A Love Affair with Danse : Québec Danse

For immediate release

Montreal, April 7, 2016—Imagine an International Dance Day that is celebrated over an entire week! Don’t miss this chance, offered by the Regroupement québécois de la danse (RQD) and various dance professionals, to choose from over 100 free activities. From April 24 to May 1, the 5th edition of Québec Danse has planned a host of exciting events. Dance courses, workshops, meetings, performances, films and exhibitions are on the agenda in the regions of Montreal, Quebec City, Chaudière-Appalaches, Eastern Townships, Lanaudière and Laval. Events that will stimulate your senses, loosen up your body, and give you a sample of all that dance has to offer year-round. Plan your own program with the Dance Agenda at www.quebecdanse.org—the calendar for dance-lovers.

Three cities open their arms

On April 25, things get underway in Montreal in front of the École supérieure de ballet du Québec. Young dancers will undertake the 2016 Choreographic Trace, a large-scale urban event that this year will celebrate the 50th anniversary of this flagship institution founded par Ludmilla Chiriaeff. The next day in Sherbrooke, young and old alike are invited to a whole day of workshops, culminating in short performances by ten dancers from the Eastern Townships, as part of ICI DANSE. Finally, on April 26, the dance community's annual day of consensus-building will take place in Quebec City, ending with the launch of videos promoting dance.

Artists extend their hands

Whether it be your first time inside a dance studio, outside in the sun, or in the magical darkness of a theatre, you will have some twenty opportunities to discover how dance is conceived, created and presented. Get a behind-the-scenes glimpse of Anatomie d'un souffle by Le Carré des Lombes, inspired by the Grand Orgue Pierre-Béique, to be presented next May by the Montreal Symphony Orchestra and Danse Danse. Or get a backstage look at Fin de série, the latest creation of Manon Oligny, which will make its world premiere at the Festival TransAmérique. Enter the creative worlds of choreographers Harold Rhéaume, Jane Mappin, Sarah Bild and Lin Snelling; attend rehearsals by students of the École de danse contemporaine de Montréal, who will tackle choreographies by Catherine Gaudet, Ginette Laurin, Deborah Dunn and Parts+Labour_Dance. And to experience the full power of a live performance, don’t miss Édouard Lock’s latest work, making its Quebec debut at the Grand Théâtre de Québec and Théâtre Maisonneuve of Place des Arts, in a fabulous triple bill by the Brazilian company São Paulo Companhia de Dança, another initiative of Danse Danse. On tour in the Accès culture network are the virtuoso dancers of BJM – Les Ballets Jazz de Montréal in an electrifying program of five works, including one by Benjamin Millepied, the former artistic director of the Paris Opera Ballet. Finally, the dance companies PPS Danse, 605 Collective from Vancouver and [ZØGMA] Collectif de folklore urbain will all be presenting works—perhaps in a theatre near you? Consult the Dance Agenda to find out!

Dance classes to reinvigorate you

For children, teenagers, adults, families and those over 50, Québec Danse provides a golden opportunity to put on your loose-fitting—or tight-fitting—clothes! For the keenest enthusiasts, Studio Bizz opens its doors on May 1. From noon to 6 p.m., over twenty free classes will be offered in as many styles, and for all levels! In addition, the Académie de danse d’Outremont will not only welcome observers to its courses, but open up many of them to anyone who would like to give them a go, regardless of age. As introductions to three invigorating bodily approaches, the Dance Department of the Université du Québec à Montréal is offering workshops in somatic education, improvisation and rhythmics led by three seasoned instructors. It is also providing opportunities to learn flamenco, to exercise to Latin dances, percussive dances and traditional Indian dance. Finally, even Montreal libraries are getting in on the act! Discover their range of dance activities, designed primarily for young people, scheduled in several Boroughs.

Surprises in store

Let yourself be inspired by the dancers performing at the Musée d’art de Joliette, where you will be able to sketch them in full flight. Get a horizon-wide perspective when the St-Jean-Port-Joli quay is transformed into a giant dance floor. Admire the group of men and women aged 55 to 75 who are the presenting, at the Circuit-Est centre chorégraphique, the contemporary dance they discovered with Carpe Diem/Emmanuel Jouthe. In Quebec City, the artists of Papillon blanc will perform their gentle movements at the CHSLD community health centre. Inside a restaurant, come and witness the frenzy of Schmuttland, a one-of-a-kind performance by Les Soeurs Schmutt, a mix of video, dance, theatre and music. And at the Eastern Bloc production centre, dancers Sonya Stefan and Jamie Wright star in a fantastical show choreographed by Dana Gingras. Finally, on the evening of April 29, come and have a drink at the subversive event So You Think That Was Dance!, hosted by choreographer Karen Fennell, where the Théâtre Main Line stage will feature eight short performances—all unpredictable and uncensored!

Young students leading the way!

This year, two projects introducing young people to contemporary dance through interactions with choreographers invited to their schools, will be ending on April 29! At the invitation of RQD, Estelle Clareton created a short choreography and taught it to 110 elementary students (and their teachers!), which will be performed in the Jean-Gascon Foyer of Théâtre Maisonneuve, thanks to Danse Danse. And choreographer Isabelle Boulanger, upon the invitation of Tangente, guided the creative efforts of dance students at the Lucien-Pagé secondary school. The results will be unveiled on April 29, along with an excerpt from the latest work of the dance troupe La Grande Fente, at the Espace culturel Georges-Émile-Lapalme of Place des Arts. And finally, during the entire week, mini-B-Boys and B-Girls from the Académie de danse d’Outremont will be touring the primary schools of their Borough.

Commemorating dance

Several activities will revive memories of various chapters in the history of Quebec dance. The inaugural exhibition of the new Cultural Centre of Notre-Dame-de-Grâce, Danser à Montréal: A Tribute to Iro Valaskakis-Tembeck, recalls some of these historical milestones in this tribute to the distinguished dance artist and historian. At this same venue, the Regroupement québécois de la danse is presenting the third edition of La Toile-mémoire de la danse au Québec [1895-2000]. In addition, Danse Cadence is offering a lecture-workshop on Renaissance dance in New France. And at EspaceTrad, musicians and dancers of the jig will present an evening of traditional Quebec dance.

On giant screens at the Maison de la culture Notre-Dame-de-Grâce, the 15th anniversary of Mouvement Perpétuel, the production house founded by Marlene Millar and Philip Szporer, will be celebrated with screenings of their finest dance videos. In addition, the ONF à la maison series is presenting within the Accès culture network Paule Baillargeon’s beautiful film Le petit Jean-Pierre, le grand Perreault, which recounts the trajectory and final stages of the choreographer’s career before his death in 2002. Finally, Montreal libraries will be displaying their documentary collections on dance, a great way to discover dance in book or digital form!

Regroupement québécois de la danse

The RQD brings together over 500 dance professionals, promoting their interests in the public and political spheres. Founded in 1984 with a view to giving Quebec dance a unified voice, the RQD has over the years played a leading role in organizing formative projects for the discipline. Its initiatives are designed to raise the profile of dance in all its forms, to enhance its visibility throughout Quebec and to build bridges between professionals, novices and dance enthusiasts. 

The RQD is pleased to schedule this 5th edition of Québec Danse during National Dance Week, a project of l’Assemblée canadienne de la danse/Canadian Dance Assembly (ACD-CDA).

Acknowledgments

The RQD would like to thank all those who participated in this 5th edition of Québec Danse, and in particular the following partners: Montreal Public Libraries, Cultural Centre of Notre-Dame-de-Grâce, Danse Danse, École supérieure de ballet du Québec, Conseil de la culture de l’Estrie, Conseil de la culture de Québec et de Chaudière-Appalaches, Accès culture, Studio Bizz and Télé-Québec. For its Montreal activities, Québec Danse is financially supported by the Borough of Ville-Marie, the Borough of Plateau-Mont-Royal and the program A Montreal School for All. In Quebec City, Québec Danse receives financial assistance under the cultural development agreement between the Ministry of Culture and Communications and the City of Quebec. For its regular activities, the RQD receives funding from the Conseil des arts et des lettres du Québec, the Canada Council for the Arts, the Conseil des arts de Montréal, Compétence culture, Emploi-Québec, as well as the City of Montreal and Quebec’s Ministry of Culture and Communications through its program Diffusion du patrimoine montréalais.

–  30  –

Source:

RQD: Judith Lessard-Bérubé, Communications Manager, 514 849-4003, ext. 225, jlb@quebecdanse.org

Media Relations: Valérie Grig, RuGicomm, 514 759-0494, valerie@rugicomm.ca

> To download the Press Release (PDF)

> Lire la version française