The transdisciplinary artist Sorour Darabi, originally from Shiraz in Iran, has been living in Paris since 2013. In Iran, he was an active member of the underground collective ICCD; his works were presented at the Untimely Festival in Tehran. Since 2016, his works have been shown at major art venues and festivals worldwide, including the Palais de Tokyo (Paris), ImPulsTanz (Vienna), Kunstenfestivaldesarts (Brussels), Centre Georges Pompidou (Paris), Fondation Lafayette Anticipations (Paris), Festival Montpellier Danse (Montpellier), Zürcher Theater Spektakel (Zurich), Tanzquartier (Vienna), Tanztage Festival (Berlin) and the BIPOD Festival (Beirut).

Sorour Darabi’s work is inspired by poetry and literature and explores the reinvention of Persian dance culture and a contemporary understanding of queer culture in pre-modern Iran. His creations address socio-political issues and reflect on desire, culture, resistance and the potential of classical forms to explore contemporary concerns. In 2024, he created his first contemporary lyrical work, “Mille et Une Nuits”. He is currently preparing his second collective creation, “MAJNÛN” (world premiere 2028), which will be presented this year in a trio version. Other works from recent years include “From the Throat to the Dawn” (2022), “Natural Drama” (2021), “Mowgli” (2020), “Savusun” (2018) and “Farci.e” (2016). Alongside his choreographic work, Sorour Darabi leads workshops for amateur and professional artists and dancers. In 2023, he founded his own company, DEEPDAWN, in Paris.

The new series “wielding fissures – carving cracks in the surface of the now” productively confronts our seemingly collective sense of doom, tracing cracks in the present through which we can feel our way towards alternative possible worlds.

From July 2026, Radialsystem is inviting artists whose practice liberates aesthetic forms of expression from existing conventions, questioning dominant narratives. Five Berlin premieres ranging from opera, choreography and documentary forms are accompanied by dialogue formats on “Embodied Practices” and “Local Hosting”. The series runs until summer 2027, and will be opened by choreographers Alice Ripoll and Sorour Darabi.

How can we picture the future in times of crisis? Reactionary ideologies are gaining strength worldwide, social movements against inequality are increasingly endangered, and marginalised bodies are being systematically excluded. Even culture and artistic imagination are starting to be conceptualised as potential threats. “wielding fissures” frames the act of looking ahead as an act of hope, an open fracture point, in which new forms of imagining can be explored. The series brings together choreographic works that conceptualise the body as a site of difference, vulnerability, and resourcefulness, making desires that continue to resonate tangible in the chaos of the present.