Photo : Tania El Khoury
“Choreography of State” by Tania El Khoury
What if choreographic writing could provide proof of abuses of power and state violence? This is Tania El Khoury's premise throughout an installation-performance combining texts, videos, documents, and live performance based on a movement score. In it, the Lebanese artist documents specific cases of repression, demonstrating their systemic nature.
Chaillot - Théâtre national de la Danse (Paris 16th)
This event has ended.
About
With Choreography of State, Tania El Khoury approaches choreography as a form of analysis, allowing her to uncover a pattern: what is perceived as a series of isolated and accidental cases of state-perpetrated violence is, in reality, conceptualized and repeated according to a calculated dramaturgy. To do this, the artist gathers the various forms in which choreography is noted and archived—descriptive or poetic texts, schematic drawings, movement analysis systems, video—and uses them to annotate a single incident. In the installation space, the projection of these elements on a screen coexists with the performance, placing the audience in the position of a witness, in a state of vigilance.
This project is the latest chapter of a body of work that—for over ten years—has explored interactivity with the public and made visible the abuses of power that shape our daily and political lives. Tania El Khoury has addressed gender-based violence in Maybe If You Choreograph Me, You Will Feel Better (2011) and the political instrumentalization of the Lebanese power grid in The Search for Power (2018). For Choreography of State, she draws inspiration particularly from testimonies collected during the Egyptian revolution, where activists suspected that mass sexual violence was organized by the state. As it is activated in different cities and countries, the project will be adapted—in collaboration with local artists and activists—to document specific cases of repression and thereby create a collective memory of state violence, using the language of movement.
Vincent Théval
Duration: 1h
Category:
- World premiere
- Mediterranean Season 2026
- Dance
Our take on this event
Forget conventional dance; here, the body transforms into a political instrument against systemic control. This striking installation invites you to decode the choreography behind power structures and rediscover movement as an act of resistance.
Tania El Khoury brings her latest work, State Choreography, to Chaillot - Théâtre national de la Danse from October 8 to 10, 2026. This immersive installation explores the relationship between state-sanctioned violence and public resistance through the lens of movement and choreography. Inspired by international protest movements and self-defense tactics, the performance invites audiences to bear witness to documented acts of power. This one-hour experience is fully accessible to wheelchair users, offering a space to reflect on the political implications of our daily lives through a collaborative and artistic investigation of collective memory and systemic oppression.
State Choreography at Chaillot - Théâtre national de la Danse serves as an analytical performance piece where dance notations become evidence of state power structures. Artist Tania El Khoury compiles various forms of documentation, including poetic texts, diagrams, and videos, to annotate specific incidents of violence. By integrating these archives with live performance, the installation places visitors in a position of awareness, highlighting how state violence is often a calculated dramaturgy rather than an isolated event. This project continues the artist's long-term exploration of public interactivity and political abuses.
The event runs from Thursday, October 8, to Saturday, October 10, 2026, with a duration of 1 hour. Sessions on Thursday and Friday are scheduled from 19:00 to 20:00, while the Saturday session takes place from 18:30 to 19:30. Tickets are priced between 10 and 25 euros. The venue is fully accessible for wheelchair users.
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