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“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

 

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 dares to challenge 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

 

“I composed Näss like a breath, simultaneously physical and mystical, which reminds us how important it is to be firmly rooted in the ground and in one’s land in order to feel its vibrations.” - Fouad Boussouf

 

Fouad Boussouf was born in Morocco. He came to France in 1983 and began to practice hip-hop on his own. He took his first jazz class in Romilly-sur-Seine, where he met Nicole Guitton, Ahmed Lahcen, and Wayne Barbaste during training courses.

In the early 1990s, he discovered circus arts thanks to workshops offered by The Centre National des Arts du Cirque (National Centre for Circus Arts). He completed his contemporary dance training in Paris. Interested in diverse hip-hop styles, floor, and standing techniques, he perfected his dance.

Established by dancer and choreographer Fouad Boussouf in 2010, Massala Dance Company borrows from cultures so diverse as hip-hop, contemporary dance or new circus.

Its artistic creations demonstrate this inclination to blend styles and artistic practices, with a pronounced commitment to share emotions and technical knowledge linked to the medium of personal expression that is dance.

From its inception, the company has asserted its identity anchored in the Val-de-Marne on the urban outskirts of Paris, where its work benefits from the aid of the Conseil Général du Val-de-Marne and the région Île-de- France. The company also presents its work both on stage and in open air across the French territory and internationally.

Artistic Team
Choreography | Fouad Boussouf
Assistant Choreographer | Bruno Domingues Torres Performers | Elias Ardoin, Sami Blond, Mathieu Bord, Maxime Cozic, Loïc Elice, Justin Gouin, Nicolas Grosclaude
Lighting Design | Françoise Michel
Costumes and Scenography | Camille Vallat
Music | Roman Bastion
Photos | Charlotte Audureau
Video | Floriane Pinard