The Ginette Laurin Studio opens its doors on October 1.
The Centre de Création O Vertigo (CCOV) will inaugurate the Ginette Laurin Studio, its new dance studio, on October 1, 2026, starting at 7:00 p.m., at 900 Ontario Street East in Montreal. Admission is free. The program features three performances by Athena Lucie Assamba, the Alterdogs Project, and the trio Promo, Yofi, and Nindy Banks, followed by a DJ set by CIBER1A. The evening also includes speeches, the unveiling of the 2026–2027 program, and a bar.
Evening Schedule
7:00 p.m. → Doors open.
7:30 p.m. → Welcome remarks.
8:00 p.m. → Performance by Athena Lucie Assamba.
8:10 p.m. → Remarks by Sasha Kleinplatz and Emile Pineault.
8:40 p.m. → Performance by the Alterdogs Project (Claire Pearl and Léonie Bélanger).
9:20 p.m. → Performance by Sovann Rochon Prom-Tep (Promo) and Kalliane Brémault (Yofi) with Nindy Banks.
9:30 p.m.–11:30 p.m. → CIBER1A (Rodolfo Rueda), DJ set.
What’s Happening Behind the Scenes at the Studio
Starting at 7:00 p.m., the space opens to the dance community. Speeches. Introduction of curators Sasha Kleinplatz and Emile Pineault. Unveiling of the 2026–2027 program. Three performances, a DJ set, and a bar.
Athena Lucie Assamba
An Afrofuturist artist-researcher of Cameroonian origin. Her practice draws on ancestral African knowledge and heritage—from bikutsi to ndombolo—and manifests itself in dance, music, and writing. She is the creator of NKUL NNAM, African Celestial Beings, and BOSEMBO. Trained notably with Nyata Nyata and at the École des Sables, in both Senegal and Cameroon, she explores movement as a space for transmission: what has been passed down, and what has not. With a bachelor’s degree in neuroscience, she is also interested in how the body heals and transforms. For her, the imagination becomes a tool: that of a worldview we reclaim..
Alterdogs Project
A collective founded in 2022 by Claire Pearl and Léonie Bélanger. Their raw material: science fiction, worldbuilding, and fictional worlds to be inhabited by the body. They draw inspiration from phenomena that permeate mainstream culture to embody archetypes and reveal their flaws—a way of opening up to other possible worlds. Their approach, which is both choreographic and somatic, recontextualizes intuition within the spatiotemporal realms they invent, as a tool that is as speculative as it is artistic. Corps. Route. Ride and ALTERMUNDI were presented at Tangente, OFFTA, and the Festival des Faubourgs.
Sovann Rochon-Prom Tep (Promo), Kalliane Brémault (Yofi), and Nindy Banks
Having been involved in hip-hop since childhood, Promo earned his stripes with Sweet Technique before racking up some 30 victories in breaking competitions—both as a competitor and as a judge—all over the world. Today, he directs stage productions with Lorganisme, presented by the FTA, La Chapelle, and l’Agora de la danse, among others; he received the Jacqueline-Lemieux Award in 2022.
Yofi, for her part, grew up in Winnipeg in a family of musicians: she started with hip-hop at age 5, broke at 7, and then took up popping and house as a teenager. She moved to Toronto in 2017 before settling in Montreal, where she co-choreographed with Rebels de la Soul for Breakin’ Convention and danced for Netflix, Disney, and Cirque Éloize.
Joining them is Nindy Banks, who trained in hip-hop and krump with pioneers from here and the United States and draws on freestyle as a practice rooted in identity. A graduate in contemporary dance from UQAM and in fashion design from LaSalle College, she was honored in 2024 with the Montreal Dance Award.
CIBER1A
Born in Lima and trained in jazz at McGill, Rodolfo Rueda blends electronic music, free improvisation, and Afro-Peruvian rhythms. He will be providing the DJ set for the evening.
A Studio with a Name
After years of moving from one location to another, the CCOV is opening a studio designed to meet the real needs of the dance community. It is named after the woman who started it all.
Who Is Ginette Laurin
In 1984, Ginette Laurin founded the O Vertigo dance company in Montreal, which toured Europe, Asia, and the Americas. Her signature style: expressive power, risk-taking, and a deliberate sense of vertigo. In 2016, she stepped down as artistic director of one of the country’s most prestigious dance companies and orchestrated the transition to her successor. O Vertigo became the Centre de Création O Vertigo. Creating her own works was no longer enough: she needed to support those of others.
Ginette Laurin is a Companion of the Order of Arts and Letters of Quebec, a Member of the Order of Canada, and a recipient of the Governor General’s Performing Arts Award.
The CCOV Today
Since 2016, the CCOV has introduced a new production model and hosts artists-in-residence. It supports, mentors, and programs. The next generation of artists she has nurtured is now making its mark here.
Practical Information
When: Thursday, October 1, 2026, starting at 7 p.m.
Where: Studio Ginette Laurin, 900 Ontario Street East, Montreal
Admission: free