Actions that do good | Dance steps to unite people

In August, The Press presents you with portraits of people who do good around them. Today: Catherine Boulos, who is preparing a big dance for peace on Mount Royal.

As a child, Catherine Boulos enjoyed collecting smiles. “I was very little. I would walk around the streets and challenge myself to collect as many smiles as possible. […] Seeing a face light up moves me deeply. And it has for a long time.”

This desire to connect with others is certainly not foreign to her career as a psychologist. “It’s really a field where we are there to help people deploy what is most true, most beautiful, most important in them. Seeing these blossomings really feeds my need to be useful, which is very strong,” analyzes the one whose profession led her to support managers towards more caring leadership.

But in 2016, Catherine Boulos wanted to launch a project with a larger scope. The idea of ​​inviting “people from all walks of life, all ages and all cultures to dance together” was born. She then took on the challenge of creating a unifying event around the theme of peace. To do this, she founded the organization Mouvement de paix.

His project is neither political nor religious. It is not a demonstration against war, but rather a call to find “more harmony within oneself, with others and with nature.”

In her eyes, dance is a wonderful vector of joy, in addition to being a universal language. Dancing without trying to perform and without fearing the gaze of others, “it’s therapy”, thinks the one who has been dancing since the age of 2.

Meet at the belvedere

Since 2016, she has organized, with various collaborators, about twenty peace gatherings, including a dozen dances. This year, however, her project is expanding and further promoting this idea of ​​connection between cultures. On September 21, as part of the International Day of Peace, she is organizing a peace dance on the Mount Royal lookout.

The movements that the participants will perform have been carefully considered. Catherine Boulos has surrounded herself with renowned choreographers from diverse backgrounds representing the continents, including Margie Gillis, Charles Brecard and Barbara Kaneratonni Diabo.

Capsules in which each choreographer explains the meaning of their movement are in preparation and will soon be put online on the Mouvement de paix website.

Accessible to all

In an effort to make the peace dance as accessible as possible, even to those who don’t have rhythm in their blood, there are few gestures that will be synchronized. During the event, participants will be able to choose from a basket of easy-to-perform movements. Catherine Boulos has also done a few workshops to test these gestures and ensure that they are not difficult to reproduce, regardless of the age or physical condition of the dancers.

What music will they move to? “If there is one thing that connects everyone, it is the heartbeat,” answers the instigator of the project. The heartbeat will therefore serve as the backdrop to the piece that a percussionist is currently working on.

For those who find this dance of peace a bit esoteric, Catherine Boulos emphasizes that she is not doing it to preach anything. “I am simply offering a moment of positive human connection. […] Will it create world peace? That is not my ambition at all.”

However, she hopes that this dance with movements inspired by all continents will be danced not only on September 21 on Mount Royal, but also on other occasions. In schools, businesses, here or elsewhere, she sees big for these steps intended to unite human beings.