“Confession publique deals with intimate subjects with a profound sense of poetry, while being remarkably nuanced. Performance, staging, scenography and soundscape are perfectly in synch. Moreover, we get the sense that the audience was at the heart of the reflection undertaken by Mélanie Demers and her team when they created this work; the audience is immersed in various textures, emotions, and territories. Each new tableau has an unsettling effect and takes them elsewhere. Her bold and unique signature is richly deserving of mention,” said the members of the CALQ jury.
Mélanie Demers, choreographer
Montreal-based multidisciplinary artist Mélanie Demers founded the company MAYDAY in 2007. She explores the powerful relationship between the poetic and the political, and deepens her engagement with works that embody hybrid forms. In addition to her choreographic practice, Mélanie Demers teaches movement at leading theatre schools, while also working as a consultant on several theatre productions and committing herself to a literary practice. Her fascination with words and gestures crystallized with WOULD (2015), winner of the CALQ prize for best choreographic work. Pairing theatricality with literature, music and visual arts, she embarked on a new cycle in 2021 with the creation of the works La Goddam Voie Lactée, Confession publique and Cabaret noir. Mélanie Demers won the 2021 GRAND PRIX de la danse de Montréal in recognition of the unique mark she has left on her era. In 2022, Mélanie Demers turned her attention to theatre, directing the stage version of the work Déclarations by author Jordan Tannahill, at Théâtre Prospero. To date, she has created some 30 choreographic works, which have been showcased at festivals and theatres in Europe, the Americas, Africa and Asia.