Edinburgh Fringe 2026
Bigger – France Showcase
Compagnie CHAABANE
Genre: Dance, Hip Hop, Physical Theatre
Venue: French Institute in Scotland
Festival: Edinburgh Fringe
Low Down
On stage, dancer and choreographer Sofiane Chalal brings an unconventional body that defies the codes of dance. The piece addresses deeply personal, and therefore universal, themes: the body as both ally and adversary, and the paradox – at times empowering, at times painful – between how we perceive ourselves and how others see us.
Review
What does it feel like when people comment on how you look? This can hurt, especially if these comments are heard. What about if you are a dancer with a physique that does not fit the norm? Sofiane Chalal is a dancer and choreographer from the Compagnie CHAABANE, France and he is attacking these comments head on by his bold and sensitive show, Bigger, part of the French Showcase at the Edinburgh Fringe 2026.
Chalal creates and performs Bigger with a mélange of dance styles enmeshed with physical theatre, voice overs and a touch of mime. At first Chalal arrives on the stage looking unhappy with his day to day arriving home and dining alone. His meal appears to be a huge hamburger, his body twitches to the intriguing melodic and staccato sound design, in interesting and unexpected ways. He recalls through voiceovers, such comments from people. People saying he’s fat when he would audition or perform in dance shows – he noticed the whispers from the audience saying the same. After a while this hurts and Chalal creates and performs fascinating physical theatre, dance and movement to share his journey.
Chalal performs an outstanding range of fascinating choreography based on Hip Hip, Popping, Locking, and Krumping, to name a few dance forms, throughout Chalal is emotive, angry, pensive, joyous and tender and earns his catharsis. Stridently moving with strong demonstrative moves he show what he can do and it is immense. His emotion and talented dance skills are relatable and hugely engaging with the audience. As the music becomes more rousing we see Chalal in his joy of his release which is obvious, heartfelt, and we respect his unbound freedom, these are beautiful moments.
A theatrical mime moment with an umbrella becomes a metaphor for his freedom to go wherever he wants and do what he wants without limitations! He is now playful in his visual and physical storytelling and his facial expressions are free and joyful, too. it seems that nothing can stop him now, he has certainly responded to the naysayers and they should be put on notice that Sofiane Chalal is maybe a force of nature and merits our attention as a dancer and choreographer.
Bigger is a thirty five minute solo and the time passes quickly – he receives an ovation!
The second part of this presentation is a fifteen minute Q&A with Chalal, which is a very well received. We discover more about Chalal and his background, learning to dance since he was about 7 years of age and more.
We have been touched by the magic of Chalal and have seen his performance showing us that he is a natural mover with fluid movement and fast changes of speed and physical dynamics. As a choreographer Chalal successfully melds several dance and physical theatre styles in a unique way to tell a very personal story. We thank you for sharing your story – and look forward to seeing more work by Sofiane Chalal in the future. He IS a force of nature!
