Bilal Elhad in residency at Espaço Alkantara

After Inés Sybille Vooduness’s residency at Moussem Nomadic Arts Centre in Brussels, as part of our annual exchange programme, it is now Bilal Elhad’s turn to join us in Lisbon, at Espaço Alkantara. Both Moussem and Alkantara operate from diverse cities with strong diasporic communities and pay close attention to the relationship between art and society. Through this exchange, we aim to support the development of new narratives by artists who reflect these dynamics in our cities. Past residencies have included Youness Khoukhou and Marco Mendonça (2023) and Alix Konadu and Diego Bragà (2024).


A Journey Through Chaabi Dance and Music (working title) is a contemporary solo dance performance that engages deeply with Moroccan Chaabi, the first music and dance form Bilal El Had ever encountered. It investigates the movement vocabulary, rhythms, and gestures of Chaabi while connecting them to personal memory, queer histories, and broader questions of masculinity and social norms. By blending traditional forms with contemporary dance techniques, the work traces how male dancers have historically navigated societal constraints, creating a dialogue between past and present that reveals the layered meanings embedded in these movements.

The performance integrates music, video, text, scenography, lighting, and costume to create an immersive, multidimensional experience. Music and rhythm guide movement, video brings historical and mythical figures into conversation with live dance, and projected texts convey both archival and contemporary reflections on queerness and identity. Scenography, lighting, and costume situate the audience within Moroccan cultural spaces, fostering intimacy and connection. Overall, the work celebrates resilience, continuity, and the transformative potential of dance as a space for cultural memory, personal expression, and social reflection.

Credits

Concept, choreography, performance Bilal El Had Music producer Cheb Runner (Reda Senhaji) Musician Sami Galbi Dramaturg Daniel Blanga Gubbay Sound design/technician Milan Van Doren Light design Ivan Cascon Scenography Mara Ingea Videography Nadav Direktor Costume design Cyril Bourez Text Hakim Barbossa Outside eye Maud Blandel Production Moussem Nomadic Arts Centre Co-production Kaaitheater, Les Halles de Schaerbeek, Kunstenwerkplaats, Workspacebrussels, deSingel, Les Brigittines, Charleroi Danse, Arsenic Special thanks to Concertgebouw Brugge, c o r s o, Dérive casablancaise