Grand Bal participatif, M28 and the Euro-Africa Biennial,
with Salia Sanou, live musicians and contributors Festival Swinging Montpellier (Oct 5, 25)
On Sunday, October 5, 2025, from 4pm to 7pm, the Esplanade des Arts et de la Culture – Esplanade Charles-de-Gaulle in Montpellier – hosted the Grand Bal participatif, proposed by M28 in partnership with the Euro-Africa Biennial, as part of the closing ceremony of L’Événement 25 – Les chemins du vivant.
This event was a continuation of the link established between M28 and the first edition of the Euro-Africa Biennial, marking a symbolic handover to the 2025 edition of the Biennial, on the weekend of October 4 and 5.
Spearheaded by Cie Mouvements perpétuels, founded in 2010 by choreographer Salia Sanou, the project is based on the conviction that culture is a powerful factor in bringing people together, and an essential vector for dialogue between cultures.
Throughout the afternoon, the public was invited to take part in a collective exploration of popular dances practiced around the world today, whose origins can be traced back to Africa. Workshops open to all enabled participants to discover and share the fundamentals of Twist, Jazz, Lindy Hop and Capoeira, accompanied by live musicians and speakers from the Swinging Montpellier Festival.
These moments of transmission and practice naturally led to a grand participatory ball, a unifying moment where amateur dancers, onlookers and passers-by came together in the same dynamic of movement, sharing and conviviality.
Through this artistic and collective proposal, the Grand Bal participatif fully embodied “the art of living a dance together”, making the public space a place of encounter, expression and celebration of the living.
Images from the Grand Bal participatif
Photo credit: Mathis Brachet