Bouzid Ait Atmane

Bending down to the floor, standing up: it is by moving back and forth between the basic postures of platform game characters that Bouzid Ait Amane finds his path as a dancer. Although naturally inclined toward breakdancing and floor work, it is upright, flying the flag of locking-a dance style deeply rooted in funk and spontaneity-that he expresses himself and finds fulfillment as a performer, interpreter, and, eventually, choreographer.

At the heart of the circle, the central space of the battle, “Zid” has developed a penchant for direct language throughout his career as a dancer. From this vocabulary emerged Dans l’arène in 2015, a piece co-choreographed with Yanka Pédron. This piece for two dancers explores the inspiration drawn from confrontation, navigating between training sessions and moments of competition, bridging the divide between battle and stage choreography. In R1R2 START (2017), his first solo-choreographed piece, the choreographer plays with digital codes and real-world actions in a tutorial-style tribute to video game culture, a transitional point analogous to his work interpreting “Tetris” with the group Géométrie Variable until 2021.

Whether through its connection to the world of video games or its intimate relationship with competition, the choreographer explores how play-within and beyond its rules enables a variety of interactions, possibilities for movement, freedom, constraint, and emancipation. With Manège (2020), he revives childhood memories and shared sensations by inviting six performers to circle on the rotating platform of a carousel, weaving between kinetic movements and visual punchlines.

Today, Bouzid Ait Atmane invents and develops numerous battle concepts that serve as experimental platforms dedicated to enriching his choreographic style and bringing together dance communities. The Ones invites crews and schools with diverse aesthetics to compete as teams, while the Fighting Dance Battle, co-created with the 3 Hit Combo association, blends dance and fighting video games into a single exercise. In anticipation of Paris 2024, he conceived the Battle des écoles, as breakdancing has become an Olympic discipline. This event brought together 700 children aged 8 to 16 from 20 schools in Rennes for an immersion in the world of competition and video game culture. Processing…

Bouzid Ait Atmane is a member of the FAIR-E collective and co-director of the CCN in Rennes and Brittany.