The Festival TransAmériques, Montreal’s most transcendent dance and theater festival, is in full swing for its 19th edition, which runs from May 22 to June 5, 2025.
It’s also a festival that’s quite intriguing (even for Montrealers who are used to seeing friends of friends in experimental performances that always start just before midnight) and can even be intimidating. Dance + Theatre, FTA, the unicorn – what does that mean?
And when you buy a ticket for one of the 20 shows running in the city until June 5, what’s your experience going to be?
FTA: the creative and collaborative inferno
The intrigue and excitement of seeing and experiencing dance, theater and proposed expression in new and inspiring formats is at the heart of the FTA.
This year, the festival’s theme is “Bifurcate”, and in addition to the 20 shows presented around the theme that could be summed up as everything burns, but fire is also the genesis of creation, there are some 40 conversations (interactive conferences), workshops, parties and “dances in the public square”.
There are “playgrounds” and, if you’re part of the creative world (not just theater and dance, because the FTA is a true incubator of artistic creation in its broadest sense) “professional playgrounds” with workshops for artists, professional meetings and dramaturgical clinics.
We know, it’s a lot, and we’ve selected 5 of the “playground” events that most appeal to us – for the full program, click here!
* all these events are free!
1 Cinédanse sous les étoiles, open-air screenings of short and medium-length films at Esplanade Danse: May 30 & 31 and June 1, starting at 9 p.m.
2 .Elle Barbara: la fête nuptiale, a party at FTA HQ with djs bell.pierre + Ellxandra, a flamboyant evening where we’re invited to dress in the brightest of our wardrobe: Saturday May 31
3.a visit to L’Esplanade Tranquille to silk-screen print the festival unicorn on a t-shirt, scarf or bag from our collection: May 31 and June 1
4– Éveil du Corps, a ritual singing workshop at FTA HQ with Savina Yannatou: May 30 at 11 a.m.
5 Launch of the Guide Pratique d’écoconception pour les arts vivants, a digital guide to support the socio-ecological transition of the performing arts for artists, friends, partners, craftspeople… and all those working in the creative milieu: June 4 at 5 p.m.
Shows & practical info
There are 20 shows to see during the festival, and it’s possible to see them by taking a package (to see several) or by taking a specific ticket per show.
There’s enormous variety in the shows on offer: dance, theater, performance, a mix of the three… and the 200 artists, choreographers, directors and performers come from 23 countries to present them.
We recommend you take a look at the program and let yourself be tempted by what speaks to us on a cosmic level: online here.
We saw Toi, moi, Tituba by Dorothée Munyaneza
This show is still on until May 29, and we recommend going if you can.
Dorothée Munyaneza is alone on stage, dancing, singing and vocalizing between white neon lights, in a transcendental tribute to “Tituba, the enslaved black woman on trial at the famous Salem Witch Trials”.
The inhabited (haunted, even) gestures of Munyaneza, an incredible Rwandan artist whom we discovered with immense pleasure, create a kind of rift between reality and the forgotten people of history – represented by Tituba – in a frankly jouissive occult session.
The organic sophistication of the voice work that accompanies the gesture and music of Dorothée Munyaneza’s performance has an almost superhuman force, and this tour de force resounds from the ghosts with whom she converses.
The next performances of Toi, moi, Tituba are this Wednesday, May 28 at 8pm, and Thursday, May 29 at 8pm.
Happy FTA!