In 2018, building on their earlier successes, Soria and Mehdi threw themselves into a new large-scale production, Fli, at the Les Gémeaux theatre in partnership with the Plus Petit Cirque du Monde in Bagneux. Driven by the desire to draw closer to the world of circus, the couple devised an off-the-wall, dreamlike show where the art of mime and new clown reflected the troupe’s determination to refine their Abstract language and discover new horizons, reinventing not just the technique but also the staging. Fli – created for seven dancers – was designed in several formats (including the 360-degree circus format).
At the same time, Soria and Mehdi put forward a proposal for Sowe, a show for two female dancers that traces the life of two diametrically-opposed women following a common path on their artistic journey. We are immersed in an entirely feminine vision of the world of dance, highlighting not just the role of women in the field of choreography but above all the trajectory of their body in all its states.
In 2020, the company was still producing its three major productions and their activities continued to expand. Mourad Merzouki, director of Créteil CCN and Pole Pik, and artistic director of the Kalypso and Karavel festivals, showed his willingness to give Soria and Mehdi top billing by offering them a partnership: for the first time, the two festivals would be represented by one and the same troupe… and the couple were given carte blanche for this special event. To celebrate the occasion, Art Move Concept decided to deliver a new production for nine dancers exclusively for the festival: a blend of hip-hop, classical and contemporary dance and circus arts. The result was Anopas, which – due to the health measures in force in November 2020 – was performed live on the internet from the large Gémeaux set in Sceaux.
Over the years, Soria and Mehdi have succeeded in establishing a form of dance that is their own, constantly changing and surprising the audience with their ingenuity in staging movement. Breaking the codes and the boundaries of hip-hop, and blending circus arts with mime and contemporary dance, their unique style of choreographic design is based on the pursuit of fluidity of movement, musicality of the body, and the emotion that emerges from them. Because “Abstract dance” isn’t just a style of dance; it entails an exposure of the self, beyond the physical performance that it requires.