Oüm pays tribute to Oum Kalthoum, an ultra-modern diva who improvised for hours, dressed as a man if she wanted to, and to Omar Khayyam, an 11th-century Persian poet who celebrated intoxication, trance and love. The voice and power of the diva, the research of the poet-mathematician on the notion of weight, balance and time, are for dance so many founding and precious bases of inspiration. Oüm is also and above all bodies that vibrate together according to the injunctions of live music, abolishing stylistic boundaries, opening the way to improvisation and intoxication while exploring the singularity of each performer. A musical and poetic creation, Oüm brings to life this timeless trance where song, poetry, dance and music unite to celebrate the present time.
“From the 1920s to the 1960s, between Beirut and Cairo, great divas took turns on the radio waves as standards of female Arabic song. Oum Kalthoum, in particular, is part of the soundscape of my childhood. A music that was always present, low intensity, that I heard everywhere, day and night,
on every street corner, in every car – and especially my father’s. This is the strongest musical memory I have of those years in Morocco. I didn’t understand what she was saying, but by dint of hearing her voice, it had become familiar to me. Her songs, characteristic of the tarab style, in which she excels, embody a poetic and musical emotion, appealing to a wide spectrum of feelings, from the most internalized to the most violent. Later, I became interested in the meaning of her songs and through her, I discovered The Quatrains of Omar Khayyam. A true ode to the present, this poem draws its strength from the relationship to pleasure, delight, exaltation and trance. It is in these feelings and states that my work finds its origin, not only in dance but also in music and voice. I am particularly touched by the connections that are established between these vibrations and the performers. Imagined as a poetic rendezvous, this creation leaves the field open to communion between the different performers, all united in the same energy that this quest for the present conveys. »
Fouad Boussouf