Mourad Merzouki (Lyon, 50 years old) appears in person like the dance he does: friendly and accessible.
He also has his somewhat didactic way of speaking and that aspect matches perfectly with the transmitting function of the dance that he has been developing in the last thirty years.
In choreographic centers such as Créteil, which he directed between 2009 and 2023;
in leading festivals such as Karavel and Kalypso, and through his company Käfig, created in 1996 and one of the first in the world to do hip hop dance shows.
He works with her from the professional and the playful, that is, from the two main foundations of hip hop dance, which jumped from the streets to the stage a few decades ago and of whose feat the choreographer presents himself as a pioneer.
“When I started bringing hip hop dance to the stage, many people said that it wasn't going to last, that it was just a fad.
But it was not and it has also been establishing itself on the scene because that double peculiarity has made it grow in two compatible directions: in theaters, with choreographies that go beyond the aspect of the demonstration, it questions things and has an artistic commitment ;
and in the street, where he was born and the break dance battles continue to take place
.”
More information
Break dancing revolutionizes the Olympic Games
Merzouki is also the creator of the official dance of the next Olympic and Paralympic Games in Paris 2024,
The Dance of the Games
,
a piece that wants to be participatory and viral.
In fact, the creator is in Madrid these days to train teachers in this choreography and promote its transmission.
“It's about getting everyone who wants to dance
The Dance of Games
,” he explains to this newspaper.
"With a very clear structure, based on choreography and improvisation (pillars of hip hop dance today), the idea is to create community and communicate through it anywhere in the world."
To do this, there are a couple of tutorials available on YouTube, at a simple and advanced level, with which to learn this dance of games.
Whoever dares to record it and send it will be able to participate in a contest from which the best proposals will be chosen to participate, physically in Paris, on a date yet to be specified, between May and June.
It seems entirely appropriate that a renowned hip hop dance choreographer is in charge of the opening of the Paris 2024 games in an edition in which break
dancing
will be recognized for the first time (a style included in hip hop dance in which Merzouki feels more comfortable at an interpretive level) with the category of sport.
“There has been a lot of debate about this in France.
Some people did not agree to consider it as such, because it is an art.
Others, including myself, believe that it is good news because sport and art are not incompatible.
The Olympic Games are going to give a lot of light and diffusion to the battle or competition aspect of
break dancing
.”
Invited by the French Institute of Madrid to give these trainings, Mourad Merzouki will also present this Wednesday at the headquarters of this institution his work
Phénix
, a work for four dancers (two of contemporary dance and two of hip hop dance) and a musical performer who The viola da gamba will be played live.
“It is a very old instrument that will dialogue with electronic music, just as I would like the world to dialogue in general.
Hip hop dance has two challenges: that of creation and that of social issues,” he explains.
Premiered in 2022, the piece turns to the artistic coexistence that runs through the speech of Merzouki, trained in circus and martial arts and passionate about the mixture of dance and new technologies.
“I created this piece as soon as the pandemic ended and it is the first time I have worked without scenery, in a very simple way.
It is a work that seeks the generosity of dance and music and takes place in the surprise of the encounter.”
Medal of Honor of the Town of Lyon and member of the committee to support choreographic art of the French Ministry of Culture, Mourad Merzouki recognizes the accessibility of dance as one of his artistic creeds.
Both to practice it and to enjoy it.
“I chose this profession to create links of all kinds, also between countries.
Share the work with all types of audiences and give an image of coexistence and respect through a dance that was born on the streets of popular neighborhoods.”
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