Returning to the Romaeuropa Festival after the success of Fiq! at REF 2024, the Groupe Acrobatique de Tanger brings its overwhelming energy back to the stage. Founded in 2003 by Sanae El Kamouni to bring traditional Moroccan acrobatics into a contemporary artistic language, the company meets in KA-IN the universe of choreographer Raphaëlle Boitel, who imprints her unmistakable signature on the group: a highly precise formal writing, both physical and choreographic, capable of holding in tension momentum, fall, control, and vertigo. The result is a circus work in chiaroscuro, traversed by sand, light, and continuous movement, where lifts, jumps, balances, and collective figures become the material of a narrative about youth as a force of risk, a desire to cross boundaries, and the possibility of a fraternity yet to be invented. Heirs to the Moroccan acrobatic tradition rooted in Amazigh culture, the performers move like a compact, pulsating organism from which individual presences occasionally emerge in search of affirmation. More than a generic hymn to freedom, KA-IN is a rare and generous stage machine, in which virtuosity is organised into a rigorous yet fluid structure, animated by a vitality that constantly questions the relationship between belonging, identity, and the desire for the future.
The Groupe Acrobatique de Tanger was founded by Sanae El Kamouni, who in 2003 brought together a group of Moroccan acrobats within a contemporary artistic framework. Convinced that these artists could invent a new form of storytelling, she invited director Aurélien Bory to Tangier to create the first contemporary Moroccan acrobatic performance. They subsequently staged numerous productions, including TAOUB (Aurélien Bory, 2004), Chouf Ouchouf (Zimmermann & de Perrot, 2009), Azimut (Aurélien Bory, 2013), and Halka (a collective creation by the Groupe Acrobatique de Tanger, with Abdeliazide Senhadji as guest artist, 2016).
The Groupe Acrobatique de Tanger places popular culture at the centre of its project—a militant and democratic culture accessible to all. Its priorities are to question, preserve, and promote Moroccan acrobatics. Its approach is based on a constant search for connections between ancestral art and contemporary creation, between a territory and its people. Within this dual dynamic—tradition and contemporary creation, Morocco (on African soil) and France (in Europe)—the Groupe Acrobatique de Tanger engages with contemporary issues in line with the most innovative research in contemporary circus. It previously appeared at REF with Chouf Ouchouf (2011).
From her very first productions and through opera collaborations, Raphaëlle Boitel has developed an original choreographic language rooted in human relationships and everyday life. Her vocabulary blends dance, theatre, cinema, and circus arts, bringing together emotion, virtuosity, contortion, and the connections between performers. Every detail contributes to a metaphorical writing that extends to the fingertips, immersed in a powerful visual universe sustained by an intense focus on light design. Her aim is to create performances capable of generating reflection, wonder, and emotion. Born in 1984, Boitel began theatre at the age of six and entered the École Nationale des Arts du Cirque Fratellini at eight. From 1998 to 2010 she worked with James Thierrée in La Symphonie du Hanneton and La Veillée des Abysses. Alongside this, she acted in theatre, film, and television, and performed in international cabarets in New York, Miami, and London. In 2012 she collaborated with Aurélien Bory and founded her own company. In 2013 she created Consolations and choreographed Macbeth at Teatro alla Scala.
KA-IN
For 13 acrobats and dancers
Groupe Acrobatique de Tanger / Raphaëlle Boitel
Ages 7 and up (for all audiences)
Direction and choreography: Raphaëlle Boitel
13 acrobats and dancers – performers and disciplines:
Hamidou Aboubakar Sidiki – hip-hop dancer, B-Boy
Mohcine Allouch – hip-hop dancer, B-Boy
Hammad Benjkiri – base (porteur)
Zhor El Amine Demnati – hip-hop dancer, B-Girl
Achraf El Kati – acrobat
Bouchra El Kayouri – acrobat, tightrope walker, singer
Youssef El Machkouri – acrobat, base (porteur)
Mohammed Guechri – hip-hop dancer
Hamza Naceri – acrobat
Kawtar Niha – acrobat
Youssef Salihi – hip-hop and popping dancer
Hassan Taher – acrobat, tightrope walker
Mohammed Takel – acrobat, juggler
Artistic collaboration, lighting and set design: Tristan Baudoin
Assistant director: Sanae El Kamouni
Music creation: Arthur Bison
Choreographic coaches and training: Mohamed Rarhib and Julieta Salz
Technical collaboration (creation): Thomas Delot, Nicolas Lourdelle, Anthony Nicolas
Sound direction: Joël Abriac / Tom d’Hérin
Lighting direction: Laure Andurand / Marine David
Stage management: David Normand / Thomas Dupeyron
Technical direction: Laure Andurand
Production and logistics: Romane Blandin and Antoine Devaux
Production and distribution: Jean-François Pyka
Administration, production and development: Aizeline Wille
Direction of the Groupe Acrobatique de Tanger: Sanae El Kamouni
