Dear friends of the performing arts,

As many of you already know, spring will be hot in Montreal! IETM’s 31st Annual Spring Plenary Meeting will take place in Montreal, from May 30 to June 3, 2007. Under the theme of Cultural Warming, it will be held alongside the first edition of the new Festival TransAmériques (May 23 – June 7). Please note that a pre-meeting activity in Quebec City is also scheduled on May 29.

IETM, (aka Informal European Theatre Meeting), the International Network for Contemporary Performing Arts, is the largest contemporary performing arts network based in Europe, with over 400 member organisations from 45 countries in Europe and beyond, engaged in innovative, contemporary performance work and committed to cross-border artistic exchange and collaboration. IETM is a platform for networking, communication, dynamic exchange of information and know-how transfer, a place to get in touch with colleagues from Europe and around the world, exchange on common issues and get inspiration for your daily work.

Indeed, one of the several reasons Montreal’s bid was selected to host IETM was the launching of the new festival, Festival
TransAmériques, born out of the Festival de théâtre des Amériques. Many of you have also known the former dance festival, Festival international de nouvelle danse. Among the shows announced and well worth seeing: Lipsynch, a monumental exciting new work by Robert Lepage and Ex Machina, Frank Ketchup by Le Pont Bridge (director: Carole Nadeau), a new innovative work by Daniel Léveillé Danse and Incarnat by the Lia Rodrigues Companhia de danças. For all the details: www.fta.qc.ca. Complete unveiling of programming is scheduled on March 20.

The only French-speaking metropolis in North America, Montreal is home to many creative artists. Over twenty Canadian performing arts organizations are members of IETM; a majority are based in Montreal. With a strong desire to make IETM better known throughout Canada, a few of them - with perseverance and persuasion - have created this special opportunity for IETM members to meet outside mainland Europe. Montreal is beautiful when the explosion of spring after a harsh winter brings an unmatched joie de vivre – a great match forthe informal spirit which characterizes IETM!

In fact, the overall theme we have chosen for our gathering is Cultural Warming – evoking the effervescence of artistic activity in the world today, given additional impetus by possibilities offered by new technologies, and referring to challenging issues we all face:  global warming, the commercialization of culture, the complex practice of cultural diversity.

It has become imperative to adapt our practices to these cultural ‘climatic shifts’.  Thus cultural diversity will be one of the main sub-themes of IETM Montréal 2007. Canada and Quebec have been leaders in the campaign for the ratification of the UNESCO Convention on the Protection and Promotion of the Diversity of Cultural Expressions, and Canada was the first country to ratify it.

The new generation of artists is also ‘heating up’. At IETM Montréal 2007, we’re taking a decided stand in favour of younger artists and cultural operators who – with fire and passion – are entering the cultural domain in force and are demanding their place in it. In the artistic programme, the workshops, the working groups and debates, their presence will be felt and their ideas will be heard, even if it makes the temperature rise a few degrees!

Other themes – currently being investigated by our Canadian and European colleagues, will be debated, allowing us to highlight exemplary practices, to gain insight into innovative cultural and related policies and to analyse new artistic tendencies visible on the horizon of the performing arts field.

This could be the only official IETM Plenary Meeting which will ever be held outside Europe, where the majority of IETM members are based, so don’t miss your chance to discover the network! The meeting is open to all IETM members and, on a one-time-only basis, to non-members, individuals and representatives of professional organizations who are interested in joining the network and who wish to have more information about it before becoming a member.

Registration is now open for members and Canadian individuals and representatives of organizations, non-members of IETM, who wish to participate and discover the network. Deadline: April 13 (after which there is an extra fee). Special rates in four hotels, near the meeting’s venues, are now also available. Please read the practical information concerning hotels, transportation, meeting venues, registration, etc.. All the information is posted on the main IETM website in the Meetings section. There is a secured registration site and Canadian participants, non-members of IETM, will be able to pay the fees in Canadian dollars.

More info about the activities coming up in April!

IETM Montréal 2007 is a partnership with Festival TransAmériques, Place des Arts and UQAM.

If you have any questions, please do not hesitate to contact us and visit our websites.

We’re looking forward to seeing you all in Montreal!

Please accept our warmest greetings,

The IETM Secretariat
Mary Ann DeVlieg, Milica Ilic, Michel Quéré, Jenny Lee, Han De Meulemeester

The organizing committee of IETM Montréal 2007
Bernard Lagacé, Sherrie Johnson, Alain Paré, Esther Charron

IETM Montréal 2007 is made possible thanks to the participation of the Department of Canadian Heritage, the Canada Council for the Arts, the Ministère des Affaires municipales et des Régions du Québec, the Ministère de la Culture et des Communications du Québec, the Conseil des arts et des lettres du Québec, the City of Montréal, the Montreal Arts Council, the ministère du Tourisme du Québec, Tourisme Montréal as well as with support from the European Commission’s budget line “Support to European organizations who promote European culture", the Ministry of the Flemish Community of Belgium and the Fonds Voor Amateurkunst en Podiumkunsten, Netherlands.