“I come from a place where just one tile can be a stage.”
The popular Egyptian music style Mahraganat emerged in the early 2000s, in small spaces—underground, at weddings, in taxis and microbuses, amidst crowds and protests—as a powerful expression of a rebellious young generation. Since the Arab Spring in 2011, it has become known as the ‘sound of the revolution.’ Elarabi’s performance Tile, which premiered August of 2025 in Zürcher Theater Spektakel, combines the movement vocabulary of Mahraganat with contemporary dance, honoring an art form from the streets that tells stories of control and freedom as well as of fear, frustration, and euphoria.
• Choreography, Direction & Performance: Islam Elarabi • Music Production: Walad • Performance Coordination & Artistic Support: Nataliya Nikolska • Production: Islam Elarabi • Residencies & Support: UN|CONTROLLED GESTURES 2024 by the Goethe-Institut, Studio ALTA 2025 •
https://www.ticketsmarche.com/event/Triple-Bill-Hollow-Embraces-Awake-Just-One-Tile_7511
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