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With the temperature soaring and a
tempest brewing on Sunday afternoon, the
massive crowd at La Grande Danse at
Divers/Cité danced for rain. And when
the rain came in a torrential storm that
would have obliterated Kansas along with
every one of Auntie Em’s farmhands, the
stoic kept on dancing, this time for
sun.
There are rain dances and sun dances and
dances of sheer exultation - and every
kind of dance was on display for Divers/Cité’s
20th birthday party in Vieux Montreal.
In a partisan world, torn apart by
religion, a world where cultural
differences are reason enough for war,
what we need is an island sanctuary
where we celebrate our difference, a
multi-cultural place where we’re "All
Together Different" and different all
together.
Founded in 1993 on the principles of
diversity, solidarity, and openness,
Divers/Cité is one of the most beloved
of Montreal’s forty annual festivals, a
multi-day LGBT music and arts festival
with more than fifty hours of free music
and performance - and this year, an
exercise in community and camaraderie in
the face of Mother Nature.
For Divers/Cité’s inaugural festival in
Vieux Montreal, La Grande Danse
stretched the length of Quai
Jacques-Cartier, opening with DJ Alain
Jackinsky’s chunky multi-layered set
that created a soulful beach house party
vibe, perfect for the scorching
afternoon.
A ten-hour, open-air dance party, La
Grande Danse is the largest free outdoor
dance event in North America and this
year’s iteration was La Grande Danse’s
10th anniversary celebration, featuring
Spanish superstars Chus & Ceballos who
gallantly led the rain- and
sweat-drenched crowd on a hypnotic
musical journey toward light and sun.
For an LGBT community raised on
overcoming adversity on an intolerant
planet, a little rain is nothing more
irritating than a lousy hook-up. And
when the skies cleared and the rain
ceased and the sun and sound returned,
the crowd cheered wildly in jubilation.
What, after all, is more rewarding than
an extended climax after lengthy
foreplay, which proved to be the modus
operandi of New York house icon DJ David
Morales who took the boards after
sunset.
As Morales had said about his role at
Divers/Cité, "I am creating a place for
people to forget their troubles for a
while, [which] is important in the world
we are living in today" - and that was
what he gave the crowd in a sexy,
soulful set that was marked by seductive
and sinuous rhythms that slipped beneath
the skin, slithering deep into the
loins. Hands in the air, smiling for
joy, the crowd surfed the waves of music
that washed over their bodies.
Scott Fordham, who had earlier wowed the
crowds at Le Grand Bal with his
full-length choreographic production
"Limitless," proceeded to lead a corps
of dancers in a booty-banging free-style
free-for-all that kept the crowd
cheering as loudly as if they were
witnessing Beyoncé and her moneymaker.
None other than Morales joined Fordham
and his corps at the lip of the stage in
a terpsichorean performance that was as
much a testament to Morales’ sexy groove
as it was to his sexual persona.
Divers/Cité’s motto "All Together
Different" stresses the import of both
individualism and community. For the
14th consecutive year, Divers/Cité’s
Friday evening event, this year called
Ohh La La!, was also the finish line
rally for the Friends For Life Bike
Rally, the six-day, 600-kilometer
journey from Toronto to Montreal that
raises funds to help support those
people living with HIV/AIDS. And as the
cyclists zoomed along the quay, the
crowd cheered their favorite heroes
across the finish line.
Throughout the festival, massive video
screens flanked the stage, projecting a
simulcast of the crowd and the
performances, interspersed with
brilliant videography, perfectly
synchronized by the dynamic VJ duo, The
Cameron Bothers.
Friday evening’s Ohh La La! party
featured a jubilant Ana Paula, the
Brazilian bombshell, who played a
Latin-inflected euphoric set of tribal
house that beautifully complemented the
grand finale fireworks of
L’International des Feux Loto-Québec on
the neighboring isle of Jean-Drapeau.
Recently designated a UNESCO City of
Design, Montreal received the award for
its citywide emphasis on talent,
tolerance, diversity, and technology -
all factors that enable a plurality of
values and overall inclusiveness of its
citizenry.
Throughout its history, one hallmark of
Divers/Cité has been its pervasive happy
atmosphere. The soulful Alyson Calagna
opened Saturday’s Sunset Party with her
spiritual Omtronica sound that was as
mesmerizing and hypnotic as the sun -
and while the heat may have kept some
under the shade of trees, there was no
denying the irresistible appeal of
Calagna’s dazzling set.
Saturday night’s Sunset Party also
included a special performance by
Toronto’s favorite diva, Sofonda Cox, as
well as a brilliantly personal and
persuasive set by New York legend Hector
Romero.
Romero, now celebrating his 28th year as
DJ, opened his heart and soul to the
passionate crowd and gave them an
uplifting, booty-shaking performance
that combined rafter-raising joy with
pelvic ecstasy under an almost-full
moon. The result was nothing less than
complete and total bliss.
In a year notable for Divers/Cité
anniversaries, Mascara celebrated its
15th anniversary. Also known as "The
Biggest Drag Show on Earth," Mascara is
the crowd-pleasing, gender-bending
spectacle hosted by Montreal’s tour de
force, resident drag diva
extraordinaire, Mado, who, this year,
served up an ab fab show with over 100
performers that included tributes to
Whitney Houston and French singer and
legendary diva, Dalida.
Under the inspired leadership of General
Director, Suzanne Girard, accompanied by
a dedicated and passionate staff of
music-lovers, Divers/Cité entered its
third decade with a spectacular
celebration of diversity in its myriad
forms.
Once again, the
internationally-recognized arts and
music festival revealed that while we
are "All Together Different," there are
also times when dancing in the glow of
love that we are all together one. |
