The Power (of) The Fragile
A poignant duet by mother and son about carrying each other and being carried
A more intimate and tender duet is hard to find. In The Power (of) The Fragile, the Flemish-Tunisian Mohamed Toukabri dances together with his mother Mimouna Latifa Khamessi. We see their relationship mirrored in two moving bodies. What forms can the 'most archetypal of relationships' take? And what are the dreams and desires that arise from this?
Julidans EXTENDED
duration 75 minutes
location Podium Mozaïek
NL première
Aftertalk 15 July with Mohamed Toukabri
The Power (of) The Fragile
The Power (of) The Fragile is a meeting of two bodies: one younger, powerful and vital, the other older and frail. But it is also a meeting of two worlds. Mother Latifa always dreamed of becoming a dancer, but Mohamed did have the opportunity to make dance his profession. In Toukabri's first solo from 2019, The Upside Down Man, we already saw Latifa on video from her living room in Tunis, going crazy to the Bee Gees' disco beats. When Toukabri acquired Belgian nationality last year, she was finally able to come to him with a visa. After being separated for a long time, son and mother now find each other again on stage.
The performance is a collection of images, associations and reflections on the forms the relationship between mother and son can take.
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Toukabri carries his mother in his arms, as she once carried him as a child. And in a way, she still carries him – as the mother who gave him life, whom he left to pursue his dreams, but with whom it always feels like coming home again.
In The Power (of) The Fragile, the mother is presented as a metaphor for security. In a soundscape that refers to nature, religious places, mythological figures and the universe, the bodies of mother and son are constantly transforming. The stage becomes a place where memories take on new meanings and a possible new future is formed. The Power (of) The Fragile is 'a pamphlet for the right to go wherever we want'.
Mohammed Toukabri
The performance is a collection of images, associations and reflections on the forms the relationship between mother and son can take. The physical starting point for the choreography is the notion of 'weight': carrying weight, balancing it, positioning it. Toukabri carries his mother in his arms, as she once carried him as a child. And in a way, she still carries him – as the mother who gave him life, whom he left to pursue his dreams, but with whom it always feels like coming home again. -|-In The Power (of) The Fragile, the mother is presented as a metaphor for security. In a soundscape that refers to nature, religious places, mythological figures and the universe, the bodies of mother and son are constantly transforming. The stage becomes a place where memories take on new meanings and a possible new future is formed. The Power (of) The Fragile is, in the young choreographer's own words, 'a pamphlet for the right to go wherever we want'.
Mohamed Toukabri
'We tend to separate the heart from the mind, the male from the female... But you know, between birth and death, that is where life is lived. In that short time in between.'
Credits
Concept and choreography Mohamed Toukabri
Exectution Mimouna (Latifa) Khamessi and Mohamed Toukabri
Dramaturgy Diane Fourdrignier
Technical direction and scenography Lies Van Loock
Sound design and artistic advice Annalena Fröhlich
Costume design Ellada Damianou
Research and development Eva Blaute
Intern Constant Vandercam-|-Thank you Estelle Baldé, Radouan Mriziga, Rim Toukabri, Bachir Toukrabi, Sofian Ouissi, Julia Reist, Maria-Carmela Mini, Synda Jebali, Yasmin Dammak, Elise Cnockaert and Liz Kinoshita
Production Caravan Production
Coproduction Needcompany, Vooruit, Beursschouwburg, Dansens Hus Oslo Residentieplekken Cultuurcentrum De Factorij, Needcompany, Vooruit, Charleroi Danse
With the support of De Vlaamse overheid and de Vlaamse Gemeenschapscommissie
