Words that move us, words of memory, words that allow us to inhabit a place: come write, move, and share your creations at the open mic, accompanied by spoken word artists from slam, theater, storytelling, and poetry, as well as dancers who will offer continuous performances and guide you in dancing the words yourself.

An artistic intervention by poet Catherine Lalonde, presented by the Salon du livre de Montréal, featured one of her improvisational performances combining gestures and text. Dance(s), reading(s), declamation(s), conversation(s), silence(s), and automatic spoken word are among the tools that may be used — or not — together or separately, to raise a question related to reading, writing, or speaking.

To conclude this festive day, an irresistible participatory outdoor performance by the Taafé Fanga collective, blending traditional African dance and collective engagement.

In this choral work, queer artist and self-taught creator Charles-Alexis Desgagnés weaves a fascinating analogy between human fascia and the underground network of mushrooms. Through organic, sensory movement, seven performers explore the possibility of a shared body language, a collective memory in motion. An offshoot of the solo L’appel des braises, the work Le silence des cendres takes a profound exploration of connection, transformation and healing to a new level, in a universe where the body becomes fertile territory for transmission.

Transformation, mycelium, visceral

Rooted in a rich blend of street styles and contemporary techniques, Danish choreographer Lene Boel crafts WAR as a visceral solo for an electro dancer. Drawn from her larger work 4 HORSEMEN, this excerpt hones in on the embodiment of conflict: sharp, relentless, and charged with urgency. A fierce expression of turmoil through electrifying movement.

War, electro dance, red

Dans GREED, la pièce explore les multiples strates d’un thème qui résonne puissamment avec notre époque — la cupidité sous toutes ses formes.

Andrew Skeels, a choreographer renowned for his cinematic style that blends urban dance, martial arts and ballet, has created a hard-hitting work born of his frustration at the rise of the extreme right in the United States. In a succession of powerful, evocative tableaux, Thoughts and Prayers questions the fragility of American institutions and highlights the ideological excesses of a system in crisis. This is a visceral yet refined work that confronts the audience with social struggles and the erosion of democracy with striking artistic audacity.

Theatrical, explosive, contemporary