Rooted in the streets of Cairo, Just one Tile explores Islam Elarabi's identity, resistance and cultural heritage through his lived experience and bodily memory.
It’s an opportunity for him to assert his origins and his determination to dance whatever the cost – “I come from a place where a single slab can become a stage” – by revisiting the energy and pride inherent in mahraganat dance, a visceral expression of Egyptian street culture. – by revisiting the energy and pride inherent in mahraganat dance, a visceral expression of Egyptian street culture.
Islam Elarabi built his own artistic vocabulary in neighborhood parties as much as at Cairo’s Contemporary Dance Center, where he trained. His first autobiographical solo illuminates his journey of self-discovery through movement, evoking stories of control and freedom, resilience and transformation, as well as fear, frustration and euphoria. Like a reflection of his personal endurance and of a collective struggle: that of the Egyptian people, past and present.
Islam Elarabi – Cairo – DANCE | Premiere in France
Rooted in the streets of Cairo, Just one Tile explores Islam Elarabi's identity, resistance and cultural heritage through his lived experience and bodily memory.
It’s an opportunity for him to assert his origins and his determination to dance whatever the cost – “I come from a place where a single slab can become a stage” – by revisiting the energy and pride inherent in mahraganat dance, a visceral expression of Egyptian street culture. – by revisiting the energy and pride inherent in mahraganat dance, a visceral expression of Egyptian street culture.
Islam Elarabi built his own artistic vocabulary in neighborhood parties as much as at Cairo’s Contemporary Dance Center, where he trained. His first autobiographical solo illuminates his journey of self-discovery through movement, evoking stories of control and freedom, resilience and transformation, as well as fear, frustration and euphoria. Like a reflection of his personal endurance and of a collective struggle: that of the Egyptian people, past and present.
Islam Elarabi – Cairo – DANCE | Premiere in France
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Workshop with Islam Elarabi and Toto
Marseille Festival
On Wednesday, Jul 1, 2026
de 18h30 à 20h30
J4 / Forum
- Free of charge
Chabana
DJ set
Open-air DJ-set on the roof terrace of Mucem J4!
A Franco-Egyptian DJ based in Marseilles, Chabana has been mixing between France and Egypt since the early 2000s. His set traces the evolution of mahraganat, from pioneering tracks to the most popular hits, worthy of the craziest weddings in Alexandria’s Max district or Cairo’s Salam City suburbs.On Friday, Jul 3, 2026
de 22h à 23h59
J4 / Flat roof
Full Moon, Toto
Marseille Festival
Pleine Lune brings together dancers and choreographers Toto (Mohamed Mahmud Mohamed Ibrahim) and Islam Elarabi for the first time, around a shared passion: mahraganat.
A choreographic and musical aesthetic rejected by the establishment but wildly popular, transcended on stage by the dancers and choreographers who interweave their energy, expressive power and emotions to invent “an essential language of expression – organic, free and beautiful in its raw violence and truth”. Here, the alliance of mahraganat, martial arts and contemporary dance plunges the performers into a kind of bare-knuckle combat, where each competes with the other in...On Thursday, Jul 2, 2026
de 20h à 21h
J4 / Auditorium
- Free of charge
Mahraganat revolt, the sound that shakes Egypt
Marseille Festival
Interview with Yasmine El Rashidi. In Arabic, translated and moderated by Nicolas Gilles.
In her book Révolte mahraganat, le son qui secoue l’Égypte, published in March 2026, Yasmine El Rashidi explores the troubled trajectories of mahraganat and its links with the 2011 revolution. The Egyptian author and journalist will discuss these themes with artists Islam Elarabi and Toto.On Friday, Jul 3, 2026
de 21h à 23h
J4 / Auditorium