Introdans

LARBI

Every spring, Introdans highlights a special choreographer. In 2026, that will be none other than Sidi Larbi Cherkaoui. LARBI is an exploration of Cherkaoui’s distinctive signature and a powerful ode to resilience. The evening features the acclaimed ballets Fall and In Memoriam, alongside the brand-new inclusive duet Residence. Together, these three choreographies form a compelling whole and reveal Cherkaoui’s unique voice: poetic, musical, intense, and deeply human.

The new work Residence, created by the choreographer for and with Scottish dancers and choreographers Marc Brew and Nelson Parrish Earl, has its world premiere during the LARBI tour. Cherkaoui previously collaborated with Marc Brew, whose life changed radically after a tragic car accident. Together they created the impressive solo an Accident / a Life, in which Brew expressed his resilience in his own distinctive way. In Residence, the relationship with another person takes centre stage: how do you share space, how do you build a safe place together, a home? A moving encounter in which reciprocity, trust, and adaptation are key.

This intimate duet is framed by the monumental ballets Fall and In Memoriam. The first is a work of feather-light duets and large-scale group pieces, a celebration of pure dance set to the meditative music of Arvo Pärt. In Memoriam is a contemporary masterpiece about loss and remembrance, a tribute to the choreographer’s ancestors.

Sidi Larbi Cherkaoui
Flemish-Moroccan choreographer Sidi Larbi Cherkaoui excels like no other in capturing charged themes such as otherness, collectivity, the search for identity, faith, and desire in powerful narratives, expressed through a poetic and often hypnotic dance style. He brings together a wide range of dance forms in his work. Cherkaoui’s creations are internationally acclaimed; he works with renowned dance companies and theatres around the world, and celebrities such as Beyoncé and Madonna also like to collaborating with this leading choreographer.

This performance has an interval.