Six Premieres. One Generation.

Embodied histories of invention. From these languages of resistance and affirmation, a singular and plural contemporary scene has emerged—one that shapes the 2026 programme. The sixteen performances and stage works of this edition span whacking, house, popping, dancehall and hip hop dances, with particular attention to works created here: six new productions punctuate the calendar.

Roses by Karim KH opens the series on 6 October at Le Triangle. A poetic journey inviting us to believe in the power of dreams and imagination, where contradictions make sense and risk becomes a form of freedom. Between reality and fiction, it is a passage toward what does not yet exist.

On 13 October at TNB, two new creations follow one another on the same evening. Maison Lou(p) by Oumrata Konan explores the mechanisms of incest through whacking, a dance born from the need to exist and survive. Inspired by her own story and the work of Dorothée Dussy, this solo exposes systemic violence hidden behind family façades. Each performance is followed by a talk with a specialist mediator.

Later in the Salle Serreau, a double bill brings together two premieres, two ways of inhabiting in-betweenness: Limbo by Suzanne Degennaro, a whacking solo on intersex experience, a silent cry and suspended celebration—a dance of edges, ambiguity and unruly beauty; Out/Side by Mwendwa Marchand, which explores what dancehall—built outside studios—becomes when it enters an institutional stage.

On 15 October, Chega de saudade by Inès Mauricio unfolds a solo rooted in the colonial history of her own grandmother, who settled in Angola under Salazar: a sensitive portrait of colonial heritage, like leafing through a photo album.

Gentlewoman by Paradox-Sal closes the series on 17 October at TNB. The first work by the collective brought together by the late Ousmane Sy: eight women house dancers in a collective celebration of dance—solo, duet, ensemble. Sisterhood on stage, they assert their identities: the audience sees them all, and each one.

Stories that run through the stage

From 6 October at Le Triangle, Habibitch opens the thread with Decolonising the Dancefloor. At the intersection of stand-up, political lecture and dance, she deconstructs colonial and gender norms from her lived experience as an Algerian, queer dancer and activist. Racism, privilege, resistance: concepts are dissected through a decolonial lens, while the body drives the speech. Funny, sharp, and urgent.

Over a weekend, Jenny Victoire Charreton presents the diptych Anatomy of Transition, to be experienced separately or as a whole. In My Drawing, on 10 October at CCN, reflects on gender transition as a point of no return: solo on stage, she weaves poetry, electronic music, drawings, digital puppetry and testimony, inhabited by the words of poet Luz Volckmann. The following day, Stealing Fire, co-created with Daphné Demaison, takes the form of a contemporary tale: a princess dressed in pink who stole fire, escaped from the Underworld and fought a curse erasing her memories. Words, puppetry, live music, visual arts and French Sign Language intertwine around transfeminine experiences, with a post-show discussion in LSF.

Invisibilia (for piano) by Mackenzy Bergile circulates through the festival like no other work: three stage performances at Théâtre de Poche in Hédé-Bazouges on 8 and 9 October, then at Le Tambour on 12 October, and a reimagined form through successive activations on 13 October at TNB. This new work explores incomplete musical forms emerging in unstable zones of memory and dream: fragments appear and fade, leaving fleeting traces to be reinvented between presence, memory and disappearance.

SAWATA by Nadia Gabrieli Kalati is born from a personal loss. A rite of passage between memory and rebirth, shaped by house dance and pan-African forms, this solo draws on her Cameroonian roots to explore the symbolism of water—fluid, infinite, ungraspable. The body engages with the invisible and celebrates life despite absence, turning each gesture into an act of remembrance.

Revivals, re-editions, final performances

Around the new creations, several works return with renewed purpose. Witness by Saïdo Lehlouh brings together twenty self-taught dancers from different generations and styles: this time, the “water team” takes the stage. STUCK by Mounia Nassangar returns in a special version with an all-male cast, paying tribute to the gay men who gave birth to whacking. One Shot by Ousmane Sy, first presented in 2022, has toured over 120 times: UNDER/GROUND hosts its final performance. Raw by Sandrine Lescourant brings text into dance to share hip hop culture—its codes, misconceptions, lessons and hopes.

And around the stages

Three carte blanche projects in the Salle Paradis at TNB, with free access, featuring Mounia Nassangar, Elamine Maecha and Mackenzy Bergile. Plus DJ sets after the shows, at the bar.

Tickets and full schedule available on each event page.