Hi! My name is Mathilde!
I’ve been lucky enough to participate in AMA three times. AMA stands for ‘artistic missionary year’. It’s not just a show, it’s a commitment and a real life experience. I like to say that what I love about AMA is that we share everything with the other members of the troupe. We dance together, we create together, we eat together, we sweat together, we share together, we pray together… we live everything together, and that allows us to create a super close-knit fraternity, which is really important when you have an artistic project like this together. It changes everything in the show. What I also really appreciated was feeling truly welcomed for who I was, with the talents I had (or didn’t have). I had never danced ‘seriously’ before participating in AMA, and I found a real kindness there, where everyone helped and received help. It allowed me to discover and develop the talent I had within me! Everyone has something to contribute.
It is also a real blessing to be able to share an artistic experience with other Christians. The dimension of prayer is very present, and this is a real bonus when it comes to putting together our show, finding inspiration, giving each other strength and, above all, giving meaning to what we do.
Being able to entrust each warm-up to prayer really changes the meaning we give to what we are building. Being able to share the graces and difficulties with others in the troupe really helps us to move forward and to make the Lord present in every detail. When we take a step back and entrust everything to him, we finally see that God is the true artistic director behind it all.
We are offering this show for the opening of the festival and to share our joy with others. What makes me happy is that the goal is not to put on THE performance, but simply to SHARE with others.
And for 2026?
Prepare the opening night of the ‘Welcome To Paradise’ Festival to welcome hundreds of festival-goers who have just arrived at Hautecombe Abbey to enjoy the ‘Welcome To Paradise’ experience: to speak through art, to marvel, to connect through beauty and truth, to be authentic, to be moved, to touch people’s hearts, to share joy, to celebrate, to party, to dance…
Does that sound appealing? See you at https://jeunes.chemin-neuf.fr/annee-missionnaire-artistique/