Lahcen Zinoun

Lahcen Zinoun (born in 1944) is a Moroccan choreographer, modern dancer and filmmaker. He is considered the most renowned contemporary Moroccan choreographer.[1]

Lahcen Zinoun
Born
Lahcen Zinoun

1944
La Cité ouvrière Socica[1] of Hay Mohammadi, Casablanca
Occupation(s)Choreographer, dancer, filmmaker

Biography

Zinoun was born in 1944 in La Cité ouvrière Socica[1] of Hay Mohammadi, Casablanca. His father was a Berber, who worked as a railroad worker.[2] 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.[3] 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, with whom he eventually became a danseur étoile 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".[2] In 1978, with his wife Michèle Barret, also a dancer, he founded a school and a dance troupe, titled "Le Ballet-Théâtre Zinoun".[4] He further tried to create a national troupe of traditional Moroccan dance, but the project was rejected by King Hassan II. 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".[3] 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.[5] In 2003, he was named director of the Marrakech Festival of Popular Arts.[6]

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
Year Title Credited as Notes
Director Choreographer
1982 Les beaux jours de Shéhérazade No Yes directed by Mostapha Derkaoui
1988 The Last Temptation of Christ No Yes directed by Martin Scorsese
1990 The Sheltering Sky No Yes directed by Bernardo Bertolucci
1995 Joseph No Yes directed by Roger Young
1996 L'ombre du pharaon No Yes directed by Souheil Ben-Barka
1998 Femmes... et femmes No Yes directed by Saâd Chraïbi
2001 Assamt Yes No short film
2002 Piano Yes No short film
2003 Faux pas Yes No short film
2007 Oud l'ward ou la beauté éparpillée Yes No first feature film

Co-written with Hicham Lasri and Fatima Loukili

2011 Femme écrite Yes No second feature film

Honours

See also

References
  1. "Lahcen Zinoun : "Un garçon comme moi n'avait pas le droit de pratiquer la danse"". Zamane. 2020-05-15. Retrieved 2020-05-17.
  2. Meillon, Hervé (2007-08-11). "Lahcen Zinoun, danseur". La Dernière Heure.
  3. Orlando, Valérie K. (2011-05-05). Screening Morocco: Contemporary Film in a Changing Society. Ohio University Press. p. 105. ISBN 978-0-89680-478-4.
  4. Nassef, Siham. "Lahcen Zinoun, "le corps libéré"". Outdoors. Retrieved 2020-05-17.
  5. Orlando, Valérie K. (2011-05-05). Screening Morocco: Contemporary Film in a Changing Society. Ohio University Press. p. 106. ISBN 978-0-89680-478-4.
  6. Howe, Marvine (2005). Morocco: The Islamist Awakening and Other Challenges. Oxford University Press, USA. p. 193. ISBN 978-0-19-516963-8.
  7. Alizart, Jocelyn. "Lahcen Zinoun". Ballets Wallonie Archives. Retrieved 2020-05-17.
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