Case study

In Montpellier, contemporary dance trades spreadsheets for #DIESE

June 3, 2026
Agora Cité internationale de la Danse

By bringing together the CCN d’Occitanie and Montpellier Danse, l’Agora has built an organisation to match its ambitions. To support this new momentum, the cité de la danse chose #DIESE to unite its planning, its teams and its studio bookings in a single tool – right down to a bespoke daily call sheet designed for its festival.

A cité de la danse with many activities

In Montpellier, l’Agora holds a singular place in the dance landscape. Housed in a building full of character – a former prison that has kept one of its cells in memory of its history – it gathers under one roof activities that are usually scattered.

It is home to stages, rehearsal studios, artist residencies and accommodation, as well as a higher education programme in choreography whose students are among the building’s users. Under the artistic co-direction of Hofesh Shechter and Jeanne Gallois, leading figures in contemporary dance, the organisation was born from the merger of two entities: the CCN d’Occitanie and Montpellier Danse.

This wealth of activity is also what makes it complex: many venues, varied uses, multiple stakeholders, and a programme that peaks each summer with a festival.

A merger, and the opportunity to get organised

The creation of this unified organisation marked a turning point. Rather than simply layering the habits of the two former structures, l’Agora took the opportunity to equip itself with a genuine business tool.

Until then, planning and activity tracking had been handled on spreadsheets. The goal was to bring information together in a single, reliable and shared database, capable of supporting an organisation still under construction.

A single base for planning, teams and projects

#DIESE has become the backbone of activity management. Several modules were rolled out together:

  • the activity planning module, to orchestrate rehearsals, performances and venue use;
  • the projects and contacts modules, to structure the programming and the core of the organisation;
  • the staff scheduling module, to plan permanent staff and short-term contracts across the different departments (technical, production, education, administration…) and prepare payroll variables. For short-term technical contracts, these variables are then sent to the payroll software sPAIEctacle via an automated interface.

Today, every team has an account, and staff scheduling relies on the MyDièse portal, which each person can consult in real time.

A daily call sheet designed to measure

To meet its need for day-to-day communication, l’Agora benefited from a new document: a daily plan that brings together, at a glance, a full day’s activity for the whole organisation.

Created during this project, the goal for this document was clear from the outset: to be up and running for the festival from year one, in order to support this highlight of the season.

Booking a studio independently

Another contribution of the project: studio bookings by third parties. Very soon, visiting companies will be able to submit a request from the website; a MyDièse account will then be opened for them, so they can book their slots independently. A similar approach is currently being rolled out for the programme’s students.

This process, regularly implemented in schools and conservatoires, will lighten internal management while giving users direct, straightforward access to booking.

Do you, too, manage multiple venues and activities?

Looking to centralise your planning, coordinate your teams or open up bookings for your spaces? Get in touch with our team to discover how #DIESE can fit your organisation.