Daniel Gurskis, Dean, College of the Arts
PEAK Performances presents
Photo credit:
Compagnie Hervé KOUBI
SOL INVICTUS
Thu., October 15, 2026, 7:30pm
ALEXANDER KASSER THEATER
Choreography Hervé KOUBI
Assistant Fayçal HAMLAT
Dancers Francesca BAZZUCCHI, Badr BENR GUIBI, Joy Isabella BROWN, Denis CHERNYKH, Samuel DA SILVEIRA LIMA, Youssef EL KANFOUDI, Abdelghani FERRADJI, Elder Matheus FREITAS FERNANDES OLIVEIRA, Oualid GUENNOUN, Hsuan-Hung HSU, Pavel KRUPA, Ismail OUBBAJADDI, Ediomar PINHEIRO DE QUEIROZ, Ayoub ROUFI, Matteo RUIZ, Allan SOBRAL DOS SANTOS, Karn STEINER
Music Mikael KARLSSON / Maxime BODSON / Steve REICH / Ludwig Van BEETHOVEN
Arrangements Guillaume GABRIEL
Lights by Lionel Buzonie
Costumes by Guillaume Gabriel
Artistic Advisor Bérengère ALFORT
External advisors Odile COUGOULE – Mohamed ZEROUALI
Running Time: One hour, 10 minutes, no intermission.
Production Compagnie Hervé KOUBI
Coproduction Ballets de Monte-Carlo - direction Jean-Christophe Maillot / Le GRRRANIT - Scène Nationale de Belfort / La Barcarolle - Scène conventionnée de Saint-Omer / L’Empreinte - Scène Nationale Brive -Tulle / Centre Chorégraphique National de Biarritz - Thierry Malandain / BCMO Pole chorégraphique de Calais / Théâtre de Grasse - Scène conventionnée d’intérêt National / Ville de Cannes / OARA – résidences de création Avec le soutien de L’Esplanade du Lac de Divonne-les bains / Conservatoire de Calais / Le Channel Scène Nationale de Calais / SPEDIDAM
Representation Margaret Selby, Selby Artists Management,
mselby@selbyartistsmgmt.com | 212-382-3260
Creative Team
A manifesto for life.
Sol Invictus will be Luminous, Generous and Universal. Always halfway between hip-hop physicality and classic elevation, Sol Invictus will be a declaration of love, my declaration of love to dance, to its past, to its present, to its future.
Celebrating the links that unite us, those of life entangled in the cycle of the seasons.
To be reborn and then rediscover childhood, to become again this child amazed by the discovery of the world and the mystery of Life.
Oh yes, dancing like a child.
Dizzying with the place of the living in the immensity of the universe, with our place. Maybe it is just only about dancing, but dance allows this, beyond words, to celebrate life and bring us together.
But what is “dancing together”?
The answer remains a mystery to me. What I do know, however, is that I want to talk about love, mutual help, solidarity, light and bonds, the one that unites us to life.
I call on stage a whole world and its smiles, a liberated spelling in the service of a writing that goes beyond borders, aesthetics, languages, and styles. There will also be rounds and spirals. Those who raise each one of us thanks to the others, thanks to the Other. So, here we are…maybe.
I want to make the stage a playground of all possibilities to welcome a dance that laughs, a dance that comes from the heart, from the mouth, from the hips, from the feet on a burning floor.
There is an emergency, that of gathering, yes, but also of arousing hope.
So I choose. It will be a rite, a rite that we will invent at each performance to celebrate that we are alive.
Stanley Kubrick said, “The most terrifying fact about the universe is not that it is hostile but that it is indifferent; but if we can come to terms with this indifference and accept the challenges of life within the boundaries of death our existence as a species can have genuine meaning and fulfillment. However vast the darkness, we must supply our own light.”
And since for me loving and dancing are indeed part of the same indivisible whole that is life, I would like Sol Invictus to be a spark.
A spark as brilliant as a life filled with the joy of dancing...together.
—Hervé Koubi
Program Notes
Hervé Koubi (Choreographer) began his journey as a contemporary dancer for acclaimed choreographers such as Karine Saporta, Claude Brumachon, and Thierry Smits. In 2000, he launched his own choreographic project, initially driven by an interest in tradition and the way movement is passed down through generations. His work seeks to bridge the gap between the social dances and the cultures of today with a dance that gathers, unites, builds links between people. A search for his roots led Koubi to Algeria, where he underwent a creative transformation through a pivotal encounter with urban dance. Since then, he has explored the “porosity” of movement, blending technical and aesthetic styles to create a language that defies traditional categories. Since 2017, Koubi has collaborated closely with dancer and choreographer Fayçal Hamlat, whom he met while serving as the choreographer for the National Ballet of Algiers. Their partnership is built on a unique exchange: while Koubi moved from contemporary dance toward hip-hop, Hamlat took the opposite path. Together, they redefine 21st-century ballet as a field choreography—an inclusive practice that honors history while remaining vibrantly modern. In 2015, Koubi was appointed a Chevalier des Arts et des Lettres for his contributions to the arts.
About the Artist
PEAK Performances
Peg Schuler-Armstrong | General Manager
Hannah Walker | Interim Marketing Manager
Taliyah Bethea | Marketing Assistant
Susan Case | Program Book Coordinator
Patrick Flood | Graphic Designer, Art Director
Martin Halo | Website Development
Social Sidekick | Public Relations
Jacob Stepansky | Company Manager
College of the Arts
Daniel Gurskis | Dean
Ronald L. Sharps | Associate Dean
Christine Lemesianou | Associate Dean
Amanda Gonzalez Carcione | Assistant Dean
Zacrah S. Battle | College Administrator
Nicole Archer | Chairperson, Department of Art and Design
Shea Scruggs | Director, John J. Cali School of Music
Kathleen Kelley | Chairperson, Department of Theatre and Dance
Hillery Makatura | Director, Performance Operations
Patricia Piroh | Director, Broadcast and Media Operations
Megan C. Austin | Director, University Galleries
Staff Credits
College of the Arts
Performance Operations
Hillery Makatura | Director
Cubby Terry | Facilities and Events Manager
Colin Van Horn | Technical Director
Kevin Johnson | Senior Production Engineer
Jason Flamos | Lighting Supervisor
Marlene Hamm | CPO Production Manager
Jade Thomas | Patron Services Manager
Jeff Lambert Wingfield | Box Office Manager
Rayne Collins | Front of House Coordinator
Laurel Brolly | Business Manager
Charlotte Caplan, Ava Defabbo, Abigail Drueding, Hendryana Nelson, Tori Opitz | Lead Ushers, Season 2026–27
Andrea Armando, Ityaina Bush-Patterson, Aboubacar Cisse, Audrick Franco, Shantel Maysonett, Ashley Sabina Pajares, Aiden Park, Ben Renfrow | Box Office Lead Associates, Season 2026–27
Coming Soon
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Programs in this season were made possible, in part, by the Alexander Kasser Theater Endowment Fund and PEAK Patrons.
PEAK Performances develops, presents, and produces a broad range of world-class dance, film, master classes, music, opera and music theater, talks, and theater in the Alexander Kasser Theater on the campus of Montclair State University for students, faculty, staff, and the general public. We are building community through live performance. PEAK Performances is a program of the university’s Arts + Cultural Programming Department.