4th September 2026 //
How can the body manifest collective resistance when words are silenced? KMs of Resistance is a choreographic and sound performance by Mehdi Dahkan that explores breathing as a means of expressing resistance and inspiring collective action.
The work draws its inspiration from the Aïta, a Moroccan oral tradition in which women singers – instead of words – used voice, lament and breath to communicate and incite resistance under colonial censorship. The creators reimagine this practice in a contemporary context, offering a subtle way to confront today’s pressing challenges in times when direct speech can be silenced or censored.
In the performance, resistance arrives as a physical condition before it arrives as a concept: the performers present synchronised, choreographed rhythmic sequences using only their breath, their voices and their bodies. Focusing on breath as an essential sound material of resistance, the work creates a form of protest without songs or slogans. The heavy and laboured breathing becomes a symbolic reminder of what unites us at the most fundamental level: our fragility, our interdependence and the urgent need for air that we feel when our survival is at stake.
The work is the final piece of a trilogy exploring unconventional forms of resistance in the Arab world. For its Budapest version, Mehdi and Mohamed are joined by two Hungarian dancers, connecting different experiences of resistance.
Credits:
Choreography: Mehdi Dahkan (MA / FR)
Performers: Mehdi Dahkan (MA / FR), Mohamed Bouriri (MA), Balázs Oláh, Máté Váth (HU)
Time: 6.30PM, 4th September 2026
Location: Tétényi út Üzletközpont, 1119 Budapest, Tétényi út 63.
Length of the performance: 60 minutes
Language: no language barrier
The performance is free of charge
Partners and supporters:
A production within the framework of IN SITU Platform 2025-28 with the support of the Creative Europe Programme of the European Commission.
Co-production: Forecast Platform; Ettijahat – Independent Culture; CCN du Havre Normandie; AFAC – Arab Fund for Arts & Culture; CNAREP; Lieux Publics; Forside Metropolis.
Residency support: Institut Français du Maroc, Tanger (MA); PimOff Theater, Milan (IT); Swiss Council ProHelvetia (CH); Kaserne Basel (CH); Centre Chorégraphique Pôle Pik (FR); Centro BASE & Zona K, Milan (IT)
Special thanks for the location: Budapest Vásárcsarnokai Kft.
Special thanks: SÍN Arts Centre, Workshop Foundation