The Artist: Hommage to Nejib Ben Khalfallah

by Imed Jemaa

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"The body, this machine, this creature that I deify"

Nejib Ben Khalfallah


In November, the #DPDW Performance Room pays homage to contemporary Tunisian dance. 

And how can we not think of Nejib Ben Khalfallah?

Imed Jemaa, witness of Nejib Ben Khalfallah's first dance steps, is invited to stage Marwen Errouine. Both have worked with Nejib at different times in his artistic career.

For this specific creative moment, the choreographer Imed Jemaa and the performer Marwen Errouine take the time to focus on some video archives of Nejib Ben Khalfallah, revealing him in his daily dance practice.

The result of this dialogue between three artists gives birth to “The Artist,” an original work in hom-age to dance choreographer Nejib Ben Khalfallah, who will forever remain alive thanks to his work.

This performance will be followed by a discussion between Imed Jemaa and Marwen Errouine moderated by Sofiane Ouissi.


About Imed Jemaa

Imed Jemaa is a Tunisian dancer and choreographer. He is considered one of the pioneers of con-temporary Tunisian dance. A martial arts enthusiast, a classical and later contemporary dancer, he founded his company, the Théâtre de la Danse, in 1989. He was selected at the Rencontres de Bagnolet in 1992 with "Nuit blanche" and, in 1994, received the silver medal for best choreography for the Games of La Francophonie held in Paris. A dancer with the Tunisian National Ballet from 1990-1991, he is the interpreter of “Histoires d’elles” in a choreography by Odile Cougoule. He worked at the Tunisian National Ballet until 1996. In 1998, he launched the project of a Mediterra-nean choreography center in Tunis, with “Çabra,” a show dedicated to Algeria.


About Nejib Khalfallah

Nejib Khalfallah is considered among the pioneers of dance in Tunisia. He began in 1984 and joined the contemporary dance workshop created by dancer and choreographer Imed Jemaa. In 1992, he participated with Jemaa in the choreographic creation “Nuit Blanche”, which won first prize at the Bagnolet Festival. During the 1990s, he worked with and participated in several artistic creations created by big names in dance and theater in Tunisia, like Raja Ben Ammar and Taoufik Jebali. From 1993 to 2020, Nejib Ben Khalfallah produced and staged choreographic shows. On April 3, 2017, he was attacked by several people following controversy created by his show “Fausse Couche,” which in its Arabic name (Arabic: ألهاكم التّكاثر ou Alhakom Al-Takathor) was interpreted by some as sacrile-gious. Nejib Khalfallah died in 2020.

Practical information

Friday, November 27, 2020 at 18:00

Duration

1 hour

Price information

Free online on the L'Art Rue -الشارع فن Facebook page

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