Les Murmures du Macadam

A 5th edition inspired by sports

For its fifth anniversary, the festival organized by the Thonon Événements association has chosen sports as the central theme of its program. "This year, sports are in the spotlight, intertwining with various artistic disciplines: dance, theater, circus, and music," announces Frank Broussas, director of Thonon Événements, in the program's editorial. From gyroscopic skis and yellow-card-refereed juggling to freestyle football, breaking, and combat dance, each of the five featured shows draws from the vocabulary of sports to create stage art. The artistic program was curated by Lisa Cirenei and Frank Broussas.

Espace Vongy park, the new heart of the festival

The 5th edition shifts its center of gravity to the new neighborhood space and the Vongy park, which will serve as the festival's hub for two days. Visitors will find a guinguette run by the association's volunteers, a refreshment bar, light snacks, two introductory workshops on Saturday afternoon, a street art exhibition, and two evening highlights: Joga Bonito on Friday at 8:00 PM and Le Bal à Bistan on Saturday at 8:30 PM. The other three performance venues remain spread across the neighborhoods: the Collonges square (21 avenue de Sénevulaz), the Espace Grand Châtelard (12 bis avenue du Châtelard), and the Espace La Versoie (chemin de Morcy).

Circus, dance, and theater right in the neighborhood

Five companies will share the four venues. Impromptu Circus opens on Friday with Ça va être tout blanc, a circus duo on gyroscopic skis parodying Olympic events in the face of snow shortages. The BLOCK — Centre chorégraphique national de Rillieux-la-Pape presents Joga Bonito, a hybrid piece by Moncef Zebiri where five dancers and a freestyle footballer combine technical ball skills with breaking moves, fueled by the energy of Brazilian urban culture. On Saturday, Théâtre Bascule performs Balles au centre, a face-off between a dreaded manager and an impatient juggler; the Daruma company presents Yes, We fight!, a female duo by Milène Duhameau that turns wrestling into dance; and Le Collectif du Plateau performs L'herbe est plus rose ici, a five-person circus act resembling a life-sized comic book. All shows are suitable for all ages and last between 35 and 50 minutes.

Workshops, street art, and a project with the Morillon school

Two free workshops for adult-child pairs (ages 6 and up) are offered on Saturday, May 30th, at the Vongy neighborhood space, led by the artists from Joga Bonito: freestyle football introduction from 3:00 PM to 4:00 PM, and hip-hop dance introduction from 4:30 PM to 6:00 PM. Spaces are limited and registration with Thonon Événements is mandatory. Muralist Jonathan Arki, founder of GRAFFLAB, is conducting graffiti workshops with users of the Vongy neighborhood space beforehand: their creations will be exhibited during the festival, with the opening of this temporary exhibition taking place during the official inauguration on Friday, May 29th, at 6:00 PM at the Espace Vongy park. As part of the Thonon Cultural Trails, two CE2-CM1 classes from the Morillon school will then present, at 7:30 PM, the public performance of a week-long acrodance workshop led by the Bêstîa company, titled Silence : création en cours!.