Narrative dance with Mohamed Yusuf Boss

''I have always been interested in sharing stories,'' says Mohamed. Dancer, choreographer, teacher and theatre maker, he sits in the main hall of theatre De Machinefabriek, where they are busy rehearsing for a dance performance. His eyes wander a little here and there. But when he talks about his journey in the dance world, you see full focus. Because involved he is. Once he moved to Groningen to study, now he does nothing but dance. Or he makes others move. Getting them to move. Transmitting that which makes life beautiful: the perspective of your fellow man. This is where he started at the UDC, then went to Lucia Marthas. Teaching and entering competitions. But he went further. From solo performances to collaborations with Station North and the Grand Theatre, among others. As long as it was all about dance. But with a story.

''Another person's perspective is valuable, you can learn from it. It is like a mirror of your own situation,'' he says. He wants to transfer something. That starts with his name: Mohamed is his birth name, Yusuf the name of his father and Boss that of his grandfather. Continuing lines, whether those of family or stories, you can see that in his work. For instance, his first solo performance was about his mother's story. Ten intense minutes. About how she came to the Netherlands with a three-month-old Mohamed and had to find her way. That experience was translated into dance. A new layer, a new experience. ''Unheard perspectives deserve a stage. It helps you slow down, takes you out of the everyday.''

Clearly, Mohamed has a philosophy. Faith. In people, stories and feelings. You can't turn off the latter, he says. ''Art, and therefore dance, should be experienced on a feeling level. Not head-on. That for a moment you're not so sure what to do with it.'' With this belief also comes a mission. Getting people in touch with each other through dance and theatre. That starts with the youth.

Mohammed is in fact very involved in Jonge Harten, an idiosyncratic, annual theatre festival that brings people together and wants to make subjects discussable. With young people on stage, in the organisation and in the audience, with subjects that appeal to them. And that is what makes Jonge Harten different. Still innovative. Young people can choose where they want to go. There is a palette of performances, workshops and other creative expressions every edition. That way, they are part of it themselves. ''That is so important,'' says Mohammed. ''You used to have to go to a particular performance from school. That doesn't work. Give young people space and they make their own choices.''

Besides a connection with theatre, dance and youth, he also has a strong connection to Groningen. Mohammed is a true northerner. His roots are in Somalia, but his heart is in Groningen. Ambassador, he also calls himself. Fan of city & province he certainly is. ''Groningen has something special. Whether it's the surroundings or the atmosphere, it's alive here.'' Different from Amsterdam, for example, he thinks. There, there is an uncontrollable bustle, here there is balance. ''A day in the Randstad is tiring, the North actually gives energy.''

Working he does in the city, living in Zuidhorn and unwinding he does in the surrounding countryside. ''Not normally nice,'' is how he describes the province. ''So spacious, so beautiful and so nice for the kids. We often go to the area around Kloosterburen. Lovely walks, clear our heads. Groningen gives. This is my place.''