SOL INVICTUS by Compagnie Hervé Koubi Comes to The Wallis
Named after the “invincible sun” deity, Sol Invictus is a celebration of human connection.
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The internationally acclaimed Compagnie Hervé Koubi will make its long-awaited Los Angeles Premiere at the Wallis Annenberg Center for the Performing Arts. For three nights only, February 19, 20, and 21, 2026, the Bram Goldsmith Theater will be transformed with the company's latest masterpiece, Sol Invictus.
Named after the “invincible sun” deity, Sol Invictus is a celebration of human connection. Under the visionary direction of French-Algerian choreographer Hervé Koubi, a cast of 15 world-class dancers from across the Mediterranean basin—Algeria, Morocco, France, and beyond—unite to defy gravity.
Blending contemporary grace, the raw athleticism of hip-hop, and the precision of martial arts, Sol Invictus creates a visual language unlike any other. The New York Times raves: “They fly. They spin. They change how you see the amazing.” As the dancers hurtle through the air in high-flying arcs and spin with hypnotic speed, they embody Koubi's message: that despite the fractures of the world, communion is humanity's saving grace.
Hervé Koubi's work is deeply personal. Born and raised in France, Koubi only discovered his Algerian heritage as an adult—a revelation that sent him on a definitive artistic journey to collaborate with street dancers from his ancestral home.
Koubi shared that the first order of business during a new project is for the dancers to form a connection with each other. They must learn to communicate without words because most of the dancers do not speak each other's languages. "If we can learn to dance together, perhaps we can learn to live together," says Koubi. "I want to talk about light, solidarity, and those bonds that unite us. Here, the sun and the dance will emerge victorious."
Sol Invictus is propelled by a driving, cinematic score featuring compositions by Mikael Karlsson and Maxime Bodson, woven together with the iconic minimalism of Steve Reich. The result is a "super-charged ritual celebrating life and light" (Fjord Review) that fills every particle of the theater with energy.
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.
Greenspan continued, “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 … suddenly, he flips backwards and balances on his hands, his legs extended upward. 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.”
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