Festival Accès Asie now in its 24th edition is celebrating Asian Heritage Month with a wide program of activities that include music, dance, storytelling, and gastronomy. This Festival, celebrating one of the most diverse cultural communities in the Montreal area, started May 1 and will continue until May 30.
This Saturday, May 11, the Festival presents Handshack, an interactive show by artist Marites Carino at OBORO with which the Festival celebrates 20 years of collaboration. The week concludes with “Arbres,” a show for children and their parents.
“Arbres” (“Trees”) will be staged at the Maison de la Culture Côte des Neiges, 5290 Côte des Neiges Rd. This Sunday, May 12, at 10 a.m., 11 a.m., and 1 p.m. Admission is free, but passes should be obtained from the Maison de la Culture, or online in which case the cost is $2. The show has been designed for children aged two to four and offers an experience where music mixes with the sensory and audience participation is central. The show features “Two musicians [who] will guide children, and parents, through a seven-step musical journey in which the sound of tree textures and instrumental and vocal music will intertwine, sometimes from a written score, sometimes through improvisation.”
This creation is “[t]he result of a collaboration between musicians Emmanuelle Lizère (cello, voice, and stage play), Elham Manouchehri , composer Philippe Leroux, and visual artist Lenche Andonova. ‘Arbres’ is part installation and part musical performance, inviting young and old to explore and discover through music the different facets of a tree and what it inspires in us all.”
The third week will begin with a contemporary music concert featuring two performances with musicians Yuki Isami and Natsuki Hiratsuka. On Friday, May 17, literature will take its place at the Festival with A Night with Writers, an event dedicated to South Asian authors and their works.
On May 18, the International component of “Perles d’ailleurs” presents Kathak Indian dancer Seema Mehta and New York tap dancer Jason Samuels Smith who will share the stage with five musicians for an evening of improvisation. The dancers will also offer a master workshop of Kathak and tap dance on Sunday, May 19 for dance lovers and the curious. Also on May 19, Theâtre Everest offers a special workshop-conference on Tibetan culinary arts with tastings and musical discoveries on the program.
For detailed information about venues and description of shows, visit accesasie.com
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