Adults, all levels
With Paul de Saint-Paul
A dance to liberate, assert and express your personality! Inspired by Hollywood actresses and disco divas, waacking originated in the gay clubs of Los Angeles’ black and Latino community in the early 1970s.
Now associated with all kinds of music, characterized by groovy gestures and rapid arm movements, this dance can be found in clubs, battles, video clips, fashion… And if Paul de Saint-Paul’s choreographies borrow from Almodóvar’s cinema, Mannerist painting or Cindy Sherman’s photos, everyone can draw on the sources of the artistic currents that inspire them to create their own character and put their body, creativity and emotions at the service of the music that drives them.
Presentation of the artist
Paul de Saint-Paul
Like the early punkers of the 1970s, who drew inspiration from the Hollywood divas of the time, Paul de Saint-Paul borrows the basic elements of his universe from Almodóvar’s cinema, while baroque and mannerist painting and Cindy Sherman’s photos feed his dramaturgy. After working for six years in an art gallery, his personal questions and desires led him to train as a dancer-performer, where he discovered a pronounced taste for the stage.
Since 2015, waacking has been his preferred discipline. A performer for the Madoki and La Piraterie companies, he is part of the ballet for Charles Gounod’s opera Roméo et Juliette directed by Thomas Jolly at the Paris Opéra. He is also artistic director of the Lyon Waacking Project collective, which organizes the Waacktober festival in partnership with Festival Karavel.
Adults, all levels
With Paul de Saint-Paul
A dance to liberate, assert and express your personality! Inspired by Hollywood actresses and disco divas, waacking originated in the gay clubs of Los Angeles’ black and Latino community in the early 1970s.
Now associated with all kinds of music, characterized by groovy gestures and rapid arm movements, this dance can be found in clubs, battles, video clips, fashion… And if Paul de Saint-Paul’s choreographies borrow from Almodóvar’s cinema, Mannerist painting or Cindy Sherman’s photos, everyone can draw on the sources of the artistic currents that inspire them to create their own character and put their body, creativity and emotions at the service of the music that drives them.
Presentation of the artist
Paul de Saint-Paul
Like the early punkers of the 1970s, who drew inspiration from the Hollywood divas of the time, Paul de Saint-Paul borrows the basic elements of his universe from Almodóvar’s cinema, while baroque and mannerist painting and Cindy Sherman’s photos feed his dramaturgy. After working for six years in an art gallery, his personal questions and desires led him to train as a dancer-performer, where he discovered a pronounced taste for the stage.
Since 2015, waacking has been his preferred discipline. A performer for the Madoki and La Piraterie companies, he is part of the ballet for Charles Gounod’s opera Roméo et Juliette directed by Thomas Jolly at the Paris Opéra. He is also artistic director of the Lyon Waacking Project collective, which organizes the Waacktober festival in partnership with Festival Karavel.
Pulsations workshops! Enter the dance
View full agenda
Contemporary dance workshop
Pulsations! Enter the dance
All ages 13 and up With Anne Lopez
When the world turns upside down, the dancer stands tall; he makes imbalance his greatest strength, and his dance exists only in the present, between the imaginary and the real world. Anne Lopez proposes a two-stage workshop process: allowing the dance nested in each person’s body to unfold, then to be written. Dancing, searching for gestures, getting into movement, letting yourself be surprised by the impulse of an idea, a sound, a place or someone else. Improvise, then collect the...On Saturday, Dec 6, 2025
at 14h30
J4 / Forum
Ball-passing workshop
Pulsations! Enter the dance
Adults, all levels With Mélisande Pommier-Ferri
Join Mélisande Pommier-Ferri as she introduces you to the pleasures of dance! For her, dance is a time for sharing, good will and good humor. You’ll learn simple, traditional dances, such as the chains and circus circles that are so popular at trad dances. Our aim? To give you the keys to take to the dance floor with confidence, and to enjoy the trad dance to the full… Whether you’re a beginner or simply curious, Mélisande will guide you so that you can let yourself be...On Saturday, Mar 7, 2026
at 14h30
J4 / Forum
Kurdish dance workshop
Pulsations! Enter the dance
Adults, all levels, With Bayram Varsak and Nicolas Courdeau The program takes you on a journey through four traditional Kurdish dances, each with its own distinct rhythm, to explore the richness and diversity of this dance culture. The choreographies, simple and accessible to all, are first learned in silence, without music, to integrate the steps and sequences. Once the basics have been mastered, the music comes in to energize the whole group. The workshop also includes a rhythmic introduction...On Saturday, Nov 22, 2025
at 14h30
J4 / Forum
Roller disco workshop
Pulsations! Enter the dance
All ages 13 and up, all levels, with Cédric Njonga
This workshop invites you to explore an artistic practice whose festive energy is directly inherited from the 1970s. Imagine: a disco ball, disco music and skates. Forget everything you know, and let yourself be drawn into this collective, timeless experience… Whether you’re a beginner or an expert, this is your chance to have fun, put on a show and fall back into childhood for an afternoon! You’re invited to bring your quad rollerblades, which are particularly well-suited...
The Mucem will ask you to sign a liability certificate. For minors, the certificate must be signed by a legal guardian. Helmets must be worn for this activity.On Saturday, Nov 29, 2025
at 14h30
J4 / Forum
Breakdance workshop, Popping
Pulsations! Enter the dance
Adults, all levels With Nabjibe Said and Aline Lopes
Much more than just a dance, hip-hop was born in the streets of the Bronx, New York, in the 1970s. It was a protest movement, a way of expressing oneself and partying away from violence. Breakdance is one of its most emblematic forms, with its ground movements, acrobatic figures and explosive energy. Nabjibe Said and Aline Lopes propose a workshop to discover this practice, through the movements and flows that have shaped the history of hip-hop. An opportunity to connect with the power and...On Saturday, Jan 24, 2026
at 14h30
J4
Contemporary dance workshop
Pulsations! Enter the dance
Adult, all levels, Compagnie Sylvain Huc
Sylvain Huc sees the body in movement as a language, but also as a technology, a set of techniques that he shares. The workshop unfolds in perpetual movement, from floor to standing. The repetition of gestures that gradually become more complex becomes a working principle. Made up of strata that gradually build up, these gestures, or motifs, cultivate physical rigor and precision of movement. “There’s a strong artisanal dimension to my practice, in the sense that repetition of...On Saturday, Nov 15, 2025
at 14h30
J4 / Forum
Contact dance workshop
Pulsations! Enter the dance
Adults, all levels With Gaëtan Brun Picard from Compagnie Shōnen
Experience the choreographed, participatory clubbin’ experience entitled Sous Influence, imagined by choreographer Éric Minh Cuong Castaing and the Shōnen company. Far from a classical dance class, this workshop led by his choreographic collaborator Gaëtan Brun Picard plunges you into a universe blending the energy of techno music and movements inspired by contact dance. This improvised practice is rooted in dancers’ physical points of contact with their partner or environment....On Saturday, Jan 10, 2026
at 14h30
J4 / Forum
Flamenco initiation
Pulsations! Enter the dance
Adults, all levels With María Moreno
María Moreno’s dance is a perfect reflection of her freedom, marked by the value she places on flamenco tradition using updated, contemporary codes, bringing her technique into a position of balance. In this introduction to flamenco dance, María Moreno invites you to discover and understand some of the codes of flamenco. The transmission of basic gestures and rhythms will enable you to perform a few simple choreographic movements. You’ll learn by direct mimicry, and in Spanish for...On Saturday, Jan 17, 2026
at 14h30
J4 / Forum
Soul, funk and hip-hop dance workshop
Pulsations! Enter the dance
Adults, all levels With Fred Faula
In this workshop, you’ll discover the catchy rhythms and emblematic gestures that have shaped some of the most popular dances in hip-hop culture. Stemming from soul and funk trends, you’ll discover Soul steps, Line dance and Locking. Fred Faula will guide you through the basics of these dances, working on feeling, listening to music and the fundamentals of improvisation.On Saturday, Dec 13, 2025
at 14h30
J4 / Forum
Greek dance workshop
Pulsations! Enter the dance
Adults, all levels With Dimitris Adam & Nicolas Mélodias, accompanied by Violette Boulanger (violin) and Victor Stoichita (laouto)
Thrace, Macedonia, Peloponnese, Crete, the Aegean Islands or the Ionian Islands – each region of Greece is home to diverse cultural traditions. While the dances of the mountainous regions are identifiable by their marked steps on the ground, the nissiotika (island dances) feature more bouncy movements, like the waves that surround the countless islands of the archipelago. Accompanied by the laouto (lute) and violin, this workshop is an opportunity to discover an anthology of traditional...On Saturday, Jan 31, 2026
at 14h30
J4 / Forum
Gaga people & choreography workshop
Pulsations! Enter the dance
Adults, all levels With Delphine Jungman
Discover Gaga with Delphine Jungman, a dancer trained at the Kibbutz Contemporary Dance Company and certified Gaga Teacher by the method’s creator, Ohad Naharin. Gaga is a unique, multi-sensory body language that allows you to reconnect with your senses and free your movement. After a one-hour introduction, you’ll be guided in a practice of improvisation and composition. This workshop is an invitation to explore, where there’s nothing to learn by heart, just to feel and let...On Saturday, Feb 7, 2026
at 14h30
J4 / Forum
Pulsations evenings! Enter the dance
View full agenda
Danceoke participatory ball
Pulsations! Enter the dance
For all With Sylvain Huc, Louise Loubière and Constant Dourville
Danceoke is for those who want to dance without pressure! A catchword for dance and karaoke, danceoke is all of the above. A dance floor, a big screen, clips projected and choreographies to follow: the evening is transformed into a collective performance, open to all. Guided by Sylvain Huc, and with no prerequisites, everyone becomes an artist… All you have to do is watch, imitate and let yourself be carried along by the group’s energy. In a festive and convivial atmosphere, the...On Saturday, Nov 15, 2025
at 19h
J4 / Hall
- Free of charge
Verso libre, flamenco happening
Pulsations! Enter the dance
In the museum With María Moreno
Verso libre is all about dancing fever, dancing anywhere, dancing for pleasure, with or without motivation, without ambiguity, in search of new stimuli to find new forms. On this occasion, the bailaora (dancer) focuses on sound. All the locations resonate authentically, evoking memory and contributing to the reading and interpretation of the space itself. Here as elsewhere, the sound space shapes the place, just like a column, a ceiling or a cornice; bodies also react differently to sound, and...On Sunday, Jan 18, 2026
at 14h30
J4 & Fort Saint-Jean
Esperanza" hip-hop ball
Pulsations! Enter the dance
All audiences With company Accrorap
Spurred on by dancer and DJ Jikay, this evening pays tribute to the legendary Soul Train show, which for 40 years laid the foundations of hip-hop culture. Dancers from the Accrorap company will introduce you to emblematic hip-hop moves like locking and popping… Together, plunge into the heart of the golden age of soul and funk music and enjoy an immersive, participatory dance experience. Come and warm up in workshops before the ball to learn a few simple moves. Workshop participants will...On Saturday, Jan 24, 2026
at 19h
J4 / Hall