Bursting with the Energy of Life

Montreal, Thursday, June 12, 2025 – After opening with the stunning success of LACRIMA, Festival TransAmériques wrapped up its 19^th edition with C la vie, an epic celebration of dance and the power of community by Burkinabe choreographer Serge Aimé Coulibaly. Over 4,000 spectators attended the performance at Théâtre de Verdure in Parc Lafontaine.

From May 22 to June 5, 20 dance and theatre shows featuring 230 artists from 16 countries were presented at 14 venues across Montreal. They were attended by almost 35,000 festivalgoers. The venue occupancy rate was 98% (the Festival’s highest figure since 2018) and 73% of the performances were sold out, confirming FTA’s position as an essential cultural event both locally and internationally. In response to increased public demand, the Festival is proud to have significantly enhanced its audience capacity, boosting the total number of available tickets by 5%.

Over 14,000 people attended free shows and activities. The diverse range of experiences and stylistic approaches they offered were received with tremendous enthusiasm by audiences, who once again embraced the bold artistic vision for which FTA is known.

“This year, the artists cared for us with rigour, patience, and kindness. They have the ability and the courage to tackle deeply troubling subjects with honesty and to stare death in the face—but at the same time, they heal us, comfort us, and give us confidence and strength to act. We are deeply grateful to FTA’s generous, adventurous audience, that gives the event its full meaning.”
— Martine Dennewald and Jessie Mill, co-artistic directors of FTA

FTA in Numbers

+ 75 performances of 20 shows from 14 countries (France, Iran, Germany, Norway, South Africa, Mexico, Canada, Rwanda, Belgium, Italy, Australia, Greece, Argentina, Burkina Faso)
+ 230 artists from 16 countries
+ 8 coproductions, including one international coproduction (AUTOGYNEGAMY, danses vagabondes, Extérieur/nuit, HEAVEN FM, Hiroshima mon amour, LACRIMA, Millepertuis, Un-nevering)
+ 73 Playgrounds activities involving almost 9,000 people
+ 182 presenters and programmers from 26 countries
+ 167 journalists covering the Festival, 89 of whom were accredited
+ 1,730 nights of accommodation generated directly by the Festival’s activities
+ Close to 1,000 students from 28 schools in attendance

A Thrilling Start

The Festival’s opening show, LACRIMA, by French director Caroline Guiela Nguyen, was a powerful kick-off to the 19^th edition, generating strong interest among both the media and the general public. In just under three hours, this ensemble piece masterfully weaved together stories, lives, and continents. Over the next few days, festivalgoers were impressed by the captivating mood of Shiraz by Iranian choreographer Armin Hokmi and the liberating energy of Hatched Ensemble by South African choreographer Mamela Nyamza, who lit up the Monument-National.

Communicating with the Missing

A love song by Dorcy Rugamba to his family, who were wiped out during the genocide against the Tutsi, Hewa Rwanda was a work of power and dignity that brought tears to many eyes. Ancestral voices rang out in Toi, Moi, Tituba… by Dorothée Munyaneza, which paid tribute to the memory of Afro-descendant women erased from colonial archives. Thea Patterson’s Un-nevering drew on an extended artistic family to transform mourning into a space for collective remembrance and empowerment.

Inventing New Rituals

Throughout the Festival, artists engaged in ceremonies to ease our troubled minds. In concerto, Charlie Khalil Prince and Olivia Tapiero deployed a world of sonic vibrations, resonance, and contemplation to negotiate the violence of the world. HEAVEN FM, by the Vancouver collective Hong Kong Exile, was a true marvel of invention: a playful, invigorating performance that constructed a theatre of radio waves, objects, and lights to communicate with the afterlife. Centroamérica, the latest work from Lagartijas Tiradas al Sol—the Mexican collective that first appeared at FTA 15 years ago—formed a mysterious pact between theatre and reality, giving new meaning to the power of art.

Formal Sophistication

The Festival also featured a programming rarity in the form of a contemporary opera—the first created by director Christian Lapointe and Australian composer Rósa Lind. The result of an ambitious international collaboration, Hiroshima mon amour brought together the voices of opera company Chants libres, led by artistic director Marie-Annick Béliveau, and the Quatuor Bozzini. Theatre lovers were deeply moved by Taverna Miresia by the stunning Greek director Mario Banushi, a strikingly visual and highly symbolic work in which the lamentations of singer Savina Yannatou were the only spoken words. In Extérieur/nuit, the exciting young collective Théâtre indépendant made a distinctive impression with its mastery of stagecraft and ability to play tricks with perception.

“Festival TransAmériques’s mission is not just to present tried-and-tested works by established artists: it’s also to help up-and-coming creators take the next step in their career.”
— Christian Saint-Pierre, Le Devoir

Unlikely Lessons in Love

Against the backdrop of a monumental church, the fabulous Elle Barbara orchestrated a lavish celebration of rebirth and a heartfelt plea for self-acceptance in AUTOGYNEGAMY. Love was at the heart of the blaze lit by Martine Delvaux and the Bureau de l’APA in Pompières et pyromanes. The Quebec City-based collective issued a powerful rallying cry for climate justice—an appeal heard by hundreds of young spectators who were moved by this performance that was both a political and artistic statement. In Wayqeycuna, set in his home village near the Andes, Tiziano Cruz pursued healing and reconciliation in a ceremony that connected artist and audience while continuing his denunciation of colonial violence.

Extraordinary Solo Performers

Dancer and choreographer Louise Lecavalier embarked on a game of transformations in danses vagabondes, a work of great maturity that earned unanimous acclaim. Walid “Waldo” Hammani was by turns candid, mischievous, and introspective in Millepertuis, a dance piece created specifically for him by choreographer Sovann Rochon-Prom Tep. How do we view marginalized bodies? What fantasies do they arouse? Chiara Bersani and Harald Beharie tackled these questions in Gentle Unicorn and Batty Bwoy, two unique works that functioned as companion pieces: both artists displayed their bodies without reservation to the audience, whose eyes were opened by performances of remarkable truth and intensity.

Dancing Till You Drop

Despite the rain and the troubled times in which we’re living, there were plenty of opportunities to dance. Sessions led by Stacey Désilier and Raja Feather Kelly got people moving to wake their bodies. Participants shared joyful experiences on the Esplanade Tranquille in the Quartier des spectacles during dance lessons and the infectious concert dance Tolon kè! by Faso Danse Théâtre, not to forget audience warm-ups and the FTA Headquarters’ legendary parties. The 19^th edition’s closing show, C la vie by Burkinabe choreographer Serge Aimé Coulibaly, brought down the curtain on the Festival in grand style at Théâtre de Verdure in Parc Lafontaine. It was a magnificent party celebrating the future of the world!

HQ: The Heart of the Festival

Over 15 days, the Headquarters welcomed almost 4,000 people who took part in a diverse lineup of activities. These included a hope-filled discussion featuring various artists from Rwanda, a passionate conversation between Dana Michel, Louise Lecavalier, and Angélique Willkie, a tribute to 40 years of the company Ondinnok, and the eagerly anticipated release of the Ecodesign Guide overseen by FTA and Écosceno. Meanwhile, the FTA Clinics provided free consultations in four languages to over 50 artists. All these moments devoted to exchange and critical thinking enabled those present to “shatter fossilized certainties,” as suggested by Guylaine Massoutre during “Critical Love,” a discussion held at the end of the Festival.

This year, FTA welcomed 182 national and international presenters and arts professionals. The Festival as established itself as an essential space for discovering, thinking about, and promoting artistic work and also as a key platform for touring shows from Quebec and Canada, which are making an impact around the world.

In closing, we are deeply saddened by the loss of two major artists who passed away in June this year: the dancer and choreographer Maria Kefirova (FTA 2023) and the director Claude Poissant (FTA 2005, 2010). The memory of their powerful works will live on in us.

Join us from May 27 to June 11 next year to celebrate the 20^th edition of Festival TransAmériques!

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