Choir

A 360-degree immersive installation, 12 life-sized projected performers, and a multilayered sound recording: Chœur is an invitation to immerse yourself in dance—to hear it, feel it, and experience it from within.

Choir is a pulsating round dance that plunges the spectator into the centre of the art form. Surrounded by a 360-degree screen of 30 feet in diameter, the public observes the flowing movements of 12 dancers stream, like a circular wave. The sound layers are interwoven to magnify reality: footsteps, breathing, and music—everything places visitors in the very heart of the work, in the intimacy of the performance. The amplified sounds, combined with the life-size performers, create a hypnotic state as the dance ritual unfolds.

In a soundscape featuring a composition by Éliane Radigue, a pioneer of electronic music, this contemporary ceremonial, ranging from contemplation to exaltation, envelops the enthralled audience. The immersive experience of Choir, a collaboration between Sylvain Émard Danse and mirari, allows the audience to see dance differently, to seize its slightest jolt. The 15-minute choreography unfolds in a loop. The trance effect emanating from this sequence of uninterrupted movements influences the audience, who are in turn captivated by this unique pagan rite.

Credits

Original idea
Sylvain Émard

Concept and creation
Sylvain Émard 
Thomas Payette/mirari

Production
Sylvain Émard Danse

Choreographer
Sylvain Émard

Director
Thomas Payette/mirari

Director of photography 360°: Dominic St-Amant
Dancers: Sophie Breton, Charles Cardin-Bourbeau, Matéo Chauchat, Marie-Michelle Darveau, Janelle Hacault, Mathieu Hérard, Kyra Jean Green, Christopher LaPlante, François Richard, Cara Roy, Marie-Philippe Santerre, Camille Trudel-Vigeant

With the support of the Conseil des arts et des lettres du Québec

Music
Éliane Radigue

Set designer
Xavier Mary/mirari

Lighting designer
François Marceau

Soundscape
Mathieu Doyon/mirari assisted by Frédéric Auger

Costume designer
Marilène Bastien

Technical directors
François Marceau 
Caroline Turcot/mirari

Executive producer
Hugues Monfroy/mirari

Production director
Roxane Cadillon/mirari

Touring technical director Clara Desautels

Head of video
Dominique Hawry

mirari

Conceptor

mirari is a studio specializing in the creation of spaces, installations, and artworks that transform audience perception. With its mastery of stage arts techniques, mirari explores and translates societal issues into a sensitive narrative, infusing poetry into the spaces it brings to life. The studio has designed numerous projects for the stage, public spaces, and large-scale events both locally and internationally, forging unique connections between Montreal and Japan, as well as New Zealand, Europe, and Peru.

Sylvain Émard Danse

Original Idea, Conceptor

A prolific artist of international renown, Sylvain Émard founded his company, Sylvain Émard Danse, in 1990. Initially marked by theatricality, his work quickly evolved toward a more formal approach to dance. From Ozone, Ozone (1987), his first solo, to Rhapsodie (2022), a work for 20 performers, Sylvain Émard explores the realm of human nature through the power of the body. Today, his repertoire includes around thirty original works whose impact extends far beyond Quebec.