Friday 18 & Saturday 19 September 2026 · La Friche la Belle de Mai
Initiated by the Accrorap company, the Smala de Marseille is the culmination of three years of encounters and choreographic workshops with artists from the Mediterranean: from Morocco to Tunisia, from Greece to Egypt, from Cyprus to Algeria, dance, music and stories intertwine to share emotions, circulate singularities and invent common languages.
For one week in Marseille, this living laboratory brings together some twenty artists from these different constellations to create and meet audiences.
On Friday 18 September, Smala opens a parenthesis with ‘Coming Together in the Mediterranean’, an evening built around a conversation, followed by videos and danced solos.
The evening of 19 September will be the highlight, featuring a choreographic performance under the artistic direction of Kader Attou, followed by a Mediterranean ball and concerts at Grandes Tables, as part of La Society’s programme.
A danced conversation hosted by Maria Daïf
With Smala, artists cross the Mediterranean and encounter other stories, other practices, other perspectives. Over the course of an evening, conversations, videos and danced solos show how hip-hop and dance become spaces for transmission and dialogue.
Free, on reservation
Choreography by Kader Attou x Sophie Bulbuyan
On reservation - Entry: €12
Algerian rap
Hakis is a rapper, author-composer, performer and engineer; with Marlboro Bled, he addresses resilience and self-transcendence.
As part of the BAYA residency programme, in partnership with the Cité internationale des arts de Paris, La Friche la Belle de Mai and the AMI.
Free entry
DJ Jikay x Pan-J x Mohannad Smama x associated artists
To learn the steps, two free workshops are offered on Monday 7 and Thursday 17 September at 7pm at Studio Accrorap, La Friche — open to all, beginners welcome.
Free entry
Making the Mediterranean
Smala is the nomadic choreographic creation hub conceived by choreographer Kader Attou. For centuries, the Mediterranean has been a space of encounters, crossings and creations. This laboratory is rooted in that living heritage — circulating artists, ideas, sounds and gestures to where borders seem to take hold.
Smala is a word steeped in history. It evokes the mobile capital of Emir Abdelkader, that unified community where knowledge, arts and strategies of resistance intertwined. For four years, constellations of artists have been woven together across seven countries, united by a shared sea and common imaginaries.
To make the Mediterranean today is also to resist. It is to put forward words and acts that bring people together.
© Damien Bourletsis
Smala
Nomadic Choreographic Laboratories across the Mediterranean
Casablanca, Tunis, Cairo,
Kalamata, Cyprus and Algiers
In Casablanca, the adventure began with Casamémoire — a deep dive into the relationship between dance and heritage, which gave birth to a video capsule inhabiting the walls of the Assayag building. A second encounter followed with the AMME association, this time to explore the common ground between contemporary movement, Amazigh music and electronic sounds. As much a scouting ground as a creative space.
In Tunis in 2025, around fifteen artists joined Kader Attou and the Accrorap dancers as part of the Massari project. From this encounter lasting partnerships emerged — first with Hazem Chebbi, then with Selim Ben Safia, whose collaboration deepened during a residency at La Friche la Belle de Mai, leading to the beginnings of a new creation, Labes.
In Cairo in 2026, a choreographic laboratory led by Ezzat Ismaïl brought together Egyptian artists at the Ezzat Dance Studio — a step of research and transmission at the heart of a pulsing city.
In Greece and Cyprus, between Kalamata and Limassol, Greek and Cypriot dancers came together in 2025 and 2026 for open creative sessions, welcoming new artists through ongoing auditions.
© Damien Bourletsis
In Algiers, in late May 2026, Kader Attou met a new generation of Algerian dancers. From these auditions, one encounter stood out — a dancer joins the Smala constellation for the final gathering in Marseille.
Each of these stopovers, one after another, has traced the path toward September 2026 and the Saison Méditerranée.
Project lead and production: Compagnie Accrorap, directed by Kader Attou
Financial partners:
French Institutes: Paris – Egypt – Greece – Cyprus – Tunisia – Algeria / City of Marseille / Saison Méditerranée / Région Sud / City of Saint-Ouen
Cultural partners:
Al Badil – Tunis / AMI – Marseille / Yalla Dance Studio – Cairo / International Dance Festival of Kalamata / Maison de la danse de Limassol
