Je comprends Respect

Je comprends. Respect. is a creation by Etienne Lou and Orange Noyée that explores Montreal's street dance culture.

This hybrid work joins theatre and hip-hop through Etienne Lou's journey. It offers a portrait of an underground community while addressing identity, adolescent uncertainty, and the difficulties of growing up.

A one-on-one hip-hop battle is central to the work's structure. An MC, a DJ, and three judges reconstruct situations drawn from personal experiences within the street dance community. This framework allows the project to bring together storytelling, competition, music, and movement without separating the personal from the culture that shaped it. Je comprends. Respect. is Etienne Lou's second stage creation after La grande mascarade, created at La Chapelle in 2024 with Gabriel-Antoine Roy.

Etienne Lou wrote and directed the work and also created its costumes. Music is by Richard St-Aubin, while Martin Sirois is responsible for lighting and set design. The cast includes Nindy Banks, Ja James Jigsaw Britton Johnson, Etienne Atn Lou, Sam I Am Montolla, and Gabriel-Antoine Roy. Etienne Lou received a Michelle-Rossignol Fund grant from the CTDA for writing the piece, as well as a grant from the Conseil des arts de Montréal.

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