CLASSE is a project of transmission, compromise, blending and mixing, invented pedagogies and radical imagination. CLASSE is a space for words and thoughts that combines a public programme with the creation of an ongoing working group, moving through the Short Theatre 2026’s programme and beyond.
Every day for 10 days, artists, poets, activists, philosophers and researchers are invited to give a short talk starting from a specific word / issue / practice. Discover all the other appointments that constitute the public programme of CLASSE.
Habibitch e decolonizzare il dancefloor is a CLASSE to reflect on the systems shaping our daily social interactions. At first glance, little seems to connect the figures of the dancer and the lecturer. Yet it is precisely from this tension that Decolonize the Dancefloor was born — a lecture-performance imagined by Habibitch, built on over fifteen years of activism, dance practice, political reflection, clubbing, writing, and personal experience.
Through a hybrid form blending spoken word, critical analysis, and movement, Habibitch constructs a situated body of thought nourished by her own journey: from Algeria to Paris, from activist squats to fashion shows, from Sciences Po to a world tour as a dancer with Sam Smith. Grounding her work in lived experience, she produces an embodied socio-political knowledge directly tied to the worlds she navigates and addresses.
Rooted in an intersectional feminist and decolonial approach, Decolonize the Dancefloor questions the power dynamics, systems of domination, and dominant narratives that structure contemporary societies. In it, Habibitch advocates for speech that is accessible, witty, committed, and deeply pedagogical, rejecting forms of knowledge reserved for a select few.
Navigating between theoretical references, personal stories, and ballroom culture, the CLASSE re-shuffles the cards of conventional discourse to make these issues accessible to as many people as possible. More than a lecture or a show, Decolonize the Dancefloor thus becomes a space for collective reflection and mobilisation, inviting everyone to question their place in contemporary social structures.
Habibitch is also present at Short Theatre 2026 for a SALON, on September 12 at La Pelanda.
Habibitch is a multidisciplinary artist, choreographer, performer and activist. Of Algerian origin, she holds a central place in queer, feminist and antiracist circles in France and internationally. Through her art and her performances she deconstructs colonial, gender and sexual norms, while affirming a multiple, intersectional identity. An influential figure on the voguing scene, Habibitch blends the codes of that culture with historical and political references, interrogating the systems of oppression that run through marginalised bodies. Her performances move between dance, confession and political manifesto, opening up spaces of resistance and empowerment, particularly for North African diasporas. On stage as in life, Habibitch uses her body as a site of resistance, celebrating sensuality and subversion while prompting deep reflection on identity and collective memory.
part of CLASSE, project by AREA06 promoted by Roma Capitale – Assessorato alla Cultura, winner of the Avviso Pubblico Roma Creativa 365. Cultura tutto l’anno in collaboration with Zètema Progetto Cultura
ph. Camille Lenain