Mathilde Monnier will join the SPARKS project in the capacity of an advisor.

Mathilde Monnier performed in the dance companies of Viola Farber and François Verret before taking up choreography in 1984, creating group works, solos and duos. From one work to the next, she defied expectations by producing work that was endlessly fresh and new. Her work explores the inherent issues of composing movement and are also linked to broader questions like communality and the links to music and memory.

In 1994, Monnier was appointed director of the Centre Choreographique National de Montpellier Languedoc-Roussillon. This period marked the beginning of experimentation with other fields of art, and a reflection on the role of the institution and its outreach.

In 2014–2019, Monnier was the director of the Centre National de la Danse in Paris. Monnier returned to artistic work in 2019 and created the internationally renowned production Please Please Please together with dancer-choreographer La Ribot and director Tiago Rodrigues.

Monnier's choreographies have been staged at leading venues in France as well as international festivals.

Sparks advisors have been invited to work directly with the artists by sharing their knowledge and being a sounding board throughout the project. Advisors are Mathilde Monnier, Antony Hamilton, Bia Oliveira and Katherine Profeta.

Read more: The SPARKS project is progressing: eight dance proposals shortlisted for the Erkko stage