Photo : Alexia Vinci © Maxime Côté. Mithra ‘Myth’ Rabel © Vanessa Fortin. Athena Lucie Assamba © Denis Martin
Come celebrate the start of the 7th edition of FURIES—a contemporary dance festival—with us! Light refreshments will be served at the start of this festive evening.
Awti by Alexia Vinci
Through Awti, the artist invites you to participate in a sound work. Awti, which means road in the mi’gmaq language, is a performance where the territory welcomes us, where we take the time to arrive guided by the oral tradition of poetry.
Speakeasy by Mithra ‘Myth’ Rabel
Inspired by the artistic life of Montreal’s Afro-descendent community, Speakeasy blends house dance, live music and poetry to explore how muscle memory can shape the future. In this intimate conversation, the body tells a story both rooted in the past and careening toward the future. Offering a captivating and delicate experience, Speakeasy invites the viewer to delve deep into the essence of existence and artistic expression, melding heritage, introspection, and revival.
African Celestial Beings by Athena Lucie Assamba
African Celestial Beings is a choreographic creation inspired by masked dances and the world of African masks, where they embody divinities, ancestors, and spiritual forces that make the invisible visible. Rooted in the Bamiléké traditions of western Cameroon, the piece explores dances in which the body becomes a living channel of spiritual energy during rituals and ceremonies. From a diasporic perspective, the duo summons ancestral memory through a hybrid choreographic language blending Bamiléké dances (Benskin, Sangmêli) with contemporary African urban forms such as Afrohouse, Ndombolo, Jazzé, and Azonto. The work also questions the confinement of African masks in Western museums and affirms the need for an active restitution—one of reclaiming gestures, stories, and essence. African Celestial Beings becomes a journey of reclamation, where movement liberates spirits, memories, and the continuity of the African soul.
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The opening night is presented in collaboration with the Maison de la culture de Sainte-Anne-des-Monts.
The artists behind Speakeasy and African Celestial Beings participated in a residency at 100Lux.
Alexia Vinci is a multidisciplinary artist from the Gespeg mi’gmaq nation. Trained as an actor, she is also a creator and an improviser. At the heart of her artistic practice lie dialogue, encounters, and collective experiences. She explores the territory in all its forms, from the sacred to the intimate, from memory to roots, always in search of organic wholeness. In 2023-2024, she played the character of Noémie in the adaptation of Naomi Fontaine’s novel Manikanetish, presented at Théâtre Duceppe. Where she will return this spring in the production Tupqan: nos territoires intérieurs, directed by Soleil Launière. She is currently an artist-in-residence at the National Theatre School of Canada, where she is specializing in directing. In May 2026, she will present her first major solo project there, entitled Gespeg. This project is part of a research cycle on the question: what place does the community take within an occupied space?
Photo : © Maxime Côté
Mithra ‘Myth’ Rabel is a renowned dancer, choreographer, and teacher in Montreal’s street dance scene, particularly as a leading figure in house dance. Drawing inspiration from the greats of the discipline, she has developed a style that is both graceful and innovative, while sharing her passion through teaching. In 2022, she created ODE, a 10-minute piece exploring the connections between time, memory, and identity, which was praised for its sensitivity and elegance. In 2026, she presented Speakeasy, a 40-minute work at Tangente, and further developed it during the research lab at B-Side 2024, produced by EBNFLŌH. A multidisciplinary artist, Myth has performed in Canada and internationally, also contributing to music videos and documentaries. She combines creation and teaching with passion and dedication.
Photo : © Inaa Photo
Athena Lucie Assamba is a multidisciplinary artist, performer, and emerging choreographer whose practice is rooted in traditional and contemporary African dances as well as street dances. Of Cameroonian origin, she began her initiation into traditional dance in Cameroon before deepening her engagement with street dance cultures in 2019, exploring Waacking, Dancehall, and African urban dances such as Ndombolo, Mbolé, and Afrohouse. In 2020, she joined the professional collective Afrodomtl, dedicated to supporting and promoting African and Afro-descendant dance practices in Montreal and across Canada.
As an emerging choreographer and artistic director, she created Bosembo and NkulNnam (2023), followed by the duet African Celestial Beings (2024). Currently training at the Nyata Nyata Centre and a neuroscience graduate, she explores movement as a space for healing, spirituality, and ancestral memory.
Photo : © Shalom Chianu
Awti d’Alexia Vinci
Ideation and interpretation: Alexia Vinci
Speakeasy de Mithra ‘Myth’ Rabel
Choreography and Performance: Mithra ‘Myth’ Rabel
Music: Samantha ‘Sam I Am’ Hinds
Music: Jason ‘Blackbird’ Selman
Lighting Design: Tiffanie Boffa
Rehearsal Director: Karla Etienne
Dramaturge: Jaleesa Coligny
Costume Design: Nindy Banks
Residencies: Studio 303, LA SERRE – arts vivants, 100Lux, Centre de Création O Vertigo, MAI (Montréal, arts interculturels), B-Side
African Celestial Beings d’Athena Lucie Assamba
Choreography and Artistic Direction: Athena Lucie Assamba
Performance: Leah Danga and Athena Lucie Assamba
Lighting Design: Tiffanie Boffa
Sound Design: Georges Mambo
Costumes: Athena Lucie Assamba
Residency : 100Lux
