Compagnie Käfig – Centre Chorégraphique National de Créteil et du Val-de-Marne
with Boxe Boxe
Artistic direction and choreography
Mourad Merzouki
Since its creation by Mourad Merzouki 18 years ago in 1996, Compagnie Käfig has performed an astonishing 21 creations at over 2,200 performances in 600 cities and 61 countries for more than 1 million people. Five different shows are currently touring worldwide.
A major figure on the hip hop scene since the early 1990s, choreographer Mourad Merzouki works at the junction of many different disciplines: to his exploration of all hip hop styles, he adds circus, martial arts, fine arts and live music. Without losing sight of hip hop movement’s roots, or its social and geographical origins, this multidisciplinary approach opens up new horizons and reveals complete new outlooks.
His training is rooted in the circus school in St Priest, in Lyon’s eastern suburbs, which he attended from the age of seven while also training in karate and boxing. Hip hop came along when he was fifteen: he began dancing in the street, then moved on to choreography with Kader Attou, who would remain his associate from 1990 to 1994. During that time he was also learning from contemporary choreographers like Jean-François Duroure and Josef Nadj. Mourad’s first fully independent work, KÄFIG, was performed at the Rencontres Urbaines de la Villette in Paris. Käfig means cage in Arabic and German and became the name of the company.
In 2009, Mourad Merzouki was appointed director of the Centre Chorégraphique National de Créteil et du Val-de-Marne, where he developed a project called Dance: a window on the world. He continued to create and show his works, to provide training and raise awareness about hip hop dance, and to organise unique encounters to promote access to the choreographic arts and to support independent dance groups.
Alongside his creations, Mourad Merzouki is invited to collaborate with other artists in France and abroad, contributing to the international reputation of the company.
Mourad Merzouki Director
Marie Chénard Producer and Tour Booker
Cécile Beretta UK Tour Manager
Camille Gillet Communication and Press Relation Officer
Amélie Verjat and/or Cécile Robin Light Control
Christophe Germanique Sound Control
François Michaudel Stage Management
Dancers
Rémi Autechaud, Guillaume Chan Ton, Aurélien Desobry, Magali Duclos (until 5 April), Frédéric Lataste, Mourad Merzouki (from 8 April), David Rodrigues, Steven Valade and Teddy Verardo
The Debussy String Quartet: Christophe Collette, Marc Vieillefon, Vincent Deprecq, Fabrice Bihan
Milton Keynes, Newcastle and Edinburgh
The Varèse String Quartet- Francois Galichet, Jean-Louis Constant, Sylvain Séailles, Thomas Ravez
Plymouth, Salford, Leicester, Southampton and Brighton
Centre Chorégraphique National de Créteil et du Val-de-Marne / Compagnie Käfig
c/o Maison des Arts de Créteil, Place Salvador Allende, F-94 000 Créteil, France
Tel : 00 331 56 71 13 20 / Fax : 00 331 56 71 13 22
contact@ccncreteil.com / www.ccncreteil.com / facebook.com/CieKafig
The Centre Chorégraphique National de Créteil et du Val-de-Marne / Compagnie Käfig is funded by the Ile-de-France Regional Cultural Affairs Office – Ministry of Culture and Communication, the Val-de-Marne Department and the City of Créteil. It also receives the assistance of Institut français, European and Foreign Affairs Ministry, for its international tours.
