It’s a touching species, mankind. Extending our selfie sticks, we gladly forget how ice ages once laid down the law, dinosaurs croaked, and civilisations crumbled. And we are supposed to be the central figures in all this? A query we are happy to brush aside.One person who embraces it instead, is the Canadian choreographer Mélanie Demers [1974]. Her touching dance show Animal Triste showcases the animal procession we have formed for millions of years. A sad procession, for on a clear day we are aware of our limited shelf-life. In Animal Triste, four dancers show us our counter moves: finding solace in beauty, tinkering with religion, building cities, making spreadsheets, making love, and making babies. This is who we people are: arrogant and weak, genius, irresistible and crude. One of Mélanie Demers’ inspirations was Yuval Noah Harari’s book Sapiens. A Brief History of Humankind.

Free open studio
During Boulevard, choreographer Mélanie Demers is working on a new creation: Danse Mutante, a transfer choreography. The dancers started with Montréal at Demers, worked in New York with choreographer Ann Liv Young, then flew to Bamako for Kettly Noël. And now Demers continues to work at our festival.
She opens the doors of her temporary studio in the Bank van Leening on 9 August between 2.30 p.m. and 3.30 p.m. Here she shows and talks about this special project, which will be shown in its entirety at Boulevard during 2020. The next stop after 's-Hertogenbosch is Antwerp; Ann Van den Broek 'mutates' the last episode there.

The free presentation takes place at the Bank van Leening, Schilderstraat 33, 5211 NB 's-Hertogenbosch.

Credits
Director and choreographer: Mélanie Demers, with the collaboration of the dancers
On stage during the creation: Marc Boivin, James Gnam, Brianna Lombardo and Riley Sims
Dancers: Marc Boivin, Brianna Lombardo, Riley Sims, Francis Ducharme
Rehearsal Director: Anne-Marie Jourdenais
Dramaturg: Angélique Willkie
Music and Sound Designer: Jacques Poulin-Denis and Antoine Berthiaume
Additional music: Petite fleur de Sidney Bechet
Lighting Designer: Alexandre Pilon-Guay
Technical Director: Mélanie Primeau
Co-production: Festival Danse Canada