Back to programming
Close
What are you looking for?

Stephanie Lake Company

Manifesto
Stephanie Lake
Show
2025/2026
Australia
Media Partner

Beating the drum

Nine dancers, nine drummers, nine drum kits. Manifesto sweeps you along on an irresistible wave, celebrating the consummate joy of being alive, infused with a healthy dose of optimism.

Stephanie Lake thinks big. A leading figure in Australian dance, she’s already made her mark with large-scale works such as Colossus, which brought together some 60 performers at Danse Danse in 2023. Now, the timeless symbiosis of dance and percussion reaches its peak. “There’s something primal about Manifesto,” says the choreographer. “You have to experience it, without trying to intellectualize it.” Before a towering curtain of watermelon-pink velvet, an exceptional cast of nine dancers and as many percussionists let loose to music by the iconoclast composer Robin Fox, played on nine drum sets. In this concert of precision, movement and rhythms become increasingly complex and wild, culminating in an exhilarating whirlwind of human energy. A feast for the senses!

Before and after the show

Wednesday, April 1
DJ Evita playlist ✦ Post-show discussion with the artists

Thursday, April 2
Live DJ set with DJ Evita

Friday, April 3
DJ Evita playlist ✦ Post-show discussion with the artists

Saturday, April 4
DJ Evita playlist ✦ In situ solos by the École de danse contemporaine de Montréal

Artist(s)

Choreographer
Stephanie Lake

Stephanie Lake was born in Saskatoon, Canada, raised in Tasmania and is now based in Melbourne, Australia. She has choreographed for over 25 years and founded Stephanie Lake Company in 2014. Lake was appointed Resident Choreographer of The Australian Ballet in 2024 and Artist in Residence (AiR) of Semperoper Ballet, Dresden in 2025.

Read more

Company

Stephanie Lake Company

Stephanie Lake Company is a multi-award winning contemporary dance company based in Melbourne (Naarm), Australia that tours the world. Known for a gutsy, original choreographic style and striking visual aesthetic, Stephanie Lake Company’s highly acclaimed works include Manifesto, Colossus, Monsters, Skeleton Tree, Replica and Pile of Bones.

Read more

Credits

Choreographer Stephanie Lake.

Composer Robin Fox.

Lighting designer Bosco Shaw.

Costume designer Paula Levis.

Set designer Charles Davis.

Production manager Lisa Osborn.

Executive Producer Beth Raywood Cross.

Associate lighting designer & operator Rachel Lee.

Sound engineer James Wilkinson.

Dancers Rachel Coulson, Tra Mi Dinh, Marni Green, Darci O'Rourke, Harrison Ritchie-Jones, Robert Tinning, Georgia Van Gils, Kimball Wong, Jack Ziesing.

Drummers Robin Fox Tina Nguyen, Rama Parwata, Rohan Rebeiro, Alex Roper, Jen Tait, Rachel Trainor, Mathew Watson, Julia Watt.

Do not miss
JOAT Festival
Six Steps - L'exposition
Do Phan Hoi
MARCH 26 > APRIL 24
JOAT Festival 2025/2026
Six Steps - L'exposition
Do Phan Hoi
MARCH 26 > APRIL 24

In collaboration with JOAT Art & Street Dance and Danse Danse, photographer Do Phan Hoi presents Six Steps - L'exposition, a series of black-and-white photographic portraits with a raw, timeless aesthetic that celebrates the richness and singularity of Montréal’s street dance scene.

Show
Compagnie Virginie Brunelle
Sans quoi nous crèverons
Virginie Brunelle
Show QUÉBEC 2025/2026
Compagnie Virginie Brunelle
Sans quoi nous crèverons
Virginie Brunelle

A clear-eyed witness of our time and its challenges, Virginie Brunelle takes a piercing look at a planet in hypertension. Her compelling choreography is a vibrant battle for love and solidarity.

Dance workshop
Public Dance Workshop
Compagnie Virginie Brunelle
With dancer Sophie Breton
Dance workshop
Public Dance Workshop
Compagnie Virginie Brunelle
With dancer Sophie Breton

Discover choreographer Virginie Brunelle's movement vocabulary with dancer Sophie Breton.

Show
Ex Machina + Côté Danse
Hamlet, Prince du Danemark
Robert Lepage + Guillaume Côté
Show QUÉBEC 2025/2026
Ex Machina + Côté Danse
Hamlet, Prince du Danemark
Robert Lepage + Guillaume Côté

An artistic summit inspired by Hamlet, between choreographer and principal dancer Guillaume Côté and theatre maker and director Robert Lepage. An exceptional evening!

Show
Teaċ Daṁsa
MÁM
Michael Keegan-Dolan
Show 2026/2027
Teaċ Daṁsa
MÁM
Michael Keegan-Dolan

Rooted in Irish traditions, mysterious and full of passion, MÁM casts its spell. A wild celebration where feet pound the floor, bodies ignite, and ritual turns into jubilation.

Show
Christos Papadopoulos
My Fierce Ignorant Step
Show 2026/2027
Christos Papadopoulos
My Fierce Ignorant Step

Relentless pulsations, synchronized energies. At once dynamic and meditative, My Fierce Ignorant Step unfolds as an ecstatic soundscape, bursting with the contagious bliss of being alive.

Show
Ballets Jazz Montréal
Dance Me - Musique de Leonard Cohen
Andonis Foniadakis + Annabelle Lopez Ochoa + Ihsan Rustem
Show 2026/2027
Ballets Jazz Montréal
Dance Me - Musique de Leonard Cohen
Andonis Foniadakis + Annabelle Lopez Ochoa + Ihsan Rustem

After touring 96 cities across 17 countries, Dance Me – Music by Leonard Cohen returns to Montreal one last time. A unique opportunity to experience — or rediscover — this powerful work that has moved audiences around the world.