Taoufiq Izeddiou discovered his passion for contemporary dance in his native Marrakesh, where his training was what he describes as “wild”. He first came onto the international choreographic scene in 1997 when he met Bernardo Montet, director of the Centre chorégraphique national de Tours, with whom he worked for eight years. In 2000, the revival of Suzanne Buirge’s solo Danse Nord put him on the choreographic map.
Alongside his career as a dancer, Taoufiq Izeddiou created his first choreography in 1999. In 2003, the success of the group piece Fina K’enti in Arab communities prompted him to found Anania, the first contemporary dance company in Morocco.
In 2005, he founded the On marche dance festival in Marrakech, the first of its kind in the country. For the past fifteen years, the festival has hosted some thirty shows from all over the world, providing a stage for established international choreographers and up-and-coming young artists.
Keen to pass on his knowledge and skills, he set up the first contemporary dance training course in 2003, from which several of the dancers in the Anania company have since graduated. In 2007, he obtained his state diploma in contemporary dance in France. In 2019, he launched a new professional training programme in Marrakech: Nafass (Le Souffle).
Taoufiq Izeddiou’s choreographies have been performed at some of the most prestigious contemporary dance events and venues, including Danse Afrique Danse, Montpellier Danse, Charleroi Danse, the Rencontres Chorégraphiques internationales de Seine-St-Denis, the CND in Paris, the Marseille Festival, Tanzquartier in Vienna, HAU in Berlin and TransAmériques in Canada.
In 2019 Taoufiq Izeddiou was appointed Chevalier des Arts et des Lettres.
Taoufiq IZEDDIOU is an associate artist of VIADANSE – directed by Fattoumi-Lamoureux – Centre Chorégraphique National de Bourgogne Franche-Comté in Belfort, as part of the programme supported by the French Ministry of Culture and Communication. (Three-year association 2023 to 2025).
Photo credits: Agnès Mellon