“Sacré Printemps is modelled on Tunisia today, the Tunisia that is seeking its constitution but also the one that has managed to reassemble and reunite, despite the different tonalities and nuances.”

Interview with Aïcha M'Barek and Hafiz Dhaou – Words recorded by Gallia Valette-Pilenko, October 2014

How did this piece come about? 

Hafiz Dhaou: We were actually already working on it when we created 'Toi et Moi', our duet, in 2013.

Aïcha M'Barek: The duet was like a eureka moment, or rather the motivation to go elsewhere and translate what we had both been testing on mass, because we both really enjoy working on bodily mass and the mass (or number) of dancers. We seek out their individuality while searching for a common language.

H.D: 'Kharbga' (2011) marked a turning point in our work. It showed us the need to revisit the entire vocabulary that we had previously constructed. We focused on something that belongs to us; the taste for a certain path. It's not so much the form of an action that is important, but the path taken to arrive at it.

A.M'B: There is a notion that we have to offer something; a challenge that would require commitment. And besides, we have known the whole team for 14 years, even though not everyone has danced all the pieces. We go straight to what is essential; lying isn't possible, nor is ‘doing’. It's ‘being’ that interests us.

H.D: We share things in a very concrete way: joy, breathing, tiredness, etc. All that allows us to converge on the same objective, to be as one.

The title you've chosen, 'Sacré Printemps!', has two meanings. There's obviously the reference to the Sacre du Printemps (The Rite of Spring), and the other – just as obvious – to the Arab Spring. Why? 

A.M'B: For us, the Sacre du Printemps (Rite of Spring) was a turning point in the history of dance, not so much in the work itself but in the shock wave it created, which caused a kind of resonance. We don't identify with music itself – more with the way it is written. Each time the body is involved, like with Stravinsky's score which deconstructs its musical phrases.

H.D: "Sacré" (“Blessed” or “Sacred”) also evokes mythology, religion and the untouchable; something permanent that outlasts generations. Spring is also a synonym for hope, even though there is also that exclamation mark which tempers and questions it. We are in the middle of two contradictory movements: hope for a better day and dogma. Faith in the future, as well as fear. How do you reconcile the sacred and the contemporary? Tunisia is a sort of "open-air laboratory", the "startup of democracy". What happens there is scrutinised by the entire Arab world. Civil society in Tunisia obliged politics to determine its position.

A.M'B: This urgency is part of the body, because it conditions it, plunges it into a permanent state of urgency. This leads to acts of rebellion. We put everything into place in order to place the body into a state of urgency and, when it reaches this, we can no longer let our guard down. But we're witnesses, not representatives. This is where the importance of set design comes into play.

Yes, let's talk about this set design, which is made up of 32 life-size characters drawn by Dominique Simon.

A.M'B: It actually came from an encounter on the streets of Tunis with the painted cartoons of Bilal Berrini – or Zoo Project – a young French-Algerian graffiti artist; they really spoke to us. His figures, fallen martyrs from the Tunisian Revolution, move around the city of Tunis like silent witnesses. At the time, in 2011, we had met him and talked about doing something together. When we wanted to get back in touch with him, he had disappeared. We later found out that he was found murdered in Detroit.

H.D: Out of respect for him, we didn't want to just help ourselves to his work, even though it had partly motivated our new research.  We asked the illustrator Dominique Simon, to pay homage to his work by creating characters of whom some were anonymous and others recognisable, which would become an integral part of the piece.  Characters or people important to us, but also some of the martyrs painted by Bilal, and other anonymous figures. He translated our intentions through those whom we had wanted to see feature alongside us, with a different reading and characteristics. We are open to his point of view.

A.M'B: Yes, we explored the postures of the body, because these silent witnesses condition the space and the movements of the dancers, imposing a time for reflection and openness. Their presence develops the imagination and opens new spaces.

H.D: The audience is no longer just a spectator and a consumer, but also a witness to what is happening. A dialogue is opened up between them, the figures and the performers.

Aïcha M'Barek and Hafiz Dhaou were born in Tunis, and now live and work in Lyon. They formed the CHATHA Company in 2005 and have been creating their shows together since then.

After joining the Conservatory of Music and Dance of Tunis, they joined the Sybel Ballet Theatre in 1995, and also participated in various projects of Fadhel Jaziri. At the same time, they studied cinema at the Institut Maghrébin de Cinéma (IMC) in Tunis.

In 2000 they joined the CNDC in Angers, and received for this a special scholarship from the French Institute in Tunis.

Aicha then obtained a Master IUP Métiers des Arts et de la Culture at the University of Lyon 2, and became a dancer for the choreographer Sophie Tabakov / Cie Anouskan.

On his side, Hafiz danced for Abou Lagraa from 2003, and followed the E.X.E.R.C.E training directed by Mathilde Monnier at the CCN of Montpellier.

He also participated in several Héla Fattoumi and Eric Lamoureux pieces and became an Associate Interpreter at the CCN of Caen on various projects.

The two choreographers created their first duet Khallini Aïch in 2004, then Khaddem Hazem in 2006, VU in 2008, at the Lyon Dance Biennale, then Kawa, solo for two in 2010. In 2011, at the invitation of the Ballets de Lorraine-CCN Nancy they created Un des Sens, a choreography for 28 dancers.

KHARBGA - jeux de pouvoir and Do You Believe me? were created in 2011, then the duo Toi et Moi in 2013. They created Sacré printemps ! in 2014 and Narcose in 2017, finally Ces Gens-là ! in 2018 and L'Amour sorcier in collaboration with the Jazz musician Jean-Marie Machado in 2019.

2010 is an important year for the two choreographers, as the company opened up to the international scene : in Africa, Asia, the Middle East, North America... It was also an opportunity for the two artists to establish a remote correspondence, which became the matrix of Kawa, a solo written with two hands. This piece marked in a more global way a turning point in the life and evolution of the company.

In 2011 and 2012, they were appointed artistic directors of the Festival Les Rencontres Chorégraphiques de Carthage Tunis Capitale de La Danse. They were also given several carte blanche at the MUCEM - Museum of European and Mediterranean Civilizations in Marseille, at the Kampnaguel in Hamburg, in Limoges at the Festival des Francophonies in Limousin. They collaborated on the Dewan Symposium in Jordan, and both joined the Orientation Committee of the Institut Français Paris for the Triennial Dance Africa Dance until 2020.

Aicha & Hafiz are also involved in university training courses for which they are choreographer-teachers, in Tunis, Lyon and Grenoble.

Finally, the company has been in residency at Theatre Work Theater Singapore in 2009, Toboggan, Décines in 2010, Théâtre Louis Aragon, Tremblay-en- France in 2012 and 2013, MOUSSEM, Centre Nomade des Arts Anvers & Bruxelles in 2014, at the Maison de la Danse de Lyon in 2014 and 2015, at the 2 Scènes, Scène Nationale de Besançon in 2016 and 2017, at Bonlieu, Scène Nationale d'Annecy - long-term residency from 2016 to 2018, then Artists Associated with the CCN, Belfort Franche Comté Viadanse from 2016 to 2018.

They are currently Artists in Residency at the Arsenal - Cité musicale-Metz in 2019 and 2020, in residency also at the Esplanade de Divonne and in the Department of Ain from 2020 to 2023, in residency at the University Lyon 3, and Associated Artists with the Espace des Arts scène nationale de Chalon-sur-Saône from 2020 to 2025.

Cie Chatha - April 2020

La force de leurs spectacles tient à leur capacité de montrer des corps traversés intimement par la politique : la répression, l’effervescence révolutionnaire... Soubresauts, convulsions : sous leur direction, les danseurs explosent en scène. Attentats chorégraphiques. 

Born in 1977, Fabien Plasson is a video director specialized in the field of performing arts (dance , music, etc).

During his studies at the Ecole Nationale des Beaux-Arts de Lyon (joined in 1995) Fabien discovered video art. He was trained by various video artists (Joel Bartoloméo Pascal Nottoli , Eric Duyckaerts , etc).
He first experimented with the creation of installations and cinematic objects.

From 2001 to 2011, he was in charge of Ginger & Fred video Bar’s programming at La Maison de la Danse in Lyon. He discovered the choreographic field and the importance of this medium in the dissemination, mediation and pedagogical approach to dance alongside Charles Picq, who was a brilliant video director and the director of the video department at that time.

Today, Fabien Plasson is the video director at La Maison de la Danse and in charge of the video section of Numeridanse.tv, an online international  video library, and continues his creative activities, making videos of concerts, performances and also creating video sets for live performances.

Sources: Maison de la Danse ; Fabien Plasson website

More information: fabione.fr

Artistic Direction: Aïcha M'Barek, Hafiz Dhaou

Creation: 2005

Aïcha M’Barek and Hafiz Dhaou were both born in Tunis and have been creating together since 1995. Alongside their performing careers, they developed a common approach to choreographic composition. In 2004 this led to their creating the duet “Khallini Aïch” (Let Me Live) for Repérages de Danse, Lille. In 2005, they founded the Chatha company with which they created the quartet “Khaddem Hazem” in 2006 and “Vu” in 2008. In 2009, he created the play "Mon corps est un pays" (My body is a country) as part of a Franco-Tunisian university project involving for one year round-trip students from Grenoble and Tunis.
In 2010, they traveled a lot and created remote "Kawa solo à deux", interpreted by Hafiz. They participate in the 2010 Paris Biennale de la Danse and create "Mon c (h) oeur qui bat" with 150 inhabitants of Décines-Meyzieu as part of their residency at the Toboggan, Décines. In the same year, they made the first appearance at the Bonlieu Scène Nationale in Annecy.
In 2011, they create "KHARBGA - power games", a play for six dancers that represents a turn in tandem work.
In 2012 and 2013, Aïcha and Hafiz are in residence at the Théâtre Louis Aragon in Tremblay-en-France where they create the multidisciplinary project "TRANSIT" and sign in 2013 the creation of a duo "Toi et Moi".
For the season 2014-2015 Aïcha M'Barek and Hafiz Dhaou are artists associated with the House of Dance of Lyon, they create "Sacré Printemps!", Play for 7 dancers, outside the walls at the Toboggan, Décines. Also in 2015, following the commission of the French Institute of Tunisia, they develop a training and creation project and stage their first play "The Life is a Dream" by Caldéron by inviting David Bobée to co-sign the play.
In 2016/2017, they will be present in Avignon with "Narcose" Bonlieu Scène National d'Annecy 's creation. The Besançon Museum of Fine Arts and the National Scene of Besançon, both scenes, invite the two choreographers and their team to design and stage a participatory project around the city, its population and their relationship with the works of the museum Of the fine arts of Besançon. They are also invited by the Kampnaguel to create "These people there!" in Hamburg, a project to imagine around the great port of Hamburg.

Source: VIADANSE - Centre Chorégraphique National de Franche-Comté à Belfort

More information

www.chatha.org (in construction)