As part of a bilateral exchange between Festival Quartiers Danses (FQD) and the United Kingdom, Quebec choreographers Pauline Gervais and Charles Brecard embarked on a tour from March 9 to 17, presenting their respective solos Auf Wiedersehen and Il pleut, il plaint, il rage. Their performances were hosted by three major contemporary dance institutions: South East Dance in Brighton, DanceEast in Ipswich, and The Place in London.
Auf Wiedersehen explores grief through heavy silences and the traces left by absence. But beyond loss, the solo also reveals the gentleness and joy that emerge from memory, from those moments that continue to resonate within us, between nostalgia and light.
Winner of the Best Choreography Award at the Internationales Solo Tanz Theater Stuttgart in 2023, Il pleut, il plaint, il rage questions our powerlessness in the face of a world in crisis. Through a gradual transformation, the character oscillates between poetry and chaos, submission and revolt.
Beyond the performances, this tour fostered enriching professional exchanges, strengthening the dialogue between the Quebec and UK choreographic scenes. This partnership is part of an ongoing dynamic initiated in 2024 when FQD presented several short films as well as the album: live, an urban performance by Rose Ellen Lewis & Sarah Goulding (UK) x Naya Ali (Montreal), co-produced by The Place and supported by South East Dance and DanceEast.
Through these collaborations, FQD continues its mission to promote Quebec contemporary dance internationally and encourages encounters between creators from here and elsewhere.
