Friday, 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.
The evening of 19 September is the highlight, featuring a unique artistic performance led by Kader Attou, followed by a Mediterranean ball and concerts at Grandes Tables, as part of La Society’s programme.
Entry: €12
Salem Ifrik, known as Apollon The One, is an artist, author, composer and producer from Kouba, working within the world of hip-hop and Algerian rap. He explores themes of identity, lived experience, social tensions and introspection, using rap as both a poetic and direct language.
Hakis – Live rap
Hakis is an Algerian artist from Annaba. A rapper, author, composer, performer and engineer, he explores through his project "Marlboro Bled" themes of resilience, identity, lived experience and self-transcendence, blending striking writing, visual storytelling and authenticity.
Showcases 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.
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.
Smala
Nomadic Choreographic Laboratories across the Mediterranean
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.
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
