After the worldwide success of Nya, first piece created in 2010 for the dancers of  the Contemporary Ballet of Algiers as part of the Franco-Algerian  Mediterranean Cultural Bridge project, Abou Lagraa wished to continue  this adventure by associating dancers of the company La Baraka and dancers of the Contemporary Ballet of Algiers.

In  UNIVERS ... L'AFRIQUE, Tribute to Nina Simone, a two-part show, two quartets perform love and freedom on songs by Nina Simone, the most  African American divas.

Abou Lagraa began dancing in Annonay, before entering the Conservatoire National Supérieur de Musique et de Danse de Lyon. He began his career as a dancer-performer at the S.O.A.P. Dance Theater Frankfurt, working with Rui Horta, before becoming his assistant at the Gulbenkian Ballet in Lisbon.

In 1997, he founded the Compagnie La Baraka, with whom he was successively associate artist at Bonlieu, Scène Nationale d'Annecy (2004-2008) then at Les Gémeaux, Scène Nationale de Sceaux (2009-2013) and finally at the Maison de la Danse in Lyon (2015). The company's reputation quickly spread beyond France's borders, and it began touring all over Europe, as well as the United States, Algeria, Tunisia, Russia and Asia...

In 2010, with Nawal Aït Benalla, he created the first Ballet Contemporain d'Alger with ‘Nya’, a piece whose success led to several national and international tours. This return to his roots inspired his 2013 creation ‘El Djoudour’ (The Roots), the fruit of a fruitful partnership between his own French company and the Ballet Contemporain d'Alger. This creation opened the ‘Marseille-Provence 2013, European Capital of Culture’ event.

In February 2018, La Baraka moved to La Chapelle Sainte-Marie in Annonay. Abou Lagraa and Nawal Aït Benalla decided to co-direct La Baraka and La Chapelle together. This desacralised setting, a jewel of Baroque art, has been transformed into a choreographic studio and houses the company's administrative offices. La Chapelle became a creative residency for French and international dance companies. Like a small ‘Villa Medici’ for dance in the Ardèche.

Source : Cie La Baraka

More information : https://www.compagnielabaraka.com/

Author, filmmaker and video artist Charles Picq (1952-2012) entered working life in the 70s through theatre and photography. A- fter resuming his studies (Maîtrise de Linguistique - Lyon ii, Maîtrise des sciences et Techniques de la Communication - grenoble iii), he then focused on video, first in the field of fine arts at the espace Lyonnais d'art Contemporain (ELAC) and with the group « Frigo », and then in dance.
   On creation of the Maison de la Danse in Lyon in 1980, he was asked to undertake a video documentation project that he has continued ever since. During the ‘80s, a decade marked in France by the explosion of contemporary dance and the development of video, he met numerous artists such as andy Degroat, Dominique Bagouet, Carolyn Carlson, régine Chopinot, susanne Linke, Joëlle Bouvier and regis Obadia, Michel Kelemenis. He worked in the creative field with installations and on-stage video, as well as in television with recorded shows, entertainment and documentaries.

His work with Dominique Bagouet (80-90) was a unique encounter. He documents his creativity, assisting with Le Crawl de Lucien and co-directing with his films Tant Mieux, Tant Mieux and 10 anges. in the 90s he became director of video development for the Maison de la Danse and worked, with the support of guy Darmet and his team, in the growing space of theatre video through several initiatives:
       - He founded a video library of dance films with free public access. This was a first for France. Continuing the video documentation of theatre performances, he organised their management and storage.
       - He promoted the creation of a video-bar and projection room, both dedicated to welcoming school pupils.
       - He started «présentations de saisons» in pictures.
       - He oversaw the DVD publication of Le tour du monde en 80 danses, a pocket video library produced by the Maison de la Danse for the educational sector.

       - He launched the series “scènes d'écran” for television and online. He undertook the video library's digital conversion and created Numeridanse.

His main documentaries are: enchaînement, Planète Bagouet, Montpellier le saut de l'ange, Carolyn Carlson, a woman of many faces, grand ecart, Mama africa, C'est pas facile, Lyon, le pas de deux d'une ville, Le Défilé, Un rêve de cirque.

He has also produced theatre films: Song, Vu d'ici (Carolyn Carlson), Tant Mieux, Tant Mieux, 10 anges, Necesito and So schnell, (Dominique Bagouet), Im bade wannen, Flut and Wandelung (Susanne Linke), Le Cabaret Latin (Karine Saporta), La danse du temps (Régine Chopinot), Nuit Blanche (Abou Lagraa), Le Témoin (Claude Brumachon), Corps est graphique (Käfig), Seule et WMD (Françoise et Dominique Dupuy), La Veillée des abysses (James Thiérrée), Agwa (Mourad Merzouki), Fuenteovejuna (Antonio Gades), Blue Lady revistied (Carolyn Carlson).

Source: Maison de la Danse de Lyon