This workshop offers a chance for performers to dive deep into Mélanie Demers’ distinct artistic world and invites you to explore how your own ”inner mythology” shapes the way you move and perform. It is created to flex your creative muscles as a collaborative artist, and the physical work pushes the boundaries of how you share yourself on stage—navigating the delicate line between your private vulnerability and your public expression (intimité and extimité). In a space where your unique personality, style, and energy will collide and connect with those of your fellow dancers, the workshop focuses on how your physical choices generate meaning and carry a powerful voice of their own.
Mélanie Demers’ work Confession Publique can be seen in the frame of Moving in November on the 5th and 6th of November in Stoa.
Mélanie Demers is a multidisciplinary artist and founder of the Montreal dance company MAYDAY (2007), known for blending poetry and politics through hybrid, cross-genre works. Over her career, she has choreographed thirty pieces presented in around forty cities worldwide.
Her key choreographic achievements include WOULD and Confession Publique, which both earned CALQ Awards for best choreography, alongside internationally toured works like Animal Triste and Cabaret Noir. Demers has also expanded into theatre, directing Jordan Tannahill’s Déclarations and premiering her play l’amour ou rien in 2025. Her profound impact on the performing arts has been recognized with major honors, including the GRAND PRIX de la danse de Montréal (2021), the 2024 NAC Award, and the 2025 Canada Council for the Arts Molson Prize. Additionally, she teaches at top Canadian theatre schools and regularly contributes to radio and television.