Minuit 12: Dancing the Climate Emergency
How art rewrites the codes of protest
Minuit 12 started in 2021 with a simple idea. Climate protest does not need banners. It needs bodies. Founded by Justine Sène, Pauline Lida, and Jade Verda, the collective uses dance as a direct response to ecological collapse; bringing ecological struggle into theaters, museums, and public spaces, reaching far beyond traditional demonstrations.
Their dance backgrounds couldn’t be more different: contemporary, classical, and waacking. That contrast defines their creative language. On stage, styles don’t merge. They coexist.
“We all have different backgrounds in dance”, explains co-founder Pauline Lida. “That’s what makes working together so interesting. Each of us brings a different way of moving, a different sensitivity.”
Ecume, their first piece, explored our relationship with water. Not as a symbol to decode, but as something deeply felt.
“We work very close to themes we have a strong sensibility for”, Pauline says. “For me, I’ve always felt deeply connected to the ocean.”
That connection translates into movement that feels fluid, unstable, sometimes fragile. The choreography never explains. It suggests. The audience isn’t told what to think. It’s invited to feel.
All three co-founders studied social sciences, and that background still shapes their work. Creation is built on research as much as intuition.
“There’s a lot of reflection when we create. We look at many images, we discuss concepts; and for Ecume we even visited a scientific laboratory to understand how roots develop when water becomes scarce, then tried to translate those movements into our bodies.”
Minuit 12 moves across multiple spaces. While their work resonates with activism, the collective wishes to perform more in classical cultural institutions such as theaters and museums. This choice is political. It challenges the idea that protest belongs only in the streets. By bringing ecological urgency onto institutional stages, they reach audiences who might never attend a march, but who are open to being moved by art.
Participation also lies at the core of Minuit 12’s vision of protest. This takes its fullest form in La Magma, a project developed over several years.
“This year is the third time we’re organizing La Magma,” says Pauline Lida. “It’s a stroll through the city with many performances combining different forms of art to protest against climate issues. For La Magma, we create a participative dance that anyone can join.”
In 2026, La Magma will take place in Paris on May 30, in Agen on March 21, and in Laval in June.
Since its creation, Minuit 12 has carried out numerous artistic and activist projects, constantly evolving its practice. Their latest creation, Embrace the Base, explores gestures of female disobedience through movement.
Their work does not seek spectacle or perfection. It insists on presence. And in doing so, it reminds us that protest can also be quiet, embodied, and shared, moving through bodies long after the performance ends.
Kenza Boumahdi
Kenza Boumahdi is a journalist and visual storyteller working at the intersection of culture, media, and the audiovisual field. Currently enrolled in a Master’s in Cultural Journalism at Sorbonne Nouvelle, she combines writing, photography, and graphic design in her practice. She has coordinated major student film festivals, co-led a student media, and founded Asmar Media, a cultural platform centered on artistic creation and cultural events.
@boumahdi.kenza