Groupe acrobatique de Tanger

Artistic direction : Sanae El Kamouni

Creation: 2003

The  Groupe  Acrobatique  de  Tanger  was  set  up  by  Sanae  El  Kamouni  in 2003  in  order  to  assemble  a  troupe  of  traditional  Moroccan acrobats with a view to creating a  contemporary  circus  show.  The  group  now tours worldwide. In Morocco there is an age-old acrobatics discipline  where  artists  always  reproduce  the same figures, with no creative latitude. El  Kamouni  shook  up  this  tradition  and  injected fresh impetus. Having met Aurélien Bory (Compagnie 111), they    travelled    Morocco   in   search   of   acrobats,   and   met  the  Hammich  family  of  acrobats  in  Tangiers.  This  encounter  yielded  “Taoub” (2004), which toured for six years in more than 20 countries. The group cultivates a unique art, stemming from the Amazigh tradition of Sidi Ahmed Ou Moussa which dates from the 16th century. This   discipline,   which   involves   forming   human pyramids, has military roots; it was used  for  the  scaling  of  defensive  walls;  it  also  includes  circular  figures  such  as  the  “Arab  wheel”.  This  ancestral  expertise  is  now  being  renewed  as  it  cross-fertilises  with Western choreography. The acrobats continued  along  their  path,  and  in  2010  invited  Martin  Zimmermann  and  Dimitri  de  Perrot  (stage  directors  and  circus  artists)  to   create   “Chouf   Ouchouf”,   a   journey   through  a  labyrinthine  covered  bazaar,  courtesy of an ingenious set design. These top-flight artists settled in Toulouse in 2010. Aurélien Bory renewed their colla-boration  in  2013,  creating  “Azimut”.  In  2016, Abdeliazide  Senhadji  (Compagnie  XY)  is  teaming  with  the  group  to  create  their  latest work.

Source: 17e Biennale danse (2016) – press file