As the 5th season prepares to launch, Harbourfront Centre’s Torque series has grown into one of Toronto’s most exciting contemporary dance showcases. The 2023-24 season opens with the Canadian premiere of Näss by Moroccan-born choreographer Fouad Boussouf, on stage from October 26 to 28.
“We are thrilled to open our 2023/24 Torque season with Harbourfront Centre’s debut of Fouad Boussouf’s Näss,” says Nathalie Bonjour, Director, Performing Arts at Harbourfront Centre. “Performed with extraordinary musicality and intense physicality, it offers an exhilarating view into the complexities of human kinship, community and solitude.”
Fouad Boussouf & Näss
Born in Morocco, Fouad came to France at the age of seven with his family. With a master’s of arts and a master’s in social science from Paris-East Créteil University, where he now teaches, he founded the Compagnie Massala in 2010. He is currently the Director of the National Choreographic Center — Le Havre/Normandie.
He is trained in hip-hop, and he blends it with elements of contemporary dance, and both traditional and modern choreography.
Näss, a piece for seven male dancers, got its premiere in 2018, and has been performed throughout Europe and in China. Conceptually, the piece was inspired by the group Nass el Ghiwane, established in 1970 as a marriage of music and avant-garde political theatre. They became famous throughout Morocco and beyond, and were the first to blend traditional instruments with the banjo and other modern Western instrumentation.
His choreography is steeped in Moroccan Gnawa dance traditions, blended with modern jazz, contemporary circus, and hip-hop. Gnawa has a hypnotic, trance aesthetic that combines music with dance and Sufi poetry. Athleticism and acrobatics create an intense experience, with a score led by Roman Bestion, Marion Castor and Boussouf.
Näss is the second piece in his trilogy based on life in the Arab world. The first, Transe, was set in the Middle East, and the last, 2020’s Oüm, in Egypt.
Torque 2023-24
The rest of the season includes Canadian and international dance masters,
- The Toronto premiere of Louise Lecavalier’s Stations;
- The world premiere of Deciphers, co-presented with DanceWorks, from Naishi Wong and Jean Abreu;
- The Toronto premiere of Vástádus eana — The Answer is Land from Sámi choreographer Elle Sofe Sara;
- The Canadian premiere of Gauthier Dance//Dance Company Theaterhaus Stuttgart’s Swan Lakes, a showcase of four distinctly different interpretations of the masterpiece from four world renowned dancemakers — Cayetano Soto, Marie Chouinard, Marco Goecke, and Hofesh Shechter.
In addition to the performances, Fouad Boussouf will host a masterclass on October 28. More information and tickets [HERE].
#LUDWIGVAN
Get the daily arts news straight to your inbox.
Sign up for the Ludwig Van Toronto e-Blast! — local classical music and opera news straight to your inbox HERE.
- INTERVIEW | Cultureland Presents A New Opera Steeped In Iranian Culture: Echoes Of Bi-Sotoon - May 10, 2024
- PREVIEW | Tapestry Opera Presents An Acadian Kitchen Party & Iron Chef Inspired Operatic Adventures To The Stage - May 9, 2024
- THE SCOOP | The Royal Conservatory Makes Koerner Hall More Accessible With My Piece Of The City Program - May 9, 2024
