Our Way of Working

Danse-Cité does not issue calls for projects.
We work through cycles and encounters.

Each year, we accompany three or four projects—sometimes more, depending on the circumstances. Every accompaniment is unique, tailored to the artist and the work. It can last several months, or even two or three years.

What we prioritize: listening, time, relationships.
We adapt to projects—not the other way around.

Co-curation

Co-curation is at the heart of how we function.

It is our way of multiplying perspectives, opening up dialogue, and reflecting together on what calls for accompaniment. It is a way to broaden horizons and remain attentive to what is searching for its form, what needs space, support, or connection.

Decisions are made through two voices—between the Artistic and General Direction and the Co-curator, in ongoing conversation.

  • 2019–2022: Ellen Furey

  • 2022–2025: Winnie Ho

  • Since August 2025: Michael Martini

Project Accompaniment

Danse-Cité acts as co-producer and presenter of the works it accompanies.

Support may include:

  • Production: production fee, logistical support, venue rental, fees for presentation (technical direction, stage management, performers, etc.)

  • Administration: guidance with grant applications, budgetary and legal advice, UDA contracts, administrative follow-up, insurance

  • Communication: collaboration on promo materials (photos, videos, graphic design), audience development, touring support

  • Artistic: personalized follow-ups, occasional presence in rehearsal, exchanges about the process—without ever imposing a vision

It is important to note that certain parts of the project must be financed by the artist, including:

  • fees for designers (sound, lighting, costumes, etc.)

  • creation and rehearsal fees

  • costs related to creation residencies

  • certain production expenses not covered by Danse-Cité

The artist is therefore responsible for preparing and submitting funding applications to public funders, ideally on a timeline that ensures responses before the start of the presentation cycle.

Each agreement is formalized in a clear letter, co-constructed with the artist, and accompanied by our Policy to promote civility and to prevent psychological harassment, sexual violence, and discrimination [web link].

Accompaniment Is Also…

Beyond co-production and presentation, to accompany a project can also mean:

  • supporting the preparation of individual grant applications

  • contributing to research, dramaturgy, or networking

  • collaborating on outreach or documentation

  • or simply… being there, to think things through together.

Each project calls for its own form of accompaniment.

What Interests Us

We accompany unique approaches and forms that disrupt or play with conventions.

Artists who:

  • dig into a voice or a way of being, a relationship to the world

  • shift codes and formats

  • take the plunge into creative vertigo, exploring their burning interests

  • commit to sharing and accessibility, to relation-building

  • invent other ways of creating and sharing

And we support them where things vibrate for them—where they are moved, engaged, transformed.

Our Commitments

  • support challenging artistic approaches

  • value diversity of aesthetics and practices

  • spark unexpected encounters

  • work for greater equity in access to resources

  • develop formats adapted to shifting realities

We are not necessarily seeking “emerging artists” nor exclusively “established names.”
We follow our impulses. Our soft spots..

We prioritize projects for which Danse-Cité's commitment will be a deciding factor or initiatives in their early stages, without pre-existing support or visibility.

A Nomadic Organization

Danse-Cité does not have a fixed venue.
This allows us to support projects that come alive elsewhere: in public space, as installations, in atypical places, or in more conventional venues.
We go where the works call us.

How to Reach Us

We love to see works in the making.
Don’t hesitate to invite us to a performance, a studio showing, or a residency sharing.

We cannot see everything, but we do our best.

Do you have a project to share with us?
Write to Michael Martini (Co-curator) michaelmartini@danse-cite.org or Sophie Corriveau (Artistic Director) sophiecorriveau@danse-cite.org — or both.

We read everything. We reply—sometimes with a bit of delay, given the volume of proposals. Sometimes this leads to a concrete accompaniment. Other times, to a simple conversation about the work, which we consider valuable in itself. Every exchange matters and nourishes our perspective.

You may include in your email:

  • a short presentation of your practice

  • where your project is at

  • traces of your work (videos, photos, excerpts, residency sharing…)

We also reach out to artists ourselves. Sometimes, we write first. :)