Mary-Lee Brunet - RECENT WORK

[UNROOTED];[RE]ROUTED

[Un]Rooted;[Re]Routed is a dance piece that explores identity, belonging, and the experience of growing up between places, cultures, and stories as a Canadian adopted from China. It questions what it means to feel rooted when one’s origins have been partially unknown and asks how movement gives form to questions with no clear answers. The work embraces the possibility that some questions may never be resolved rather than seeking definitive answers.

Navigating the space between memory and imagination through an immersive atmosphere of movement, sound and archival material, it asks whether fragmented memories, unanswered questions, and traces of the past can become starting points for a physical and sensory journey. Through the codes of popping and streetdance, choreography becomes a journey through displacement and reconnection. The body becomes a place where memories are carried, transformed, and reimagined.

Created during a time when immigration is increasingly uncertain and racism remains present, the work is also an invitation to empathy. It invites the audience into an intimate landscape where identity is not fixed, but continuously reconstructed through memory and traces we carry with us. The work seeks to foster by opening space for reflection on our own stories, reminding us of the shared human need to understand where we come from, where we belong, and how we find one another in times of need.

@dophanhoi

[Un]Rooted;[Re]Routed was first presented from April 11th to 13th of 2026 as part of Tangente Danse’s LABDiff program, a platform dedicated to supporting artists through creative research, technical exploration, and artistic development. The program provides artists with space and resources to experiment and develop their work, while offering audiences the opportunity to encounter works-in-progress in an informal setting.

VISIT TANGENTE'S WEBSITE TO LEARN ABOUT THE PROJECT

@ Kezna Dalz

Put on your slippers and take in two artistic offerings during an eclectic and lively evening! Following three weeks of exploratory research in our very own underground, Espace Vert, the artists offer you the fruits of their experiments in the form of a public presentation. Over a drink, the curators provide a space for a friendly discussion where the public’s experiences and thoughts come together to create a collective meaning. With this presentation model, Tangente opens the doors of its laboratory to cultivate a privileged and intimate relationship between artists and the audience.

Choreography: Mary-Lee Brunet
Performance: Romy Denoncourt, Meihan Carrier-Brisson, Mary-Lee Brunet
Artistic Consultation: Do Phan Hoi
Sound Composition: Rekinsa
Dramaturgy: Handy HYA Hyacinthe
Set/Lighting Design: Tiffanie Boffa

LABDiff #9, Tangente Danse (Julie Deschênes, Laurane Van Branteghem, Jaleesa Coligny, Marco Pronovost, Laurence Rosset, Cara Roy, José Alexander Morales Carvajal, Samantha Doiron)

Filming and Editing: Playground Studio (Do Phan Hoi, Thibault Rajaofetra)
Voice Recording: Fally Kaseka
Understudy and Rehearsal Assistant: Marie-Anouck Huard-Lefèbvre
Recording Studio: Christian du Centre SANAAQ
Artistic Contribution: AP Nguyen, Raphaëlle Sealhunter, Emile Benazera
Photography: Seyna Rose Photography
Documentation: Playground Studio (Do Phan Hoi, Thibault Rajaofetra)
Residency and rehearsal space: Compagnie FLAK, H4L Dance Company (Allanna Cave)
Grant writing assistance: Brenda Recinos Ramirez, Mélanie Viau
Financial support: Conseil des arts et des lettres du Québec

photo by @byseynarose / filming/editing by playground studio