It is with great pride that The Sursaut Dance Company unveiled the programming of this very first edition of FUDGE | Festival universel de danse géniale pour enfants (Universal Dance Festival of Amazing Dance for Children), that will be launched in Sherbrooke this coming 6th-12th of June.

The whole community is invited to vibrate to the rhythm of dance, during this week of performances and activities that will take place in the four corners of the city.

With the desire to present young audiences with audacious choreographic works, the festival programming proposes five productions originating from local, national, and international stages.

Hailing from France, the company NGC25 will open the ball with Salam, a Franco-Palestinian coproduction, presented at the University of Sherbrooke Cultural Centre on the opening evening of the festival. November, a production from the Spanish company Roser López Espinosa, will for its part be presented at the Centennial Theatre, and the week will come to a close at the Granada Theatre, with the presentation of Let the Games Begin, choreographed by Idan Cohen from Vancouver.

Two outdoor performances are also proposed, to take advantage of the arrival of summer weather; Mellemrum, a co-creation by the Sursaut Dance Company and Danish artist Kitt Johnson, presented in the form of a choreographic journey at the Maison des arts et de la culture de Brompton, and Aube, by the Laval company Zeugma Danse, to be presented in different parks and districts of Sherbrooke.

A multitude of activities in partnership with numerous cultural organizations in the region, will be interspersed during the week. An exposition of visual arts, an evening of cinema, a dance picnic, a workshop for people with a handicap and another in dapké/gigue, a presentation of works created by children, story hour and improvisation sessions at the bookstore, so many different ways to look at dance, and to make it come alive in the heart of the city.

A master class and a day of reflection for professionals in dance and other performing arts for children, are part of the schedule, to encourage exchanges between artists from different origins.

This unique event in North America is the first dedicated exclusively to contemporary dance for young audiences, and as such, marks a great and vital moment for dance in Canada, as well being a structuring initiative for the development of the sector. Holding this event in Sherbrooke helps to decentralize arts and culture and encourages the dynamism and outreach of the discipline throughout all territories.

FUDGE is much more than an international festival, it is universal. It unfolds through a diversified programming, elaborated in a spirit of inclusion, in order to reach the population at large. The festival will be made up of unexpected encounters, exchanges, and surprises; the public will be able to discover the works of creators from all generations. During the entire week, one will be able to hear artists speak Catalan, Arab, Spanish, French, English, Danish, Italian, Hebrew, and without a doubt, many other languages, all gathered around the common language of dance.

 

FUDGE is funded by the Canada Council for the Arts, the Conseil des arts et des lettres du Québec and the City of Sherbrooke.

The realisation of the festival is made possible thanks to the collaboration of numerous partners: Bibliothèques Sherbrooke, Bibliothèque de la danse Vincent-Warren, University of Sherbrooke Cultural Centre, Jean-Besré Center for the Performing Arts, Comité Arts et Culture Jacques-Cartier, Conseil de la culture de l’Estrie, Coté Scène, Danse à la carte, Destination Sherbrooke, Destination St-Camille, Entreprendre Sherbrooke, EventsWork, Foreman Art Gallery, La danse sur les routes du Québec, La Maison du Cinéma, Appalaches Bookstore, Maison des arts et de la culture de Brompton, Musée des beaux-arts de Sherbrooke, Sporobole, Centennial Theatre, Granada Theatre.

Schools

Programming for schools

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For professionals

Activities for professionals

Discover our activities organized for professionals in dance and performing arts for young audiences.

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