Festival TransAmériques
brings the world to Montreal
FTA co-artistic director Martine Dennewald explains how the spectacle is brought to life
By Irwin Rapoport
May 30 2024
Montreal has certainly earned its reputation as the “City of Festivals” and throughout the Spring, Summer, and Fall, the residents of this city have many to choose from. One of the early festivals to hit the city, the 18th edition of the Festival TransAmériques, which immerses audiences in a unique sensory and artistic experience, is wrapping up on June 5, which still gives Montrealers opportunities to take in theatre and dance shows from over a dozen countries, including eight world premieres, eight North American premieres and nine co-productions. Shows are surtitled in English and French, making them accessible to all.

Martine Dennewald • Image: Hamza Abouelouafaa
The FTA most definitely stretches the imagination delving deep into the complexity of the world around us and featuring bold, radiant performances in ten different languages, including English, French, Portuguese, Anishinaabemowin, Inga, Spanish, Arabic, Haitian Creole and Bambara, from 15 countries. This international performing arts festival, the largest festival of its kind in North America dedicated to celebrating the art of dance and theatre, continues to evolve and expand in scope.
Curated by co-Artistic Directors Martine Dennewald and Jessie Mill, the Festival transcends boundaries between art forms. This year, artists from around the world explore love and eroticism, the manifold powers of theatre, and the potential inherent in video games and artificial intelligence. Indigenous art, knowledge and thought will again be showcased, serving up a vibrant celebration of artistic vitality in Quebec and far beyond.
To ensure a diverse variety of performances, Mill and Dennewald travel the globe in search of bold works and contemporary, fresh perspectives to surprise, move and challenge demanding Montreal audiences. “This year’s Festival programme does not try to escape the world’s disorders by any means, but we are calling for poetry, for recognition of the complexity around us, and the possibility of telling stories differently,” state Dennewald and Mill. “Plants talk, a dog sings, a griot defies the machine. The artists are telling us that nothing is universal, neither fundamental family ties, nor the truths of history, nor the binaries of old and new… If this planet is on fire, shouldn’t we rely on different kinds of relationships and learn to use other languages as fast as we can?”
The FTA most definitely stretches the imagination delving deep into the complexity of the world around us and featuring bold, radiant performances in ten different languages… from 15 countries.
By day, FTA Headquarters is a café hosting free FTA Playground activities. By night, it is party central with an amazing line-up of favourite DJs. Detailed info on each production’s page includes video clips, photos, artist interviews and bios via fta.ca and a link to the Directors’ editorial.

Nadia Beugré’s Prophétique • Image: Werner-Strouven
Martine Dennewald, the co-artistic director of Festival TransAmériques, graciously responded to a few questions:
WM: What do you look for when choosing these works from around the world?
Dennewald: It would be easy to say that we are looking for artistic excellence and we certainly want to bring the very best in dance and theatre to Montreal. At the same time, as co-artistic directors, Jessie Mill and I need to be attentive to what artists are creating in many places in the world. We have to be aware of our own biases and blind spots: What have we been taught to consider an outstanding piece of work? What are we missing? How do we ensure that our choices speak to many different audiences? We strive to create an exceptional experience for everyone who attends the Festival.
‘Day or night finds festival goers, artists, cultural workers, industry professionals, and art lovers engaged in heated debates and discussions on the performing arts.’
– Festival TransAmériques press release
WM: How did you get involved in the Festival, and what does it mean to you?
Dennewald: While Jessie had been working for FTA for many years as artistic adviser and dramaturg, I only moved to Montreal from Europe for the job three years ago after we had applied together. Our leadership model is based on a strong shared vision for the Festival, and our different backgrounds and origins are useful in considering how and why we choose a certain show, what it means for our audiences and the international theatre/dance presenters who come to find work created in Montreal, Quebec and Canada.

Faye Driscoll’s Weathering • Image: Maria Baranova
WM: What type of shows can people look forward to, especially those who have never attended the Festival?
Dennewald: There is a real variety of dance, theatre and performance that you can see: Catherine Gaudet‘s intricate, kaleidoscopic choreography in ODE (she received the Grand Prix de la danse de Montréal in 2022); an interactive video game performance at Centaur Theatre called asses.masses; a powerful, charming and rowdy group of five performers from the trans community in Nadia Beugré’s Prophétique; or New York choreographer Faye Driscoll‘s OBIE-award-winning Weathering, to name a few you shouldn’t miss.
WM: What do you hope Montrealers and those visiting will experience at FTA?
Dennewald: FTA is a line-up of exceptional shows that combine exciting artistic choices with real insights into where we are headed as a society. You may leave the theatre with more questions than answers and we think that’s great!
WM: What does the Festival bring to the city?
Dennewald: We hope it brings experiences our audiences will never forget, both for the emotional impact of the shows and the reflections they trigger. You can see it in their eyes when they leave the theatre! And sometimes, they still talk about what they have seen many years, even decades later.
Feature image: Catherine Gaudet’s ODE, by Julie Artacho
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Irwin Rapoport is a freelance journalist with a bachelor’s degree in history and political science from Concordia University.
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