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Ten years after presenting Noire (2014), Québec City choreographer Annie Gagnon gently and intensely sculpts a new creation of rare emotional power. Emerging from a vital impulse to denounce violence, Élégie II acutely explores the multiple reverberations it provokes in us. Personal and powerful, the work is carried by four explosive dance artists and three virtuoso musicians from Les Violons du Roy. The seven performers express the aftershocks of fury and destruction with restlessness and sensitivity. Out of the darkness emerges a rage for life, a true ode to solidarity and humanity.

Welcome to El Botinière, the legendary cabaret of Tunis. In this nocturnal world, amidst joys, loves, and sorrows, six dancers portray six lives, six stories of desire, distress, and misery. Set to electro-oriental pop music, an extravagant dance sheds light on the dark sides of a patriarchal and schizophrenic Arab-Muslim society. This sacred space of indulgence, the cabaret, is revealed as a refuge for those who remain hidden from the public eye. Presented in France, throughout Maghreb, and several cities in Quebec, choreographer and director Selim Ben Safia’s work was born from a desire to offer new opportunities to Tunisian artists. Bridging cultures, El Botinière is a project larger than itself, uniting Tunisia as a whole.

Speed, precision and virtuosity have taken the artists of Patin Libre to ice rinks all over the world. Now, they return with 15 skaters in perfect control of the ice! Far from the glitz and glamour, these gentle rebels have elevated ice skating to the status of contemporary performing art. Their new work is inspired by the mysterious phenomenon of bird flocks, those mesmerizing aerial ballets known as murmuration. On the ice, synchronized movements and changes in direction create a domino effect that shifts the trajectory of the group, where each artist remains constantly on alert. This high-flying, dizzying skating performance explores the dynamic interactions of a harmonious and exhilarating collective existence. A rush of adrenaline and grace for the whole family

Alan Lake delves into the heart of the human experience with a new choreographic work that bears witness to the redemptive power of art. The choreographer brings together eight dancers and a musician in one of his signature symbolist narratives. Subtly intertwining myth and modernity, this dance born from shadow and light explores the twists and turns of doubt, loss, and most importantly, life. Blending melodies, movement, emotions, and vulnerability, Lake creates a supernatural atmosphere, oscillating between dream and reality. In a world plagued by division, conflict, and isolation, the work resonates as a powerful metaphor, reaffirming that the true essence of our humanity emerges from confronting the unknown.

Wolastoq and Quebecois artist Ivanie Aubin-Malo takes us on a journey through dance, music, and song into a reimagined tale, invoking the Giants, entities from the oral traditions of the Wabanaki peoples. A captivating performance brought to the stage with violinist Julian Rice (Mi’kmaq et Kanien’keha:ka), this creation transports us on a fascinating journey through the oral, sung, and danced traditions of the Wabanaki peoples. Wahsipekuk : Au-delà des montagnes is a leap into the invisible space of dreams, an attempt to reconnect and continue the transmission of knowledge. This project, co-initiated by Ivanie Aubin-Malo and Natasha Kanapé Fontaine in 2020, invites the audience to experience a vibrant celebration where the past and present meet.

Young creators Héloïse Le Bagousse and Meï Thongsoume paint a graceful fresco inspired by the concept of time, that paradoxical blend of moment and eternity. With palpable chemistry, the duo opens a window onto this monumental philosophical concept that has fascinated, continues to fascinate, and will always fascinate. Time, which passes, flies, slows down, and freezes without ever stopping, is expressed through complex and precise movements tinged with theatricality. The artists bring the aesthetics of movement into the present by drawing from their backgrounds in classical arts, philosophy, psychology, spirituality, politics, and fashion. Set to the music of Bach and Vivaldi, Le paradoxe des horloges transports the audience into a world of harmony and beauty.

The first choreographic work by emerging Québec artist Marie-Chantale Béland, À toutes les dames qui portent un jupon is a celebration of self-assertion, an invitation to finally claim the space that is rightfully ours. Inspired by the video of the choreographer’s parents’ wedding, the performance immerses us into a family memory where societal dynamics clash on a small scale. Underneath the archival footage, sexist stereotypes and prejudices, mainly against women, emerge. In response to this outdated portrait, Marie-Chantale Béland brings to the stage three female protagonists—her mother and aunts—who each in turn take center stage. Sisterhood is revealed as an act of empowerment, an antidote to the invisibility once imposed.

A choreographic epic centered around the well-known Trotteur, the man—this legend!—who ran faster than horses, ships, and trains. Marginalized and scorned by those close to him who couldn’t accept his eccentricity, Alexis Lapointe (1860-1924), a figure from the Québécois folklore with extraordinary physical abilities and a fiery spirit, became, for the society of the time, a sideshow attraction, celebrated for his feats and applauded by all with a mix of curiosity and admiration. How would Alexis, this eternal adolescent who dared to embrace his uniqueness, be received today?