Tyrol Easter Festival | La Nuée (2024, ÖEA)

Nacera Belaza is one of the most outstanding representatives of contemporary dance, with a reputation for minimalist, hypnotic choreographies. Born in Algeria and now living in France, she translates a diversity of influences and dance traditions into captivating scores that never fail to move the audience. I really wanted to meet native Americans, as I’d always felt close to these people in a certain way; in all created things they see a sacred dimension. This mental and bodily state touched me and, strangely enough, it reminded me of something to be found in Algerians. Following brutal colonisation and the Dark Decade, they no longer look to the future; they’re inward-looking, with deep sorrow and hurt. On that basis, La Nuée is a search for a common meaning, a core, a unifying sound. It brings together two elements of Belaza’s work: the circle and the rhythm – the one organises space, the other opens up time. The audience is invited to admit the impossible: to enjoy dance as a sensual experience, to perceive clarity in darkness, silence in noise.