Antwerp's Sidi Larbi Cherkaoui will go down in history as the first Belgian to be nominated for a Tony Award for Best Choreography. This award is given to those who excel in a play or musical on Broadway in New York City.
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.Cherkaoui is no novice in his field as, since his debut in Anonymous Society in 1999, he has created more than 50 choreographies and won numerous prestigious awards: two Olivier Awards, three best choreographer of the year by Tanz Magazine (2008, 2011, 2017) and the Kairos Prize for his artistic vision and search for cultural dialogue (2009).
Cherkaoui has found a highly personal style through his work with young hip hop and jazz bands. Each of his productions bears a distinctive mark between oneirism and contortionism. He also has no problems integrating aspects of distant cultures into his work, for example in Sutra (2008) he used martial arts and invited 17 monks from the Shaolin Temple to join in his choreography.
In 2019, he received the insignia of Commander in the Order of Arts and Letters from the French ambassador to Belgium, who stressed that his exploration of ethnic and religious identity endeavoured to break down the boundaries between cultures.
At the age of 44, the choreographer still has plenty of time to continue dazzling modern dance fans and, given his production rhythm, we can bet that he still has many surprises in store for them.
