creating together
ismaël mouaraki
French-Moroccan-Canadian choreographer and self-taught dancer Ismaël Mouaraki discovered urban dances at the age of 12. He was introduced to contemporary dance with the choreographer Xavier Lot during his residence at the Centre culturel André Malraux. It was the beginning of a three-year collaboration, and the start of a career for Ismaël. In 2003, Ismaël founds Destins Croisés – crossed fates in French – of which he is the artistic director and choreographer. Ismaël seeks innovation and singularity in his work. His choreographic repertoire brings together contemporary and urban dances, and a wide variety of practices ranging from circus to freestyle. In his 2003 creation, Near Future, he worked with a clown. The piece won the year’s Best Creation Award from the Office Franco-Québécois pour la jeunesse. In Loops (2008), Ismaël and his dancers worked and created in situ in the Montreal metro. In Slam en/Corps (2009), Ismaël created a dialogue between movements and words. In his solo piece, RefleXction (2010), he integrated his own body within a larger visual project. In Link(s) (2016), in his latest creations, oZe (2019) for young audiences and Phenomena (2019) for the general public, he explores and engages with the notions of identity and alterity to question the role of the individual within the group.
destins croisés
The whole philosophy of the company resides in its name, “Destins Croisés” - crossed fates in French. It finds its essence both in the meaning of the term and in its choreographer's personal story. Founded in 2003 by French-Moroccan-Canadian dancer and choreographer Ismaël Mouaraki, DC is a Montreal-based dance company that brings together urban and contemporary dances with different mediums of creative languages, such as slam, circus, video or theatre in intense, physical and abstract choreographic pieces where everyone, every art form, every approach has a place. DC’s choreographic work explores the interconnectedness of genres and influences in the pursuit of transcending all social, cultural and artistic boundaries, and to create with what separates. DC is a meeting place for artists, collaborators and dancers to come together, each bringing their own expertise, talent and identity, to create unique and outstanding creations. Recurrent themes and motifs are contemplated in Ismaël Mouaraki's pieces, such as the role of the individual within the group, the notions of encounter and otherness, of identity and alterity.
shows
