Main Hall
distribution
Choreography: Hervé Koubi
Assistant Choreographer: Fayçal Hamlat
Dancers:
Badr Benr Guibi, Giacomo Buffoni, Mohammed Elhilali, Youssef El Kanfoudi, Islam Kunakkulov, Abdelghani Ferradji, Oualid Guennoun, Vladimir Grev, Bendehiba Maamar, Nadjib Meherhera, Houssni Mijem, Ismail Oubbajaddi, Ayoub Rouifi, El Houssaini Zahid
Music: Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart – Gabriel Fauré – Richard Wagner – traditional Algerian music
Original Music: Maxime Bodson
Musical Arrangements: Guillaume Gabriel
Lighting Design: Lionel Buzonie
Costumes: Guillaume Gabriel, assisted by Claudine G.-Delattre
Set Design: Esteban Cedres
description
show category: ballet
OPERA APERTA INTERNATIONAL FESTIVAL 2026
The Barbarian nights or the first dawns of the world
Les Nuits Barbares ou les premiers matins du monde
The Barbarian Nights (original title: Les Nuits Barbares ou les premiers matins du monde), a creation by the renowned choreographer Hervé Koubi, invites audiences into a powerful visual and emotional choreographic experience—a dance meditation on identity, freedom, and the shared roots of the Mediterranean world. Created by Compagnie Hervé Koubi and presented on major international stages, the performance offers a compelling vision of the beauty that unites beyond borders, religions, and origins.
Set to a musical score that brings together works by Mozart, Fauré, Wagner, and traditional Algerian sounds, the 14 dancers of the Hervé Koubi Company create a striking stage universe where contemporary dance, urban movement, acrobatics, and an almost ritualistic expressiveness converge. The result is an intense, poetic, and electrifying performance composed of memorable stage images, raw energy, and hypnotic choreographic beauty.
International critics have praised The Barbarian Nights as a powerful and captivating choreographic experience, remarkable for its emotional intensity, exceptional physicality, and stunning visual imagery. ExploreDance (New York) describes the production as “a work of raw beauty, violence, passion, mystery, and exceptional dance,” while The Arts Fuse (Boston) highlights the extraordinary fusion of movement styles and the electrifying impact the performance has on audiences.
The Barbarian Nights speaks to what brings us closer together—as spectators and as human beings: humanity, collective memory, and the freedom to rediscover ourselves in one another. In Hervé Koubi’s vision, the word “barbarian” also carries the meaning of “a free person,” an idea that resonates throughout the entire artistic construction of the performance.
Reserve your ticket and discover a remarkable performance in which dance tells a story about the beauty of our shared world.
About Compagnie Hervé Koubi
Compagnie Hervé Koubi is one of the leading presences on the international contemporary dance scene, renowned for its visually striking productions that blend contemporary dance with urban vocabulary, capoeira, and martial influences. Founded in 2000 by the Franco-Algerian choreographer Hervé Koubi, the company develops an artistic universe deeply connected to Mediterranean roots, intercultural dialogue, and the physical expressiveness of movement.
The performance runs without intermission and ends around 7:30 PM.
Recommended age: 12+