Freely based on the figure of Sidi Ahmed Ou Moussa

Moroccan acrobats are called “the children of Sidi Ahmed Ou Moussa”. He was an eminent 16th century Sufi thinker, whose grave has become a pilgrimage shrine.  He is regarded as the Patron Saint of Moroccan acrobatics. Initially, these acrobatics performances are not considered as being a part of the performing arts; they are closely related to Soufism, they emerged from ancient Berber ritual practices and they consist of circular and pyramidal stunts, in which I perceive both celestial and maternal representations.

In Sufism, an ontological quest, the concept of the path is essential. Azimut (Azimuth in English) derives from the Arabic As-samt (Sumūt in the plural), meaning “the paths”. Azimut is the term used in astronomy to describe the angle between the observer and the celestial bodies. With this meaning, the sky is summoned.
In the legend of Sidi Ahmed Ou Moussa, when the wise man reached the heavens, he looked back at Earth and men, and settled upon going back. Among others, his path led me to embrace the return motif as the core of the writing.

I liked the idea of the return to mother-earth, a return where birth and death are intermingled; by its very nature, a return used as the compass of life.

I like pondering these verses by T.S. Eliot: “We shall not cease from exploration And the end of all our exploring Will be to arrive where we started... “

Source: Aurélien Bory, September 2013, Source: Cie 111

After studies in physics, Aurélien Bory worked in the field of architectural acoustics before dedicating himself to theatre arts.
He has been the director of compagnie 111, located in Toulouse, since  2000 and he works with many collaborators. He develops physical theatre –  using space and the body – and creates multi-faceted works crossing  boundaries between various disciplines – circus, dance, music and visual  arts. From La trilogie sur l’espace (Space trilogy), and more specifically Plan B, famed for the collaboration with the New-Yorker Phil Soltanoff, to Je me souviens Le Ciel est loin la terre aussi (I remember Heaven is far away the Earth as well, 2019) created with Mladen Materic, not to mention Espæce (2016) shown at the 70th Avignon Festival or even aSH  (2018) created at the Montpellier Dance festival for the dancer  Shantala Shivaligappa, Compagnie 111 now has a repertoire of seventeen  shows, presented at large festivals and on the most prestigious  international stages. Aurélien Bory did the stage direction and  scenography for La disparition du paysage (The disappearance of the landscape),  a new text by Jean-Philippe Toussaint personified by Denis Podalydès  from autumn 2021 in Paris. In 2022, Aurélien Bory directed and  scenographied Dafne, opera-madrigal inspired by a work from  Heinrich Schütz, collaborating with the vocal group Les Cris de Paris –  Geoffroy Jourdain. The show is created at the Athénée Théâtre  Louis-Jouvet in Paris.
The remarkable care that Aurélien Bory takes over the scenography can also be seen in the sets he designs, which are often connected to a space, like in Spectacula produced in 2015 for the Théâtre  Graslin in Nantes, TROBO in 2019 for the Cité des Sciences et de  l’Industrie in Paris, and Garonne in 2020 for the Théâtre Garonne in  Toulouse.
Aurélien Bory also stages operas. Orpheus and Eurydice in 2018 and Parsifal in 2020 are some of his productions.

Source: Company 111 's website

More information : cie111.com

Artistic direction : Sanae El Kamouni

Creation: 2003

The  Groupe  Acrobatique  de  Tanger  was  set  up  by  Sanae  El  Kamouni  in 2003  in  order  to  assemble  a  troupe  of  traditional  Moroccan acrobats with a view to creating a  contemporary  circus  show.  The  group  now tours worldwide. In Morocco there is an age-old acrobatics discipline  where  artists  always  reproduce  the same figures, with no creative latitude. El  Kamouni  shook  up  this  tradition  and  injected fresh impetus. Having met Aurélien Bory (Compagnie 111), they    travelled    Morocco   in   search   of   acrobats,   and   met  the  Hammich  family  of  acrobats  in  Tangiers.  This  encounter  yielded  "Taoub" (2004), which toured for six years in more than 20 countries. The group cultivates a unique art, stemming from the Amazigh tradition of Sidi Ahmed Ou Moussa which dates from the 16th century. This   discipline,   which   involves   forming   human pyramids, has military roots; it was used  for  the  scaling  of  defensive  walls;  it  also  includes  circular  figures  such  as  the  “Arab  wheel”.  This  ancestral  expertise  is  now  being  renewed  as  it  cross-fertilises  with Western choreography. The acrobats continued  along  their  path,  and  in  2010  invited  Martin  Zimmermann  and  Dimitri  de  Perrot  (stage  directors  and  circus  artists)  to   create   "Chouf   Ouchouf",   a   journey   through  a  labyrinthine  covered  bazaar,  courtesy of an ingenious set design. These top-flight artists settled in Toulouse in 2010. Aurélien Bory renewed their colla-boration  in  2013,  creating  "Azimut".  In  2016, Abdeliazide  Senhadji  (Compagnie  XY)  is  teaming  with  the  group  to  create  their  latest work.

Source: 17e Biennale danse (2016) - press file