Faits d'hiver Festival

Faits d'hiver: Contemporary Dance in Paris at the Start of the Year

Since 1999, the Faits d'hiver festival has opened the contemporary dance season in Paris. Created by Christophe Martin, founder of Micadanses — one of the most important resource centers and studios dedicated to dance in Paris — the festival has established itself as a privileged observatory of contemporary choreographic creation.

An Itinerant Festival in Greater Paris

The uniqueness of Faits d'hiver lies in its itinerant format. The festival does not have a single venue but sets up in about twenty partner locations scattered throughout Paris and its inner suburbs: municipal theaters, national choreographic centers, Micadanses studios, alternative spaces, and conventional stages. This dispersed geography allows it to reach diverse audiences and to place dance in very different contexts.

A Demanding and Pluralistic Program

Each edition offers about fifty performances, including a dozen new creations. The festival programs all aesthetics of contemporary dance, from solos to group performances, from performance art to narrative pieces, including hybrid forms that blend dance, theater, music, and visual arts. Established choreographers rub shoulders with emerging artists in a program that maps the vibrant landscape of choreographic creation each year.

Micadanses: The Beating Heart of the Festival

Micadanses, located at 15-20 rue Geoffroy-l'Asnier in the 4th arrondissement of Paris, is the festival's headquarters. This resource center for dance, founded in 2001, houses rehearsal studios, a documentation center, and a performance space. It hosts over 500 dance companies annually and actively contributes to the development of contemporary dance in Paris.

Twenty-Eight Editions of Choreographic Discoveries

In twenty-eight editions, Faits d'hiver has supported the emergence of numerous choreographers who have become major figures on the contemporary scene. The festival has helped make Paris a capital of contemporary dance at the beginning of the year, a period traditionally less invested in by dance festivals.