Ever So Slightly explores the reflexes we develop against the ceaseless flow of irritants that bombard us in our daily lives. Shot in Montreal’s Olympic Stadium, the film follows six dancers in the throes of urgency, revolt, chaos, and the desire to flee.

Written by Jean Cocteau in 1930 and composed by French composer Francis Poulenc in 1958, La Voix Humaine presents a woman having a final phone conversation with her lover before he leaves her for another. Choreographer and multidisciplinary artist Nanine Linning, in collaboration with the Boston Ballet, reinterprets the story through vivid images and an explosive movement language.

A group of young people meet in the barren ambience of a parking garage. For a brief moment, they create their own ephemeral world, extravagantly dressed and full of mysterious codes. Inspired by the Club Kids movement (started by an extravagant club dance group in 1980s New York) and with Beethoven’s 9th Symphony, the fifteen dancers of the dance ensemble tanzmainz are eager to take liberties.

In a world that slowly moves away from tactility, the handshake remains a direct and real physical contact with the other. In this hypnotic duet between Alexander Vantournhout and Emmi Väisänen, the handshake transforms in an elaborate hand, arm and limb dance, reminding us of the tactile possibilities of connection.