Montréal’s dance calendar for winter-spring 2016
Dance, the sixth art, is alive and thriving in 2016!
The season kicked off in September with the inauguration of the much-anticipated Espace Dance in the Wilder Building, which is located in Montreal’s Quartier des spectacles (Entertainment District). It’s the new home base for four of the city’s core dance organizations: Les Grands Ballets Canadiens de Montréal, Tangente, École de danse contemporaine de Montréal and Agora de la danse. To keep up the momentum, these popular dance troupes are offering an exciting program for the winter-spring of 2016.
Wondering what’s worth seeing? We won’t tiptoe around the subject any further. Here are our top picks:
Classic and contemporary ballet
Coppélia, February 18 to 21 at Salle Wilfrid-Pelletier, performed by the Shanghai Ballet
Choreographer: Pierre Lacotte, inspired by the work of Arthur Saint-Léon
Based on Hoffman’s The Sandman, this classic ballet uses pantomime, mazurkas and character dances to tell the tale of Franz, a boy who is infatuated with Coppélia’s silhouette, which he glimpses through the window of the workshop belonging to Coppelius, the wise man who is later revealed to be an automaton.
Préludes, March 10 to 19 at Théâtre Maisonneuve: Dim Light of Dawn and RE-(II)
Choreographers: Ken Ossola and Shen Wei
This contemporary ballet includes two pieces. First there’s a tribute to Sergei Rachmaninoff, and then the audience is whisked off to the Cambodian temple of Angkor Wat.
Dream Away, May 26 to June 4 at Théâtre Maisonneuve
Choreographer: Stephan Toss
This lovely contemporary ballet opens several doors onto the subconscious, with scene transitions and projections that create surreal cinematic atmosphere.
Don Quixote, May 4 to 7 at Salle Wilfrid-Pelletier, presented by the National Ballet of Cuba
Choreographer: Alicia Alonso, after the classic written by Miguel de Cervantes
Relive this classical ballet featuring the ever-candid Don Quixote and his faithful companion Sancho who journey across Spain in search of imaginary love.
Swan Lake, January 14 to 16 at Salle Wilfrid Pelletier
Choreographer: Dada Masilo/Dance Factory Johannesburgh
In this retake on Swan Lake, we discover a gay prince, men and women in tutus and an explosive fusion of classical and African dance.
MoilesAutres, January 27 to February 6 at La Cinquième Salle
Choreographers: Myriam Allard and Hedi Graja/La Otra Orilla
This show pushes the boundaries of flamenco with a series of scenes combining dance and live music.
Prélude à l’après-midi d’un faune + Le Sacre du printemps, March 31 to April 2 at Théâtre Maisonneuve
Choreographer: Marie Chouinard
Accompanied by 70 musicians from the Montreal Youth Symphony Orchestra, the talented Marie Chouinard offers a look back at the best international masterpieces from the past 20 years and beyond.
The Seasons + Mamihlapinatapai + Gnawa, April 28 to 30 at Théâtre Maisonneuve
Choreographers: Édouard Lock, Jomar Mesquita and Nacho Duato/São Paulo Companhia de Dança
Performing for the first time on a Canadian stage, this contemporary dance troupe is showcasing three different works: one inspired by Vivaldi’s Four Seasons, one sensual number and one invitation to travel.
Anatomie d’un souffle, May 6 and 7 at the Maison symphonique
Choreographer: Danièle Desnoyers
Danse Danse has partnered with the Montréal Symphony Orchestra to create a unique evening that combines the sounds of Pierre-Béique pipe organ and contemporary dance.
Contemporary performances
Tangente
Juxtapose, January 21 to 24 at Monument-National
Choreographer: Cecilia Moisio
Juxtapose examines “the new sexism” with a performance that combines text and movement. It’s a social critique of “the super woman” who is expected to be both extremely feminine but also masculine and self-assured.
Du doute des uns + Exister encore, January 28 to 31 at Monument-National
Choreographers: Ariane Boulet, Gabriel Vignola, Laurier Rochon and Maryse Damecour
The first piece is a reflection on the origins of doubt, while the second looks at our solitary existence in a society characterized by hyperactivity and attention deficit disorder.
Singeries, February 11 to 13 at Usine C, as part of the Festival Temps d’Images
Choreographers: Priscilla Guy and Catherine Lavoie-Marcus/Mandoline Hybride
Two women trapped in a videographic fresco – where their images are multiplied and shattered – mimic and replay themselves so that they don’t completely fade away.
Memory Palace, February 25 to 28 at the Darling Foundry
Choreographer: Dorian Nuskind-Oder
An ode to dance on a vibrantly colourful backdrop within one of Montreal’s most impressive art galleries.
Avec Pas d’cœur, March 16 to 19 at Monument-National
Choreographer: Maïgwenn Desbois
This highly anticipated work shatters the taboos surrounding disabled people and their sexuality. The show features Gabrielle Marion Rivard, who played the lead part in the film Gabrielle.
Mobilier Mental, March 24 to 27 at Monument-National
Choreographers: Michel F Côté and Catherine Tardif
A series of short choreographies derived from the visual language found in the magazine Permanent Food, a pirate and anthropopagic object created by Maurizio Cattelan.
Car c’est par la fragilité que la révolution œuvre, May 5 to 8 at Monument-National
Choreographer: Adam Kinner
In this solo (which is not a solo), a series of relationships are revealed, in which the audience, performer and various objects bear witness to their present situation—and cautiously seek a way out.
Things are leaving quietly, in silence, May 12 to 15 at Monument-National
Choreographer: Frédéric Tavernini
“Nobody dares to induce the future. You’d have to be mad to even think it’s possible. Does that mean nothing will happen anymore? No, because there will always be fools and schmucks who follow others blindly, and wise people who do nothing.”
Agora de la danse
Symphonie 5.1, January 27 to 30
Choreographer: Isabelle Van Grimde/Van Grimde Corps Secrets
“In an era of constantly evolving virtualization, Isabelle Van Grimde plunges her dancers into an interactive visual environment driven by a musical score performed live onstage.”
Lien(s), February 3 to 5
Choreographer: Ismaël Mouaraki / Destins Croisés
At the crossroads of urban and contemporary dance, five very different individuals are forced to wash their dirty laundry together at a laundromat.
Behind… Between, February 17 to 19
Choreographer: Marie Béland
This performance includes two works that place dance BEHIND or BETWEEN, as a challenge to the spectator.
Bouge Anyway 2016, February 27 as part of the Nuit blanche and Festival Montréal en Lumière events
Attend this “showdown” where urban and contemporary dance come together to showcase the best of both worlds.
Les choses dernières, March 9 to 12
Choreographer: Lucie Grégoire
Loosely inspired by a Paul Auster novel, this work is depicts the unflagging quest for identity that haunts the choreographer in a sensual and cinematic atmosphere.
La Démarquise, March 16 to 19
Choreographer: Louise Bédard
Inspired by the iconographic work and narrative of the Portuguese visual artist Paula Rego, this piece features four women whose enigmatic, troubling and disarming gestures reflect society’s discourse on growing old.
Vital Few, April 20 to 22
Choreographer: Collectif 605
This work focuses on the struggle for harmonious coexistence, with interpretations from six different individuals.
Abécédaire du corps dansant, May 3 to 5
Choreographer: Andrée Martin
A beautiful study of the body as it dances through three different stage proposals.
Nous (ne) sommes (pas) tous des danseurs, May 6 to 8, in collaboration with Danse-Cité
Choreographer: Sophie Corriveau
Using a series of testimonials marked by the experiences and thoughts of different dancers, their profession—and the myths associated with it—is explained.
Usine C
La très excellente et lamentable tragédie de Roméo et Juliette, January 13 to 17
Choreographers: Catherine Gaudet and Jérémie Niel
The Shakespearean legend is interpreted by Clara Furey and Francis Ducharme in closed quarters that are both sensual and melancholy.
Cold Blood, February 18 to 21
Choreographers: Michèle Anne De Mey, Jaco Van Dormael and the Kiss Cry Collective
One of the headline shows of the 2016 season! On stage, the camera reveals small, hidden worlds where miniature people interact with a giant turtle. Dancing fingers navigate with ease through these playful realms, each of which contains a smaller one.
La Chapelle
CAKE, March 8 to 12
Choreographer: Audrey Rochette
CAKE is a contemporary, humour-filled satire inspired by the success of televised cooking shows.
Pour, April 26 to 30
Choreographer: Daina Ashbee
“Pour is a work that documents and exposes menstruation in order to un-censor women’s pain and stories.”
mai
Black Scholes (1973), Feburary 20
Choreographer: Kim-Sanh Châu
A fusion of contemporary dance and media arts, this work is layered with organic chemistry. It blends the body and images in a single chaotic environment.
Danse-Cité
Par le chas de l’aiguille, January 14 to 23 at La Cinquième Salle
Choreographer: Audrey Bergeron
A three-part look at femininity in which the choreographer captures multiple perspectives.
Festivals
Festival TransAmériques, May 26 to June 8
A concentrated dose of the best in contemporary creation from local and international artists.
OFFTA – Festival d’arts vivants, May 27 to June 4
A gold mine of avant-garde live art.
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