Due to politico-administrative rules, the one we call “the new Béjart” and who is the most performed French choreographer finds himself, after 13 years and 1500 creations, without a place to welcome him.
The Kalypso festival, created by Mourad Merzouki, celebrates its 10th anniversary. Ten autumns that this event promotes contemporary creation in all styles of dance, thanks to the involvement of twenty theaters in the Paris region. For the choreographer, this anniversary is doubly symbolic since it coincides with the end of his mandate at the head of the National Choreographic Center of Créteil.
For the occasion, the program offers fireworks. About fifty companies are invited and more than 50,000 spectators are expected to applaud both the electro dance of the young Mazelfreten and the very hybrid ballet of Gipsy Raw. Or even the reinvented hip-hop of Mourad Merzouki himself in an intimate show, accompanied on the viola da gamba by Lucile Boulanger *.
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Bouquet final
Also not to be missed are the battles at the Hip-Hop Games Exhibition, which goes back to the very essence of this very physical dance, staged by Romuald Brizolier.
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A page is thus turned for the most performed French choreographer. Mourad Merzouki will leave his place – against the advice of the mayor of Créteil – to Mehdi Kerkouche, better known for his videos broadcast during the Covid than for his stage creations.
In thirteen years of presence, Mourad Merzouki will have done a lot for the influence of the CCN of Créteil, and the figures attest to it. Between 2009 and 2022, the choreographer has a total of 12 creations and the troupe has given 1,500 shows in 40 countries. But it’s the rule, however ridiculous it may be: a choreographer cannot stay more than ten years in the same place. We wish his successor to achieve such a record.
* Kalypso Festival, from November 5 to December 16.
