“An outdoor presentation by the Festival TransAmériques (FTA), [...] Sylvain Émard's Le Grand Continental, met with great public and critical acclaim.”
Fabienne Cabado, 2009 year-end review, Voir, Montreal, Canada, January 2010

“[...] It was as though an entire village had assembled to tread the ground with infectious rhythms. Inspired by the dance fashions of yesteryear, this Continental combines styles (disco, rock, waltz) in a festive and lively blend. [...] The pleasure of movement spreads into the crowd of onlookers and throughout the urban surroundings. The boundaries of the performance space (the street and the sidewalk) disappear when, during the encore, the spectators surge into the street for their own continental, an experience not only of the joy of dance and movement, but a social experience as well.”
Ariane Fontaine, Jeu, January 2010

“General applause erupts from the crowd squeezed into Émery Street when the dancers take their place, then quiets with the soundtrack's opening gong. They follow the first fifteen minutes attentively, applauding at the end of each dance. When the final pulsing Techno dance begins, the crowd swings with the performers, and it barely requires the encore invitation before Émery Street is a throbbing mass of dancing Montréalers.”
Richard Simas, The Dance Current, Toronto, Canada, December-January 2009-2010

“An enormous wave of pleasure flows from Sylvain Émard's Le Grand Continental. His recent street-dance creation cast a variety of performers: the young and old, the hefty and stiff, pregnant women and young girls... a true declaration for dance at the very heart of the pleasure that it attains, both traditional and festive. With the sixty-five amateurs that move together, each in their own way, you might think that it would be a free-for-all. Not in the least. Sylvain Émard carefully combined contemporary dance and country line dancing with skillfully directed figures and steps, including some touching duets.”
Marjolaine Zurfluh, Danser, Paris, France, October 2009

“It was a fun performance, rigorously choreographed with intricate arm and upper body phrases, and the dancers were extremely committed to their expression. The crowd loved it [...] ”
Megan Andrews, thedancecurrent.com, Toronto, Canada, July 20, 2009

“Turning Émery St. into an open air dance space for Sylvain Émard's line-dancing demo, Le Grand Continental, was a stroke of genius that should be repeated.”
Pat Donnelly, The Gazette, Montréal, Canada, June 6 2009

“At first glance, Continental seems a surprising choice, but watching the 65 bodies performing together it's quite apparent that the formula is a unifying and indeed energizing force. We immediately identify with the dancers, with the way they respond to the music and the rhythm, either on their own or with their partners.”
Josée Blanchette, Le Devoir, Montreal, Canada, 29 May 2009