Company founder, artistic director, and choreographer Hervé Koubi was born and raised in France. The discovery of his Algerian heritage as an adult at his father’s deathbed set him on a definitive artistic journey. He embarked on a series of choreography projects from 2010 to 2019 with an all-male group of 12 to 14 street dancers from Algeria, Morocco, France, Israel, and Burkina Faso. Although Koubi comes from a ballet background, most of his dancers do not. They honed their movement skills in parks and on the streets. I had previously seen two of the all-male works. Since “Sol Invictus” is the first of Koubi’s works to tour New York that includes female dancers in its cast of 18 members, I was interested to see what effect this would have on the work.

The curtain opens to reveal Lionel Buzonie’s lighting that paints the black space with crisscrossing rays of golden light. As it intensifies, the reflective flooring becomes visible and multiplies the stunning visions performed on its mirror-like surface. Dancers walk casually onto the stage and sit or stand about the periphery as one shirtless dancer in a red culotte walks a big circle around the space. He continues circling, each time building speed and eventually skimming around sideways on all fours. Suddenly, he flips backwards and balances on his hands, his legs extended upward. Single dancers begin to cross the stage. Eventually, small rows of dancers interweave, crossing the stage from both directions with an ever growing torrent of leaps, spirals, and spins (on any body part). Shifting lunges and directional changes accompanied by arms sculpting the space in rhythmic overhead arcs and upward reaches charge the scene with frenzied celebration. The activity dies down to reveal a dancer nonchalantly flipping in the air and spinning on his head.