Primitive Passion and Hypnotic Grace: Hervé Koubi’s Barbarian Nights Presented in Armenia at the Theatron Festival

The international Francophone performing arts festival Theatron has come to an end in Yerevan. The festival’s closing event was French choreographer Hervé Koubi’s Barbarian Nights, or the First Dawns of Humanity, presented in Armenia for the first time. On September 28, the production was performed in the Sculpture Garden of the Cafesjian Center for the Arts, in the Cascade complex — a setting where contemporary choreography met one of Yerevan’s most recognizable urban landscapes.

The festival ran from September 14 to 28 and this year was dedicated to the 35th anniversary of Armenia’s independence. Its program featured theater, contemporary dance, drama, music, as well as social and educational projects. Theatron also extended beyond the capital, with individual programs held in Gavar, Meghri and Artashat. One of the festival organizers’ stated goals is to decentralize cultural life and bring international productions to Armenia’s regions.

The program brought together performances by international companies, professional meetings, master classes and work with contemporary drama. The festival opened on September 22 with a production by another renowned French choreographer, Mourad Merzouki. His Folia, performed by the Käfig company, brought together hip-hop and Baroque music. Six days later, the festival concluded with Koubi’s work.

The choice of the closing production was deliberate. Saté Khachatryan, founder and director of Theatron, explains that after opening the festival with Mourad Merzouki, it was only natural to conclude it with a performance by another internationally acclaimed choreographer, Hervé Koubi.

Barbarian Nights, or the First Dawns of Humanity was created by Koubi in 2015. At its heart are the history and memory of the Mediterranean, the interweaving of cultures and religions, and the way a shared cultural space in the region was formed. The production also explores the very word “barbarian”: behind the familiar notion of the foreign and unknown, Koubi invites audiences to see cultures, knowledge and heritage that have often remained outside the Western perspective on history.

The performance brings together contemporary dance, hip-hop and elements drawn from Mediterranean cultures. Twelve dancers work with sharp, acrobatic physicality, combative movements and almost sculptural formations. The musical score combines traditional Algerian music with works by Mozart, Fauré and Wagner.

Koubi himself is a French choreographer of Algerian descent. His interest in the Mediterranean is connected not only to his artistic exploration but also to his personal history. In Barbarian Nights, he returns to his roots and reconsiders the familiar opposition between “us” and “them”: the person whom history has labeled a barbarian turns out to be part of the same human story.

It is precisely this idea that made the performance particularly resonant with Theatron itself. According to Saté Khachatryan, one of the production’s central ideas is the possibility of dialogue between peoples and cultures. For the festival organizers, this is also one of Theatron’s key missions: through theater, dance and drama, to create a space for professional and cultural exchange between Armenia and the Francophone world.