Choreography : Bouchra Ouizguen

Premiered at the Festival Montpellier Danse 2009

Filmed by Valérie Urréa at the Studio Bagouet / Agora, international city of dance

"Madame Plaza" is Morrocan choreographer and dancer Bouchra Ouizguen's new creation intended to pay tribute to and inspired from the music of the “Aïta”, those traditional morrocan singers whose performances rendering include songs, wailing and incantations. They are usually hide to provide entertainment at celebrations and special occasions (weddings, feasts, dances, etc...) and some night clubs.
Prejudice against female artists has cast the figure of the “Aïta” in a paradoxical position, for they are at once the object of admiration, fantasizing and contemptuous rejection. Furthermore the “Aïta” artistry is too easily cast as folklore, in spite of its enchanting contemporaneity and powerful immediacy. Bouchra Ouizguen find deep kinship in these women's quest for freedom.
Madame Plaza is a fascinating encounter of bodies merging with songs. Agnès Izrine

Générique

Compagnie Anania

Choreography : Bouchra Ouizguen

With and music by : Fatima El Hanna, Fatima Aït Ben Hmad, Naïma Sahmoud, Bouchra Ouizguen

Musics : “Ahat ” chanté et composé par Youssef El Mejjad, « Akegarasu » de Shin-Nai

Lighting design : Yves Godin

Costumes design : Nouredine Amir

light control : Thalie Lurault

Production : Michel Laurent

Filmed by Valérie Urréa

Production : Compagnie Anania

Coproduction : Festival Montpellier Danse 2009, Fabbrica Europa (Firenze, Italie)

With the support of : Service de Coopération et d'Action Culturelle de l'Ambassade de France à Rabat, Département Afrique et Caraïbes de Culturesfrance – Ministère des affaires étrangères

Logistic support : Ecole Supérieur des Arts Visuels de Marrakech, Institut français de Marrakech

Duration : 40 minutes

Bouchra Ouizguen was born in 1980, in Morocco. After pursuing her studies in France, she became a soloist in oriental dance from 1995 to 2000. In 2002, she created the Anania contemporary dance
company.
In 2004, she took the ex.e.r.ce. course created by Mathilde Monnier and moved straight on to the Bocal / Etudes project with Boris Charmatz.
Since then, she has been co-organising the Marrakech Choreographic Encounters and regularly participates in numerous projects between Morocco and France.

Back in 1987, after having completed her studies at the Ecole nationale supérieure Louis-Lumière, Valérie Urréa began asserting her passion for visual and performing arts. Documentaries, live recordings, fictions, from 'Bruit Blanc' to 'L’Homme qui Danse', all of Valerie Urréa’s films, which are principally coproduced by ARTE, explore highly-sensitive themes such as autism, masculinity and issues concerning race, through artistic visions. Her multiple award-winning films are regularly presented in international festivals. She was guest-artist twice for the Commission Image Mouvement de la Délégation des Arts Plastiques (Image/Movement Commission of the French Visual Arts Delegation). At the same time, she was a teacher for several years at the École Supérieure des Arts Visuels (ESAV - Higher Institute for Visual Arts) in Marrakech, specializing in the relationships between images and performing arts. 

Source : Valérie Urréa