French choreographer Mourad Merzouki brings Cartes Blanches to Bengaluru

Cartes Blanches, a dance production by French choreographer Mourad Merzouki, is scheduled in the city this weekend

French choreographer Mourad Merzouki is helming Cartes Blanches, a show that will see Indian artistes perform in a French contemporary dance production. Mourad was in India last December too, when he staged the dance production, Pixel, and more recently made waves for choreographing the French synchronised swimming team at the Olympics 2024.

Mourad is the artistic director of Compagnie Käfig, a dance company in France which he founded that encourages collaboration between genres and cultures. The productions at Compagnie Käfig are marked by infusing elements of martial arts, fine arts, video, live music and the circus into Mourad’s presentation of hip-hop dance. For Cartes Blanches, Compagnie Käfig worked with the French Institute in India and the Prakriti Foundation, to shortlist six dancers from India.

“Cartes Blanches was written in 2016 to mark Compagnie Käfig’s 20th anniversay and is a celebration and a tribute to all who have been a part of our history,” says Mourad, speaking over phone from France.

“I created Cartes Blanches especially for that anniversary; the production is not a dance drama neither does it follow a plot or tell a specific story. Instead, I have structured it as a platform for dancers who have worked with us in the past to narrate their experiences through movement.”

In his bid to pay homage to the company’s past as well as look forward to the future, this is the first time Indian dancers will be performing in a production of Cartes Blanches, says Mourad.

The auditions which took place in 2023 with the aid of the Prakriti Foundation in Bengaluru, Mumbai, and Delhi, were rigorous to say the least. Over the past few months, the dancers have been incessantly rehearsing with Mourad and his troupe in preparation for this show. Divieta Sahajwala from Delhi, Sam Padelkar, Deep Das and Sahan Kavarna from Mumbai, and Snigdha Prabakar and Chetan Kumar from Bengaluru, form the Indian component of Cartes Blanches.

“Cartes Blanches includes features of freestyle and contemporary dance as well as acrobatics; it is emblematic of my style and work with references to my roots. I believe this keeps our show from stagnating,” says Mourad, who is known for his prowess in hip hop.