Mourad Merzouki has been challenging the possibilities of dance for more than 20 years. After launching his hip hop in flight with Vertikal – presented at the Oriente Occidente Dance Festival in 2019 – he returns to Rovereto with Zéphyr, a creation for ten dancers that transforms Ulysses' struggle with the winds and forces of nature into a collective experience.
The music is by Armand Amar, who uses voices, ethnic instruments and electro-acoustic sounds to create a sound journey through the waves that echoes Merzouki's language, supporting it with energy, emotion and lightness. Ten highly talented performers sculpt the wind, giving shape through movement to a struggle waged by Merzouki who, like a tightrope walker over the sea, desires to tame the air.
The choreographer brings a natural element onto the stage and shapes a body for it, treating us to an adventure in the deep waters but dedicating the piece "to all those who risk their lives at sea, in search of freedom, struggling with the winds and the tides".
The dancers give a breath-taking performance, somewhere between contemporary and hip-hop. Both sophisticated and accessible, Mourad Merzouki is at the top of his game.
