Office National de Diffusion Artistique

Office National de Diffusion Artistique
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The Encounters

The Encounters are at the heart of Onda’s activities

They offer a space for professionals to discuss shows that they have seen, as well as to share experiences and reflections. This allows participants to inform themselves, find inspiration, take a step back, put their actions into perspective, and think about transformations in a spirit of conviviality and constructive criticism.

These Encounters take place throughout the season and bring together various disciplines (Dance, Theater, Music, Site Specific, Circus, Young Audiences, international), and innovative or experimental professional practices (collaborative approaches, relational practices, forms of mobility, social justice, etc.).

Onda's Encounters, regardless of their format, are traditionally open to performing arts programmers, whether they work in a venue or a festival. In recent years, other professionals from the cultural sector are also welcome (artists, production office managers, etc.), provided they approach these encounters as a space for discussion, reflection, and exchange. 

 

See below for the different types of Encounters ⤵️

The Ad Hoc Encounters

All of Onda's encounters are organized in partnership with at least one host and are, therefore, all slightly different. They generally take place during a performance or a major event proposed by the host and can last from half a day to a day and a half. We aim to cover all disciplines of the performing arts through our meetings, proposing each time a transversal theme that allows participants to share their skills and perspectives. Each encounter also includes a time for artistic exchange based on recently viewed shows.

 

The Thematic Encounters

For the 2025/2026 season, Onda is offering two thematic cycles:

            - The Pathfinder: created with French Regional Cultural Agencies (members of La Collaborative), and one or more projects from their respective territories, this Cycle invites a philosopher, sociologist, or researcher to present their research topic and apply it to the cultural sector. At each session, representatives from a field other than culture are invited to share their approaches, providing inspiration or new perspectives. "Moving" is the theme that will be explored in each location from different perspectives.

            - Working in the performing arts: created in collaboration with the National Research Agency, the Associations of Labelled Performing Art Venues, production offices grouped within Think Prod, and LAPAS, an association representing artist support professionals, this 3 meetings involve researcher Carole Le Rendu and address the relationship between artistic and venues teams.

Encounters that cross disciplines and professional practices

These encounters take place throughout the season, blending various disciplines (dance, theater, music, circus, young audiences, international, etc.) and innovative or experimental professional practices (cooperation, relational practices, mobility, social justice, etc.). 

Every season includes an International Meeting in which simultaneous French/English translation is provided. 

Check out the Encounters program for the 2025–2026 season.

Onda Extranet Accueil5

Online meetings

Each month, an Online meeting is held with the aim of better coordinating upcoming show tours by sharing them with programmers. Before each invitation, programmers looking for new partners to host a show can contact Onda to register.

Some online meetings are translated into English to make them more accessible to international programmers.

The Online meetings take place on one Monday per month, from 2 p.m. to 3:30 p.m.

Check out the program to see all the online events for the 2025/2026 season. And click HERE to read the recaps (in French) of past Online meetings.

The Roaming Encounters

These encounters allow participants to discover the context of a territory through meetings with its cultural actors and artistic projects over an extended period. For the 2025/2026 season, we are heading back to Martinique, a vibrant, inventive French territory with a diverse range of artistic styles, and setting off on a trip to Central America—specifically Mexico—to discover local talent and artists from the independent scene. 

Check out the program to discover the 2025–2026 Roaming Encounters.

Sharing International Arts Watch

Sharing International Arts Watch is a new way to explore the discovery of artistic talent on an international scale, balancing the need to reduce the carbon footprint of travel with the recognition of the importance of having international artists present in French performance venues. The goal is to encourage information sharing and trust among peers. To this end, we offer mobility grants to French programmers to attend key international events identified this season where Onda advisors will not necessarily be present. The recipients of these grants will thus be contributors to L’Onda’s talent scouting efforts and, in a spirit of reciprocity, commit to:
     - writing a summary report of their scouting findings for the L’Onda team;
     - to share their scouting findings during a video conference with all contributors from the trusted group (those who participated in the scouting) and interested programmers.
 
For each highlight event, participants will be responsible for arranging their own travel. L’Onda will share the program (performances, meetings with local actors, etc.) developed by local partners. 
  

Check out the program to discover all the destinations for the 2025/2026 season.

→ See the full schedule of all Encounters for the 2025/2026 season HERE (in English)

→ For more information on the Encounters and to register, you can contact:

            - Adélaïde Vrignon, for encounters in France

            - Clarisse Dupouy-Greteau, for international encounters