Every year the Festival d’automne honors a few influential artists—French, Francophone, or otherwise—with a Portrait, whereby they present a flurry of new and old pieces over the course of the season. This year it’s Bouchra Ouizguen’s turn. The M.O. that the Moroccan choreographer has developed over two decades is to choose a subculture that fascinates her, study its movement and voice for a long time, then set a “score” (instructions for improvised action) on select members. Nahl (“Bee” in Arabic) features children, ages 9 to 12. “Each child follows their own rhythm, between rolling, jumping, singing, shouting, and tiredness,” the Festival Web site informs us, “thereby bringing forth a collective organism in constant transformation.” In short, a buzzing hive of play. The world of Este Mundo (“This World” in Portuguese) belongs to a Madeira troupe of differently abled dancers, inspired by the elements and partaking in simple gestures. Ouizguen has named her solo for herself after the hedgehog—“as able to fold inwards as outwards,” which is an apt summation of all these works. —Apollinaire Scherr