Theater

In his latest solo, Mohamed Toukabri, an extraordinary voice in contemporary dance, delves into the nexus between personal and collective histories. He uses motion as a search for not only his own past, but also the collectively shared history. At the same time, it is an act of resistance in a postcolonial world: who is allowed to move and why?

With his latest solo performance, Every-body-knows-what-tomorrow-brings-and-we-all-know-what-happened-yesterday, Mohamed Toukabri explores a new terrain, where everything is on the table and possible. Known for his unique ability to switch between worlds - from street to stage, from hip-hop to postmodernism, from personal to political - he now turns his sharp choreographic gaze to the essence of dance itself.

In his solo, Toukabri dissects the hierarchies in our bodies and asks: who is allowed to move in which way, and why? The piece creates a space where dance traditions enter into dialogue, with styles once considered ‘inferior’ joining the classical canon on stage. This is not a fusion, but friction as well as coexistence. A reinvention of the rulebook of dancing, live on stage.

The title Every-body-knows-what-tomorrow-brings-and-we-all-know-what-happened-yesterday is both a provocation and a reference: history is always with us, and the choices we make today determine tomorrow's dance. The piece invites the audience to think together about what we pass on, erase or preserve. And to become part of a movement in which identity, heritage and future come together.

Mohamed Toukabri's work is personal but also touches on universal themes. Growing up in Tunisia, he began as a breakdancer, known as the best headspinner in Tunis. He developed through classical and contemporary dance, dancing with choreographers such as Sidi Larbi Cherkaoui and Anne Teresa De Keersmaeker.

In his first solo, The Upside Down Man, Mohamed Toukabri undertook a symbolic journey in which the ‘upside down man’ was presented as a figure wriggling out of the established order - both literally and figuratively. In a later performance, also staged at Julidans The Power (of) The Fragile, he performed a duet with his mother: a moving exploration of the relationship between parent and child through movement.

Credits

Creation and performance: Mohamed Toukabri
Dramaturgy: Eva Blaute
Costume: Magali Grégoir
Text: Essia Jaibi
Scenography: Stef Stessel
Light Design: Stef Stessel
Lighting: Matthieu Vergez
Sound Design: DEBO Collective
Outside Eye: Radouan Mriziga
Co-production: Needcompany, VIERNULVIER, Charleroi Danse – Centre Choréographique de Wallonie-Bruxelles, STUK, Théâtre Les Tanneurs, Concertgebouw Brugge, Beursschouwburg, Perpodium
Executive Production: Caravan Production
Residencies: Corso, Le Gymnase CDCN, Les Bancs Publics – Festival Les Rencontres à l’échelle, Studio THOR, Needcompany, Théâtre Les Tanneurs
With the support of: The Flemish Authorities, the Flemish Community Commission, and the tax shelter of the Belgian Federal Government through Cronos Invest