Steps: Compagnie Dyptik (FR)

Souhail Marchiche and Mehdi Meghari have their finger on the pulse of the times with their company Dyptik: : Different dance styles mix to create an energetic cocktail that has become their recipe for success. The two hip-hop choreographers from France are enchanting audiences across Europe with their latest indoor performance «Le Grand Bal». In it, they investigate the phenomenon of dance fever and how it spreads to other people.

Not far removed from isolation, social tensions and an oppressive gloom, the play asks what happens when the body breaks out:

A fever spreads on stage, a shudder gradually spreads through the eight-strong group, then, finally, redemption: Le Grand Balis a ceremony of liberation. The captivating choreography puts the constricted bodies of the dancers into a trance and spills over: a collective experience of exhilaration as the climax of a revolt that goes far beyond the edge of the stage.

Simply put: The play is about dance fever. The dancers infect each other with the virus of dance, move to loud music and lose themselves in dancing. Some of the dancers come from the hip-hop scene. Others have a ballet background. The company brings together different dance styles.

Info

Duration: 55 minutes
Spoken language: none
Age reccomendation: 12+
Content warning: Flashing/strobe-light in some scenes
Word permiere: 20.9.2023, Biennale de la danse de Lyon
Further information: dyptik.com

Credits

Artistic direction and choreography: Souhail Marchiche und Mehdi Meghari
Performers: Mounir Amhiln, Charly Bouges, Yohann Daher, Nicolas Grosclaude, Hava Hudry, Beatrice Mognol, Carla Munier, Davide Salvadori, Alice Sundara
Music: Patrick De Oliveira
Lighting design: Richard Gratas & François-Xavier Gallet-Lemaitre
Scenography: Hannah Daugreilh
Painter: Loïc Niwa
Costume design: Hannah Daugreilh & Sandra Bersot

Coproduction: La Compagnie Dyptik, Les Studios Dyptik, Maison De La Danse & Biennale De La Danse De Lyon, Stora Teatern – Göteborg, La Comédie – CDN de St Etienne, Théâtre Des Bergeries – Noisy Le Sec (artiste associé), IADU La Villette, CCN du Havre – Cie Massala, Théâtre Jean Lurçat – Scène Nationale d’Aubusson, Théâtre De Cusset (artiste associé), Amman Contemporary Dance Festival, Théâtre Du Parc – Andrézieux-Bouthéon, Domaine De Bayssan – Béziers, Centre Culturel Athena – La Ferté Bernard, L’Avant Seine – Théâtre De Colombes, Sémaphore – Théâtre de la ville d’Irigny
Supported by: DRAC Auvergne Rhône-Alpes, Conseil Départemental de la Loire, Ville de St Etienne, ADAMI, SPEDIDAM, Conseil Départemental de Seine-St-Denis, Institut Français

Souhail Marchiche and Mehdi Meghari

Souhail Marchiche and Mehdi Meghari are the creative minds behind Cie. Dyptik. The two choreographers discovered dance in their youth through battles in the streets of St. Étienne. In 2012, they founded the company together, which produces both indoor and outdoor performances. In addition to their successful tours, the French artist duo run a large residence centre in their home town to promote the local hip-hop community.