Sidi Larbi Cherkaoui

Stoic ends a trilogy around Greek wisdom. Stoicism is a school of philosophy teaching that virtue (self-control, courage, justice and wisdom) equals happiness. Reasoned choice is valorized, which explains that today the word stoic is often used for "emotionless".

In Stoic, Sidi Larbi Cherkaoui tried to portray a small community of characters who experience the art and each other intensely, to eventually lose their masks, and reveal more essential layers of themselves. The piece was elaborated in close collaboration with the performers, going from urban dance styles "tutting" and "waacking" to contemporary dance.

For his third collaboration with GöteborgsOperans Danskompani (after Noetic in 2014 and Icon in 2016), Sidi Larbi Cherkaoui worked with the visual artist Hans Op de Beeck, and the composer Felix Buxton of Basement Jaxx who mixes electro and drum and bass with live traditional music from Morocco, Congo, and Japan.