Ahmed Ben Abid

Unknown Sea focuses on young people who grow up seeing migration as their only possible future, where the sea becomes both a graveyard and a bridge—an image of rupture and connection. Through choreography, the work questions what it means to cross borders, to disappear, or to arrive in a place that may never truly feel like home. The project was developed during a residency in Linz, Austria, where choreographic material and body vocabulary were expanded through movement and sound, alongside the creation of a Python script that tracks the faces of the audience. A work-in-progress performance will be presented on April 25, 2026, at HAU Hebbel am Ufer in Berlin, within Un|controlled Gestures – 4th Edition, an initiative of the Goethe-Institut in cooperation with HAU Hebbel am Ufer Berlin and HELLERAU – European Center for the Arts (Dresden), curated by Nedjma Hadj Benchelabi. Choreography and interpretation are by Ahmed Ben Abid, sound design by Mohamed Ridha Ben Khoud and Ahmed Ben Abid, with support from L’ART’RUE (Tunis) and mobility assistance by Al Mawred Thaqafy and Europe Culture Move.

Link to the Video:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cMzy7fgyOkI&list=PLQCB_5yKCAaf5sTfaGgELJ-4PjUQfXC60&index=7