Johanna Simon's 'Minuit portant' opens with a deceptively simple question: who truly owns our gestures? The piece traces movements absorbed early in life — accommodating, smiling on cue, holding back emotion — and asks what it means to carry these inherited behaviours in the body.
Blending contemporary dance with physical theatre, the work moves between restraint and excess. A soundscape that transitions from classical music to electronic beats underscores the tension between tradition and rupture. Set within an 18th-century-inspired environment, furniture and costumes become active participants alongside two women who alternate between object-like stillness and living presence.
The work runs approximately 10 minutes and is presented as part of Danses Buissonnières 2026 at Édifice Wilder | Espace Vert in Montreal. Performances take place September 26 (19:00), September 27 (16:00), September 28 (19:00), and September 29 (19:00). An artist discussion follows the September 28 performance.