Dance People / Maqamat - Omar Rajeh & Mia Habis
Friday, 19 June, 2026 @ 20h30 - Les Subs
Performance
100 min
Les Subs
Dance People is a title that speaks for itself. It places the values of community at the heart of creativity, claiming its presence through shared space with citizens and allowing new formats of being together to emerge.
In a world driven by intelligent algorithms and AI, some of today’s most urgent questions are about gatherings, encounters, and how we live with one another.
What is the space of democracy? Of culture? Of identity? How do we open space, protect it, inhabit it together?
With a diverse and rich artistic group, Omar Rajeh and Mia Habis invite the audience into a collective creative moment. The work becomes joyful and festive, yet remains sharply critical of power and supremacy.
Dance People is not a performance to observe from afar. It’s a gesture to share. A space to inhabit.
Omar Rajeh & Mia Habis
Omar Rajeh and Mia Habis work in close artistic partnership as the artistic leadership of Maqamat. Based between Beirut and Lyon, they have been developing a shared vision of dance for more than fifteen years, in which choreography becomes a space for encounter, dialogue, and collective experience.
Rajeh is the choreographer of the company’s works, developing a practice that questions how bodies inhabit space and relate to one another. Habis, a dancer and artistic collaborator, plays a central role in the conception, articulation, and transmission of this vision. Her long-standing involvement in creation, production, and dissemination has been essential to shaping the company’s artistic direction and international presence.
Together, they have initiated major platforms for contemporary dance, including BIPOD – Beirut International Platform of Dance, Moultaqa Leymoun, Citerne Beirut, and Citerne.live, contributing to the development of sustainable ecosystems for artists across regions.
Their latest creation, Dance People (2025), embodies this deep collaboration, proposing choreography as a shared, democratic space—where performance is not only seen, but lived.
Cast & Credits
Artistic Concept, Direction & Choreography Omar Rajeh Co-Artistic Direction Mia Habis Performed by Elise Bruyère , David Cahier, Clara Cafiero, Jihun Choi, Cristian Cucco, Mia Habis, Nunzio Perricone & Omar Rajeh Music Composition & Live Interpretation Mathias Delplanque and Ziad El Ahmadie (based on the Album of L’Ombre de la Bête) Voice Abdul Karim Chaar Researcher Tom Helmer Scenographic Concept & Architecture L.E.F.T. Architects (Makram Kadi & Ziad Jamaleddine) Visual Artist Estelle Piatoni Interactive Experience Tamanoir Immersive Studio ( Creative Director - Sam Lecoeur / Producer - Rémi Large) Light Design Guy Hoare Video Graphics & Animation Jimmy Elias Technical Assistant Julien Laurent Dramaturgical advise Peggy Olislaegers Production & Coordination Amina Onsy Guest Citizens & Artists to be announced for each performance
Co-produced by Edinburgh International Festival, LAC Lugano Arte e Cultura and Festival Aperto / Fondazione I Teatri – Reggio Emilia, International Dance festival München, Kunstfest Weimar & Euro-Scene Leipzig
Creative residency at CND Lyon, CND Pantin, Festival de Liège / Manège Fonck, Fabbrica Europa, Mufatthalle - The Venue for International art and culture in Munich, Les Subs-Lyon, Montpellier Danse.
Supported by Centre National du Cinéma et de l'Image Animée (CNC) & DRAC Auvergne Rhône-Alpes