by Eastman Company (BE) (2010). Mohamed was a member of Needcompany, the international performance company founded by Jan Lauwers and Grace Ellen Barkey (2013-2018). He also danced in the remake of the repertory piece Zeitung, by Anne Teresa De Keersmaeker (2012) and Sacré Printemps! by Aicha M’Barak and Hafiz Dhaou (Compagnie Chatha (TN)) (2014).
Mohamed recently worked on the opera remake Shell Shock, A Requiem of War, with choreographer Sidi Larbi Cherkaoui, composer Nicholas Lens and writer Nick Cave, as part of the 100th anniversary of the First World War, at the Philharmonie de Paris (2018). He also dances in Larbi’s latest creations: Nomad (2018) and the opera Alceste, choreographed for the Bayerische Staatsoper in Munich (2019).
The Upside Down Man, his first self-produced work, was presented at the Me, Myself & I festival in Hellerau, Dresden, in May 2018. The play is currently touring in Belgium, the United Kingdom, France, Lille, Germany, Switzerland, Sweden and Austria. It has been selected for Het TheaterFestival in the #NewYoung category (September 2019). He is currently preparing a new production, The Power (of) The Fragile, a duet with his mother.
Credits
Concept and choreography Mohamed Toukabri
Performance Mimouna (Latifa) Khamessi and Mohamed Toukabri
Dramaturgy Diane Fourdrignier
Stage manager and set designer Lies Van Loock
Sound design and artistic advice Annalena Fröhlich
Costumes Ellada Damianou
Research & Development Eva Blaute
Trainee Constant Vandercam
Acknowledgements Estelle Baldé, Radouan Mriziga, Rim Toukabri, Bachir Toukabri, Sofiane Ouissi, Julia Reist, Maria-Carmela Mini, Synda Jebali, Yasmin Dammak, Elise Cnockaert en Liz Kinoshita
Executive production Caravan Production
Coproduction Needcompany, Vooruit, Beursschouwburg, Dansens Hus Oslo
Residency Cultuurcentrum De Factorij, Needcompany, Vooruit, Charleroi Danse
With the support of the Flemish Government and the Flemish Community Commission (VGC)
With the support of Onda – Office national de diffusion artistique
