DANCE IN ANCIENT MESSENE

This new creation directly follows the line of Filipe Lourenço’s ongoing artistic research, begun in 2018 with his solo Pulse(s) and developed further through his ensemble pieces Gouâl and CHEB. His artistic approach draws deeply on his own identity as a dancer—first shaped by a solid background as an Arab-Andalusian musician and by training in traditional dances of the Maghreb, then enriched by a career in contemporary dance (working with Catherine Diverrès, Olivier Dubois, Georges Appaix, Christian Rizzo, Michèle Noiret, Boris Charmatz, among others).

This unique trajectory defines the specificity of his creative process, which he now continues with the creation of a new piece for five performers.
After exploring a warrior dance known as Alaoui from the Rif region in his 2021 creation GOUÂL, this time Filipe Lourenço draws his inspiration from research into another traditional form: Ahidous, a collective Berber dance from Central Morocco (the Middle Atlas). This dance—one of the most valued forms of collective bodily and poetic expression among Middle Atlas communities—has often accompanied festive occasions until quite recently.

The challenge here is not to reverse gender divisions but to deconstruct them—to lift the prohibitions that have traditionally shaped the female gaze or excluded women from the transmission of these practices. As always, Filipe Lourenço’s choreographic writing seeks the total physical and emotional engagement of the body, embracing a critical dimension driven by a strong desire to bring ancestral traditions into dialogue with contemporary forms.

The Dancing with the Community initiative is a new section that seeks to create opportunities for audience participation, inviting people to move from the role of spectators into a shared collective experience, while reminding us that dance is accessible to everyone.

After the completion of the first part, the musician of the performance Amazigh in Situ, Amine Nouri, continues playing music, organically extending the connection between the audience and the action, while reinforcing the importance of community gathering in contemporary public spaces, such as the central square of Pylos — a modern meeting point for local communities.

The performance takes on new dimensions through its interaction with each location and its audience. The transition into the second part functions as a natural continuation of the performance, inviting the audience to dance and participate actively.