Emily, fille de personne

In 1965, two men took the stage for a heated verbal sparring match in Cambridge, with the writer James Baldwin facing the conservative intellectual William F. Buckley Jr. The former dismantled the myth of the American dream, arguing that it was created at the expense of African-Americans. The latter defended the notion of the United States as a meritocracy, convinced that inequality comes down to individual effort rather than a history of oppression. Two visions of the world collided in a debate that has taken on mythic dimensions thanks to archival footage.  

In Braids & Heritage, chosen sisters and collaborators Stacey Désilier and Jossua Satinée destabilize and decolonize the mythology of the cowboy, taking the stage in cowboy boots and launching into a line dance. Playing with their striking resemblance to each other, the charismatic duo juxtapose square dancing with the cake walk, the moonwalk, and twerking in a choreographed piece drawing on both the spirit of the past and Afrofuturist visions. 

Canadian singer-songwriter Bobby Bazini will be performing at the Francos de Montréal in the summer of 2026!