Selma & Sofiane Ouissi

Selma and Sofiane Ouissi, brother and sister born in Tunis in 1975 and 1972 respectively, are choreographers, dancers and curators renowned in the field of contemporary dance in the Arab world. Graduates of the Conservatoire de Musique et de Danse de Tunis and the Centre National de Danse, they have collaborated on numerous creations, including STOP... BOOM and Waçl, presented in Europe and the Arab world.




In 2011, with Yacine Sebti, they explored new artistic dimensions with Here(s), an interactive choreographic work. In the same year, they made a choreographic film inspired by the work of the potters of Sejnane, which was shown in prestigious venues such as the Triennale at the Palais de Tokyo in Paris and the New Museum in New York. Their creation Laaroussa, in response to an invitation from Marseille-Provence 2013, highlights the ancestral gestures of women potters.


Their piece Les Yeux d'Argos, created for the Tate Modern in 2014, was adapted for the Palais de Tokyo in 2015. Between 2015 and 2017, they developed Le Moindre Geste, a work combining installation and performance, exploring the stories and experiences of invisible citizens. This project has been presented at various festivals. Their film portrait Wejdan, featuring artists from Tunis, Beirut, Cairo and Damascus, was shown at the Guggenheim Museum in Abu Dhabi.


Their latest work, Bird, was presented for the first time at the Sharjah Biennial in February 2022 and has been programmed for several festivals, including Dream City in 2023, Festival Kanal-Centre Pampidou in Brussels in April 2024 and the Festival d'Automne in Paris in September 2024.

They are currently working on their next creation, L'Opéra du Geste (2025), in collaboration with Nicolas Suburlati.


At the same time, Selma and Sofiane founded the association L'Art Rue, a cross-disciplinary and cross-community laboratory that encourages creativity and artistic innovation while working towards social transformation. The Dream City biennial, supported by L'Art Rue, embodies these values by supporting contextual art and activating public spaces. Their approach is based on the deep conviction that art has the power to transform society, revealing the beauty of simple gestures and creating spaces for contemplation and connection, while integrating gesture, narrative and the body in a unique and striking approach to contemporary theatre.


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