Ali Thabet

Ali Ben Lofti Thabet’s initiation into movement arts came through kung fu. Despite a longstanding affinity with dance, he joined the National Centre for Circus Arts in Châlons (France) in 1997. Thabet performed in Francis Viet’s Furie (2001) but enjoyed his first major breakthrough in 2002 with Cyrk 13, choreographed by Philippe Découflé. He worked with Josef Nadj on Il n’y a plus de firmament (2003) featuring Jean Babilé (danseur étoile at Paris Opera Ballet) and Ioshi Oïda. Thabet met Sidi Larbi Cherkaoui in 2004, joining the cast of Tempus Fugit as a performer, the first piece in what would be a long-standing collaboration that has included working as assistant choreographer on TeZuka, which premiered in Tokyo in 2011. Since 2012, Thabet has been creating his own work with his brother Hèdi.