ZemmourBallet - SCDF 2026

Three Days of Contemporary Dance in Québec’s Eastern Townships

An initiative of ZemmourBallet

August 20–22, 2026

FDCS_2026_Testimonials_EN.pdf

FDCS_2026_Impact_Report_EN_final_v2.pdf

Site

Theater Grand-Espace, 250 rue du dépôt, Sherbrooke

Activities

Dance creation workshop at the Musée des beaux-arts de Sherbrooke
Dance partnering masterclass at École de danse CADENCE
Dance creation workshop for professional artists at the Centre des arts de la scène Jean-Besré
Post-performance discussion with the audience and artists after every performance

Since 1990, École de danse CADENCE has fostered a passion for dance in Sherbrooke. Welcoming more than 600 students each year, the school offers high-quality recreational and competitive training in ballet, jazz, hip-hop, contemporary dance, folklore, lyrical dance, tap and acro dance.

Students ranging in age from 3 to 72 develop in a positive, inclusive and stimulating environment that supports their technical, artistic and personal growth.

Community engagement is also central to CADENCE’s mission. Through performances at festivals, community events, shopping centres, seniors’ residences and other public venues, students have opportunities to share their passion, build confidence and contribute meaningfully to the cultural life of their community.

Performances

Thursday, August 20, 2026

7 pm

DANCE

Cont@ct

a work by Nu.Skin

Cont@ct explores the connections that unite us beyond movement. Through attentive listening, physical contact and shared energy, six performers celebrate friendship, belonging and the bonds forged over time. The work pays tribute to a vibrant humanity, sustained by presence, play and a shared passion.

Performers: Alain Abboud, Andrew Ea, Kevin Desriveaux, David Michel .Music: RossomodoPhotography: Laurence Rosset, known as Lolographer

POETRY

Effets de réel

a work by Nicholas Giguère

Photography: Annick Sauvé

DANCE

The Next Act

a work by Jake Poloz

The Next Act is a short duet in two acts exploring how we move through grief with the support of those around us. Blending contemporary partnering with western two-step, the work examines how loss divides life into a “before” and an “after,” and how the wound of an ending can give way to hope for what comes next.

Performers: Jake Poloz and Adele RossCreated by: Jake Poloz and Ramblin’ Jack ElliottPhotography: Melika Dez

POETRY

Je te tricoterai un parachute

a work by Audrey Babin

Photography: Allyson Rodrigue et Maxime Caron

DANCE

ANCRAGES: APRÈS L'ÉVEIL

a work by Véroushka Eugène

ANCRAGES explores the individual’s journey after passing through the dark night of the soul. When familiar points of reference collapse, where can we find grounding? How do we move forward between disorientation and certainty, wandering and self-affirmation, doubt and the desire for fulfilment? How do we begin to fully inhabit the purpose the soul demands of us?Blending dancehall, traditional and urban Haitian dance, and Afro-contemporary movement, eight performers embody this universal quest with their entire being. Drawing on more than ten years of experience, they command the stage with power and commitment, transforming movement into a space of reconstruction, affirmation and transformation.

Performers: Véroushka Eugène, Vanessa Eugène, Fredlyne Pierre, Coralie Millet and Steeven MarcelVocals: Véroushka EugèneMusic: Culture Capital, Erol Josué and ZahoMusical arrangements: Rose Gabrielle AugustePhotography: Benz Debrosse

POETRY

Cannage

a work by Franck Poule

Photography: Marianne Deschênes

DANCE

Honey Never Spoils

a work by Zachary Bastille

Honey Never Spoils imagines a world without bees, vital symbols of ecological balance and collective solidarity. Through their hypothetical disappearance, the work reveals the fragility of our ecosystems and examines the erosion of the bonds that connect us.Moving through loss, individualism and the desire for emancipation, the piece transforms collapse into a possible turning point. It invites us to fundamentally reconsider how we inhabit the world and the interdependencies that make coexistence possible.

Performers: Lou Amsellem, Jake Poloz and Adèle RossCreated by: Adrian CopelandPhotography: Melika Dez

Friday, August 21, 2026

7 pm

DANCE

Après l'image

a work by Avery Warren

After After ImageA creature slowly gathers itself, wrapped in colour and overflowing with curiosity. Entangled in its ruffles and propelled by its own momentum, it observes, reorganizes and re-emerges. It is neither better nor worse; it is simply… different. And just as curious as ever.Draped in cumbersome layers, After After Image explores transformation and the subtle differences that emerge from one moment to the next. Through weight, movement and an ever-evolving identity, the work reveals a creature shaped by natural change and a continuous process of becoming.Adapting and responding within a fragile, interconnected environment, the creature evokes the delicate balance of ecosystems. Moments of shedding and accumulation leave traces, revealing what remains and what is transformed. The work reminds us that transformation is an ongoing process—never complete and always alive.

Performer: Avery WarrenCreated by: Avery WarrenPhotography: Tom Hudson

POETRY

Les mots sont des os durs

a work by Vicky Bernard

Photography: Jessica Garneau Photographe

DANCE

ru-Elles

a work by Compagnie Oredans, choreography Shérane Figaro

ru-Elles evokes narrow passageways and in-between spaces where life unfolds beyond the main thoroughfares. These marginal territories also become places of freedom—inner landscapes inhabited with full awareness.In this work, bodies are grounded in rhythm while remaining suspended in space. Gesture after gesture, they carve pathways through these thresholds—between earth and sky, between what we see and what we would rather leave unseen.The bodies make perceptible what operates in silence: inherited histories passing through us, invisible forces shaping our lives, and resonances connecting each human being to something larger—to one another and to the many layers of the living world.

Performers: Aurélie Ann Figaro, Joselande Josué and Christèle PegeurroMusic: Nanm Vodoua, Toto Bissainthe and Ayub OgadaPhotography: Marie May Loubier

POETRY

Titre provisoire: Courir sous l’eau

a work by Violaine Lachance

Photography: Leonardo Giraldo

DANCE

Le voyage des intellectuels, c'est de la bouffonnerie !

a work by Emmanuelle Martin & Sacha Ouellette-Deguire

The Journey of Intellectuals Is Pure Buffoonery! humorously explores the sense of exclusion that intellectual and artistic circles can sometimes create.Performed by a trio combining dance and live music, the work unfolds in a world where absurdity becomes a driving creative force. At times bourgeois, at times utterly lost, the characters move between seriousness and mockery, searching for their way through a world whose codes seem to elude them.Confronted with a work so enigmatic that laughter becomes a lifeline, the piece overturns conventional notions of legitimacy and affirms that art belongs to everyone. It celebrates a playful, generous and resolutely accessible form of dance.

Performers: Sacha Ouellette-Deguire, Emmanuelle Martin and Emmanuelle Lambert-LemoineMusic: Johann Sebastian BachText: Gilles DeleuzeCostumes: Sacha Ouellette-Deguire and Emmanuelle MartinPhotography: Melika Dez

POETRY

Pollution lumineuse

a work by Mikella Boulanger

Photography: Santiago Rojas Puerta

DANCE

2 Filles dans l'parc

a work by Claudelle Bilodeau.

Landmark vessel sheltering the daydreams of those who pass by. A true refuge for unconventional lovers. An anchoring point from which to escape time, away from the routines of everyday life. A place for chance encounters—perhaps not so accidental after all.”A park bench. Two strangers. An encounter that, at first glance, seems entirely ordinary. Yet, as they discover their shared passions, an unlikely connection begins to form. One thing leads to another, and their meeting draws them into a series of adventures, journeys, and unexpected revelations.At the crossroads of dance, theatre, and storytelling, 2 Filles dans l’parc unfolds as a story that is both ordinary and wildly adventurous. The work plays with the conventions of storytelling, unlikely coincidences, and sweeping dramatic gestures, while leaving plenty of room for humour and absurdity.Through this chance encounter, the piece lightly explores the bonds that form between individuals, coincidence, the search for belonging, and our need to give meaning to the stories we live.

Performers: Claudelle Bilodeau et Vicky Gélineau

Saturday, August 22, 2026

7 pm

DANCE

Labyrinthe, L'appel de la scène

a work by Charline Mélançon, Sophie Duquette-Barcarolo

La Troupe SherbyDanse - Cégep de Sherbrooke

Labyrinthe maps out a space where every path is connected, yet none ever cross. Between invisible walls, bodies search for a way forward, revealing the contours of an inner struggle.
Can you hear it? The stage is calling. It draws you into a space where creativity, energy and strength converge, harmonize and multiply. Do not resist—let yourself be swept away.

Performers: Maïra Abran, O’Lord Ahokpe, Anouk Amuli, Deric Fournier, Alizée Gaudet-Giard, Noémie Giroux, Claudie Guertin and Arianne RichardMusic: Yoann Lemoine and Florence + the MachinePhotography: Mélanie Bergeron

POETRY

Hypersensible

a work by Douce Sévigny

Photography: Marimay Loubier Photographe

DANCE

FE

a work by Niosbel Gonzalez

“They left.
Leaving behind lands, words and songs.
Carrying within their bodies the scars of departure
and roots—deep, alive and impossible to tear away.”This work explores the invisible traces of immigration: displacement, memory, longing and an unwavering belief in a better future. Onstage, bodies become living archives. They carry traditions, reveal wounds and resist erasure. What words leave unspoken takes shape through movement: trauma becomes pulse, silence takes physical form and nostalgia becomes a driving force. Through an intense and poetic physical language, the choreography connects the intimate with the collective, the ancestral with the contemporary, and loss with what may still emerge. Despite absence and the fractures left by departure, something endures: a fragile yet incandescent hope. A sensitive and powerful journey paying tribute to those who dance so as not to forget.

Performers: Mariem Valdes, Erismel Mejias, Gabriela Herrera and Niosbel GonzalezMusic: Pepe GavilondoPhotography: Alejandro Lavrador

DANCE

Maiestas

a work by Rosalie Berger and Charline Mélançon

What do you see in the way I move?
Can you accept
that the movement is mine?Parade as you wish,
but what do you truly want?Height.
Distance.
Your head turned toward the sky.
Are you truly superior?

Performers: Rosalie Berger and Charline MélançonAdditional performers: Maïra Abran, Anouk Amuli, O’Lord Ahokpe, Alizée Gaudet-Giard, Noémie Giroux, Claudie Guertin and Arianne Richard, Deric Fournier.Sound editing: Kamélie FournierMusic: Mixi Xu and Christophe Zurfluh (Quirky Funk)Voice and poem: Lana Del Rey, What Happened When I Left You, excerpted from Violet Bent Backwards over the GrassPhotography: Miguel Ezeta

DANCE

Skyking, Skyking

by Tao Stone Leduc

Skyking, Skyking is a work that questions the power of communication and confronts closed-mindedness, particularly in relation to the perpetuation of and complicity in injustice.This excerpt opens the piece by commenting on closed-mindedness and challenging the idea of “the other”: our tendency to point fingers in order to avoid responsibility and blame someone else for our problems. This mistrust and tension create division and raise questions about whom—or what—we perceive as the enemy.Performers: Tao Stone Leduc, Cindy Mateus, Zack Preece, Ève Dupuis
Music by Tao Stone Leduc
Costumes by Cindy Mateus
Photo credit: Ève Dupuis

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