TBA:17

CORBEAUX 

by Bouchra Ouizguen

“I wanted to take over the streets and fill them with a horde of crows. Like an immediate act, a sound sculpture, raw and urgent, resounding infinitely.”

For Corbeaux (‘crows’ or ‘ravens’ in French), Bouchra Ouizguen brings a cast of 9 female Moroccan performers and 30 Portland performers to create this site specific, immersive performance ritual. At the crossroads of multiple influences, Corbeaux is inspired by the ritual trance dances of the Marrakech region, and by the community figure of the uncensored ‘fool’ in Persian literature of the 8th to the 11th centuries. Ouizguen always comes back to the subject of the social significance of femininity and this piece is a variation on themes that fascinate her: roots, instinct, and connection to the mother, to the Earth and to love. The work is utterly unique, and resides in a space of ritual and contemplation.  

Bouchra Ouizguen is a Moroccan dancer and choreographer born in 1980 in Ouarzazate. She currently lives and works in Marrakech where she has been committed to developing the local dance scene since 1998. As a self-taught woman and an oriental dancer since she was 16, she created her first experimental pieces such as Ana Ounta or Mort et moi which were inspired by her interests in cinema, literature, and music. She co-founded the Anania association in 2002 and worked namely with  Mathilde Monnier, Bernardo Montet, Boris Charmatz, Alain Buffard before she founded her own company, O. Her concerns about society, visual arts and popular arts in her country nourish her work. Multiple forms emerge from her work on sound, performance and video.

With the support of the French Institute in Paris. Thanks to the support of the Cultural Services of the French Embassy in the United States. Supported by FUSED: French-US Exchange in Dance, a program of the New England Foundation for the Arts' National Dance Project, the Cultural Services of the French Embassy in the United States, and FACE Foundation, with lead funding from the Doris Duke Charitable Foundation, the Florence Gould Foundation, and the French Ministry of Culture and Communication.