Lahcen Zinoun (born in 1944) is a Moroccan

choreographer Choreography is the art or practice of designing sequences of movements of physical bodies (or their depictions) in which motion or form or both are specified. ''Choreography'' may also refer to the design itself. A choreographer is one who cr ...

modern dancer Modern dance is a broad genre of western concert or theatrical dance which included dance styles such as ballet, folk, ethnic, religious, and social dancing; and primarily arose out of Europe and the United States in the late 19th and early 20th ...

and filmmaker. He is considered the most renowned contemporary Moroccan choreographer.

Biography

Zinoun was born in 1944 in ''La Cité ouvrière'' Socica of

Hay Mohammadi Hay Mohammadi or Hay Mohammedi ( ar, الحي المحمدي) is an arrondissement of eastern Casablanca, in the Aïn Sebaâ - Hay Mohammadi district of the Casablanca-Settat region of Morocco. As of 2004 it had 156,501 inhabitants. Notable res ...

Casablanca Casablanca, also known in Arabic as Dar al-Bayda ( ar, الدَّار الْبَيْضَاء, al-Dār al-Bayḍāʾ, ; ber, ⴹⴹⴰⵕⵍⴱⵉⴹⴰ, ḍḍaṛlbiḍa, : "White House") is the largest city in Morocco and the country's econom ...

. His father was a

Berber Berber or Berbers may refer to: Ethnic group * Berbers, an ethnic group native to Northern Africa * Berber languages, a family of Afro-Asiatic languages Places * Berber, Sudan, a town on the Nile People with the surname * Ady Berber (1913–196 ...

, who worked as a railroad worker. In 1958, Zinoun entered the Conservatory of Casablanca, where he eventually was initiated to modern dance. In 1964, he received a first prize in dance by the conservatory; but nevertheless, he was refused a scholarship to study dance abroad. When Zinoun's father found out that he was a student at the conservatory, he kicked him out of the family home. Afterwards, Zinoun went to Belgium because of his admiration of the dancer

Maurice Béjart Maurice Béjart (; 1 January 1927 – 22 November 2007) was a French-born dancer, choreographer and opera director who ran the Béjart Ballet Lausanne in Switzerland. He developed a popular expressionistic form of modern ballet, talking vast th ...

, with whom he eventually became a ''

danseur étoile ''Danseur étoile'' (for men) or ''danseuse étoile'' (for women), literally "star dancer", is the highest rank a dancer can reach at the Paris Opera Ballet. It is equivalent to the title "Principal dancer" in Anglo-Saxon countries or to the title ...

'' in the ballet of the Opéra royal de Wallonie. In 1973, he decided to return to Morocco to contribute to modern dance and give it more recognition in his home country, but was met with little recognition. His return was also meant to reconcile with his father, who invited him to a wedding, and he said of this experience, "I saw my father dancing and I understood that we were united again". In 1978, with his wife Michèle Barret, also a dancer, he founded a school and a dance troupe, titled "''Le Ballet-Théâtre Zinoun''". He further tried to create a national troupe of traditional Moroccan dance, but the project was rejected by King

Hassan II Hassan, Hasan, Hassane, Haasana, Hassaan, Asan, Hassun, Hasun, Hassen, Hasson or Hasani may refer to: People *Hassan (given name), Arabic given name and a list of people with that given name *Hassan (surname), Arabic, Jewish, Irish, and Scottis ...

. In an interview Zinoun said, "King Hassan II called me in order to tell me that in Morocco we don’t dance. Morocco was a country of men". After all of these obstacles, he turned to other artistic endeavors, including painting, as an emotional outlet. He started dancing again in 1991, and the same year, he founded a new dance school in Casablanca, where his wife and sons taught. In 2003, he was named director of the Marrakech Festival of Popular Arts. Starting in 1982, Zinoun created the choreography for several international and Moroccan films, and from 2001 onwards, has directed his own short and feature films.

Filmography

Honours

Knight of the Order of Leopold, 11 September 2003

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Zinoun, Lahcen 1944 births People from Casablanca Shilha people Moroccan film directors Moroccan choreographers Moroccan dancers 20th-century dancers 21st-century dancers Living people

Biography

Filmography

Honours

See also

References

External links