Almataha

Almataha blends hip-hop dance, puppetry and object manipulation in a poetic and playful adventure inspired by fairy tales and myths, to be shared as a family from age 5.

To nourish this work aimed at young audiences, Brahim Bouchelaghem explores the world of object theatre and puppetry. Another form of expression, another method, which he wished to combine and confront in this collective research into movement and space.

It is Denis Bonnetier, artistic director of Zapoï, a puppetry company for young audiences based in the Valenciennois area, who supported him. Denis was tasked with training the dancers in manipulating puppets and objects during the research laboratory, the idea being that this work be fully coordinated with the dancer's movement and the desired dramaturgy.

Through the use of cardboard and kraft paper objects, which are used and repurposed for narrative and scenographic ends, they work on the different planes and levels of reading of this choreography. The presence of these sculptural entities at different scales, created by Vitalia Samuilova, and their animation will create metaphorical images that take us into imaginary worlds. This danced manipulation of material and body will play with juggling viewpoints, fostering the transformation of worlds.

For this new opus, Brahim Bouchelaghem explores the theme of the initiatory journey. He focuses on setting in motion the sensitive and epic path that the complex quest for identity traces. The dreamlike story of characters who, through encounters, face trials that gradually build them up and allow them to forge the character they have today.

This choreographic piece for three dancers and one puppet, named Shorty, takes the form of a true travel notebook.

For the narrative framework of this fictional journey, carried by the original music created by Usmar, Brahim draws on various labyrinth myths.