It was in Saint-Étienne, their home town, that Souhail Marchiche and  Mehdi Meghari took their first dance steps together in the late 90s.  These two self-taught dancers were attracted by the acrobatic and  visceral aspect of Hip-Hop dance and built up their style in the course  of their encounters.
Their desire to go on stage and discover other artistic universes led  them to interpret for a variety of companies. Very quickly, their need  for expression and mixing meant they got together to search, delve,  assemble, disassemble, build, experiment, create….
The choreographers developed work around the themes of revolt and the  inner struggle of individuals in an individualistic, violent and absurd  society.

From 2012 onwards, the compagnie Dyptik has explored the theme of identity, through two choreographic pieces: En quête (2012) and Dyptik (2014). It then went on to investigate the field of revolt with D-Construction (2016), Dans l’engrenage (2017) and Le Cri (2018).

A real centre for artistic research, experimentation and creation,  each year the Studios Dyptik support some ten companies via a system for  guidance and residencies.

A resource centre in the region, the studios build bridges between  the public, professionals and amateurs. Member of a national network  coordinated by La Villette, the Studios Dyptik wish to develop their  action for guiding both professionals and amateurs, while maintaining  strong ties with the Saint-Etienne area.

Alongside its creative work, Dyptik is behind the TRAX festival, set up  in 2014. This festival is held in various places in Saint-Étienne and  its surrounding areas. The company’s true ambition is to present a broad  and eclectic vision of Hip-Hop dance to the Saint-Etienne public. This  dance is thus very much in evidence in all its forms: creations,  workshops, projections, battles, performances, choreographic creation  contests, and so on.

The TRAX festival also hosts a  choreographic creation contest: TRAJECTOIRES. This competition is  intended for dancers and choreographers hailing from Hip-Hop dance who  wish to open up to new choreographic forms. Four companies are selected,  after submitting their application and video, to present a 20-minute  creation extract in front of a panel of professionals. The winning  company benefits from a residency period and programming in a number of  festivals.

Far removed from conventional show venues, in 2018 the TRAX Festival  took over the Ateliers MORSE for two hybrid evening performances mixing  different artistic fields. The aim was to create a space of freedom and  creation, between programming, improvisation and performance. The  choreographers Saïdo Lehlouh (Cie Black Sheep) and Nacim Battou (Cie  Ayaghma) were given free rein to propose two unique and original evening  performances in an atypical venue in the very heart of the creative  manufacturing district.