Comedian Pascal Morrissette and a host of artists — Mitsou, Laurence Nerbonne, Mona de Grenoble and many others — plan to bring together 10,000 people on the Place des Festivals on July 26. The goal: to have fun, but also to beat the Quebec record for the largest number of people doing the same country line dance at the same time.
The St-Tite Western Festival, with nearly 2,500 dancers, currently sits at the top of the Quebec podium. The current world record was set in November 2015 in the Xianghe district of China, where more than 18,000 dancers gathered.
“I can’t wait, my God, I can’t think about anything else. I fell into the country pool and I’ve been swimming in it for a few weeks,” exclaims Pascal Morrissette in an interview with The duty.
Country line dancing, which originated in the United States, consists of a sequence of steps repeated by dancers positioned side by side. And every song that is even remotely well-known is associated with a universally recognized choreography. Thus, a dancer who has learned the movements of Cotton-Eyed Joe in Montreal, for example, will be able to easily follow a group from Vermont or Beauce on the same piece, because everyone knows the same steps.
In the last few months, a brand new choreography has been created by Pascal Morrissette’s team in collaboration with the Winslow Dancers country dance school. The step sequence, which is intended to be easy to perform, will be taught to festival-goers that same evening. It’s the song Another hotel roomby Gildor Roy, which was chosen as the backdrop for this choreography, which will be sprinkled with humor.
The evening’s special guests dove head first into Pascal Morrissette’s eccentric ideas, who cites as an example the case of Yoan, a country singer who made a name for himself in 2014 by winning The voice. His most recent album, Something in My Bloodwas released in 2023. “I suggested that he do a bit of a song while inhaling helium, because we’ve never heard him sing high-pitched, and he jumped into this madness without hesitation. We’re really going to have fun,” the host rejoices.
In order to successfully tread the wooden floor that will be installed on the Place des Festivals, the comedian practices every morning. His team also thinks that everyone will find something to their liking. “We included the country community in the process of creating the number to be sure that it speaks to everyone, both amateurs and those less initiated.”
” Everyone is welcome “
A line dancing enthusiast for eight years, Kim Lemay notes that the discipline is particularly inclusive and adapts to all profiles. “Everyone is welcome. Men, women, young, old, mothers with their babies… It’s a golden opportunity to come together, no matter who you are.” She will also be participating in the challenge on July 26.
She says she got into line dancing after being convinced by her mother, who was also a fan. “I thought it was really cheesy at first, but after a test, I could never stop. It allows me to reconcile so many things in my life: social, physical activity, and my taste for projects, since I am involved in the Winslow Dancers.”
Nicolas Lachance, dance teacher and founder of the Winslow Dancers, says he had a lot of fun working with Pascal Morrissette. “Pascal really surprised us. He has an almost instinctive talent.” When the actor’s team approached him for this unique collaboration, he says he was a little reluctant at first. “I wanted to make sure they weren’t planning on destroying country dancing by making fun of it. But here, it’s the opposite: it’s the dance that’s being put forward.”
The evening hosted by Pascal Morrissette, called Less far than St-Titeis part of the ComédiHa! festival salutes Montreal, which is taking over from Just for Laughs in the city this year. The event is free.
Several other line dancing activities are also taking place this summer in the city. In Verdun, for example, dancers meet every Thursday and Friday on the John-Gallagher block dance floor. In addition, the Winslow Dancers are touring the province’s festivals and country fairs all summer long: they will be in Saint-Victor, in Beauce, starting July 23.