La Terre en Transe - Taoufiq Izeddiou

On a quest to discover meaning, nine dancers move through a world in trance

La Terre En Transe, meaning “The World in Trance,” centers on Moroccan choreographer Taoufiq Izeddiou’s exploration of the creative dimension of trance and its spiritual roots. Performed by nine dancers and accompanied by three musicians, it is a piece about the universal character of the quest for meaning in a world that seems to have lost it. The bodies and minds of the dancers connect in vibration, taking part in a trance, and contending with a world that is crazy, hysterical, incoherent, and violent. Trance is an antidote and a way to change the world, and to bring an end to the violence.

Trance is the place where we dream the most, where we can do everything - a space of liberating freedom. This state of freedom can only be achieved within a frame that makes it possible to let go. Trance is a state that brings us back to the heart of ourselves, a state of truth. By changing ourselves, we change the world. We are ready for a new beginning, to recreate the world otherwise. Far from the exotic or ethnological image of the word "trance", choreographer Taoufiq Izeddiou experiments with the choice to bring exhaustion to the body to be free from oneself and from the world. 

This physical and mental experience is available in all latitudes, from the Gnawa rhythms of the South, traditional dances and music from Italy, to techno rhythms all over the world. Everywhere, it is the return to the universal pulsation, joining the sound of the earth that each body carries differently.

Taoufiq Izeddiou

Taoufiq Izeddiou is a choreographer, dancer, teacher, and the artistic director of the contemporary dance festival in Morocco, On Marche. He was honored with the ‘Chevalier des Arts et des Lettres’ by the French government in 2019. Born in Marrakech, Taoufiq Izeddiou studied architecture and practiced boxing and theater before turning to dance. In the 1990s, his meeting with Bernardo Montet was decisive, opening him up to the professional scene, notably at the Centre Chorégraphique National de Tours in France. 

Taoufiq Izeddiou presented his first choreography in the year 1999, founded his dance company Anania in 2003, and set up the first contemporary dance training in Morocco in 2003. In 2005, he created the On Marche Festival, the first international contemporary dance festival in Morocco that is still alive today.

Going back and forth from Morocco and the rest of the world, he has created works that explore the tensions between tradition and modernity, including Cœur sans corps, Clandestins CSC, Desert Desire, Aataba, Aaléef, Rev’illusion, En Alerte, Botero en Orient, and Border-Line. Between 2021 and 2024, he created a trilogy on trance, the three parts of which, Hmadcha, Hors du monde, and La Terre en transe, are currently on tour. His next creation, Border Dance, will be released in 2026.

The creations of Taoufiq Izeddiou have been welcomed at the most prestigious events such as Danse Afrique Danse, Montpellier Danse, Charleroi Danse, the Rencontres Chorégraphiques Internationales de Seine-Saint-Denis, the CND in Paris, Tanzquartier in Vienna, TransAmerica in Montréal, HAU in Berlin, and the Kunstenfestivaldesarts in Brussels…etc.

Choreographer: Taoufiq Izeddiou

Sound Designers: Mohamed Lamqayssi, Taoufiq Izeddiou

Lighting Designer: Ivan Mathis

Mask Designers: Fatimzahra Nadafi, Taoufiq Izeddiou

Dancers: Suzie Babin, Juliette Bouissou, Chourouk El Mahati, Moad Haddadi, Taoufiq Izeddiou, Mohamed Lamqayssi, Oumaima Manai, Hassan Oumzili, Angela Vanoni
Musicians: Taoufik Abanai, Boubker Oumouli, Aziz Lekhraif

Light Technician: Ivan Mathis

Sound Technician: Ilia Osokin

Administration: Barbara Perraud

Producer: Cie Anania Danses ///

Coproducers: Montpellier Danse 2024 | VIADANSE - CCN de Bourgogne Franche-Comté, Belfort | Théâtre du Bois de l’Aune, Aix-en-Provence | Châteauvallon-Liberté, Scène Nationale | Concertgebouw Bruges | Pôle Arts de la Scène de la Friche Belle de Mai, Marseille