With Ihsane, choreographer Sidi Larbi Cherkaoui completes the diptych he began in 2022 with Vlaemsch (chez moi). That performance was dedicated to his mother.
With Ihsane, Cherkaoui now explores his relationship with his father, who died when he was a teenager. After a futile search for him in a crowded cemetery in Tangier, he continued his quest in this creation for the Ballet du Grand Théâtre de Genève. As always, Cherkaoui brings a unique artistic team, as rich and vibrant as the region of his ancestors. Tunisian musician and viola d’amore virtuoso Jasser Haj Youssef composes the music and performs it alongside Moroccan singer Mohammed el Arabi Serghini and Lebanese star vocalist Fadia Tomb El-Hage. The Arabic word ihsane refers to kindness and a connection with the universe. It is also the name of the first known fatal victim of homophobic violence in Belgium. Cherkaoui commemorates him and reflects, together with his dancers and musicians, on the endless cycle of destruction and rebirth—on what remains when our sense of home fades.