Inventing a New World
Montreal, Thursday June 6, 2019 – Over a period of 14 intense, effervescent and often very moving days, the 13th edition of the Festival TransAmériques unfolded from May 22 to June 4 in Montreal. With the phrase “Step Beyond the Self” as the leitmotif of the Festival, the 23 dance and theatre shows selected by artistic director Martin Faucher expressed a thirst to explore geographical regions rarely seen on our stages. This year’s edition featured artists from Burkina Faso, Iran, Lebanon, South Africa and South Korea, while also shedding light on profound transformations in human society and the changing frontiers of the world we live in.
The FTA has always been of the opinion that the spirit and power of the body, along with free speech and the clear-sighted perspective and creativity of artists, all possess the power to question and redefine society. In order to provide the largest possible number of spectators with access to these presentations, we raised our seating capacity this year, which led to an significant increase in the number of tickets available. This year the FTA sold the greatest number of tickets in its history. By the end of this 13th edition the attendance rate was 93%, 9 shows were completely sold out, and 65% of all performances played to a full audience. More than 39,000 festivalgoers made this year’s event rock!
FTA 2019 – Facts & Figures
• 87 performances of 23 shows from 11 countries (South Africa, Germany, Burkina Faso, Canada, South Korea, France, Iran, Italy, Lebanon, Poland, Portugal)
• 344 artists from 17 countries
• 11 co-productions, including one international co-production (Granma. Trombones de La Havane
• 11 new works, 9 of them making their world premières
• 11 North American premières
• 71 activities in the FTA Playgrounds (meet the artists, discussions, films, FTA Clinics, master classes, parties)
• 2209 overnight stays directly generated by Festival activities
• 176 presenters and festival programmers from 24 countries
• 150 accredited journalists, including 20 from outside Quebec
• 707 young people took part in our student outreach program
• $126,000 invested in our Co-production Fund
• 110 tons of CO2 neutralized thanks to the FTA Environmental Responsibility Fund
• 17% increase in attendance compared to average attendance over past 5 years
