History
“Since its founding, Montréal Danse has acquired international renown and recognition. Their creative projects and the audacity of their repertoire have greatly contributed to the development of Montreal dance. Through its eclectic repertoire, this company offers a veritable showcase of Quebec contemporary dance and contributes to its international influence during its tours abroad.”
Katya Montaignac (2006), Bibliothèque de la danse Vincent Warren
1986-1996
- 1986 – Paul-André Fortier and Daniel Jackson launch Montréal Danse, with Anna Raymonde Gazaille as administrative manager. This period in Montréal is characterized by artistic effervescence and several important creative voices are born in contemporary dance. The company creates a repertoire of original works in collaboration with Montreal based choreographers such as James Kudelka, Jean-Pierre Perreault, Catherine Tardif, Ginette Laurin and Danièle Desnoyers. The company becomes renowned for the breadth of its choreographic works and the excellence of the dancers performing them.
- 1988 – Paul-André Fortier leaves the company to focus on his solo career.
- 1990 – The company hires Japanese choreographer Natsu Nakajima to create Les Revenants, marking the beginning of collaborations with creators outside of Canada.
- 1991-1992 – Kathy Casey joins Montréal Danse as rehearsal director for two years.
- 1992 – The company creates a special evening with six works that marked the history of Montréal Danse: Dualité (1947) by Françoise Sullivan, A Moment Sitting (1975) by Linda Rabin, Derrière la porte un mur (1978) by Paul-André Fortier, Le jet d’eau qui jase (1979) by Daniel Soulières and Monique Giard, Olé (1984) by Ginette Laurin, and But I Love You (1992) by Daniel Léveillé.
- 1993 – French choreographer Jean Gaudin creates L’Homme qui essaie devant la gare d’embrasser for Montréal Danse.
- 1994 – Susan Marshall (USA) creates Lines From Memory for a double bill with Danièle Desnoyers’ Les yeux troubles.
- 1995 – Kathy Casey returns as rehearsal director of Montréal Danse.
- 1996 – Daniel Jackson commissiones his final work from Paul-André Fortier, Entre la mémoire et l’oubli.
1996-2009
- 1996 – Kathy Casey is named the artistic director of Montréal Danse.
- 1997 – Claire Ranger takes on the administrative direction of the company. Montréal Danse continues to tour in Canada and regularly visits the West Coast of the United States with several landmark pieces from its repertoire, including Enter: Last by José Navas and Love Letter to Tarantino by Paula de Vasconcelos.
- 1998 – The company begins a long-term collaboration with choreographer Estelle Clareton: Je ne m’en souviens pas très bien (1998); De Julia à Émile 1949 (2001); FURIES, Alpha 1/24 (2005) and S’envoler (2010).
- 1999 and 2003 – The Big Bang mixed programs are created with works by Estelle Clareton (Montreal, 1999), Dominique Porte (Montreal, 1999), Jean-Pierre Mondor (Montreal, 1999), Ae-Soon Ahn (South Korea, 2003), Karine Ponties (Belgium, 2003) and José Navas (Montreal, 2003). The company’s works begin to be performed on a larger scale abroad.
- 2004 – Choreographic Research Workshops and Research Events are initiated and become recurring projects following their success.
- Starting in 2006, Montréal Danse shifts toward more conceptual and performative projects: Un peu comme toi by Martin Bélanger, On the Ice of Labrador by Sarah Chase (Canada, 2007) and Fragil by Blanca Arrieta (Spain, 2008).
- 2008 – Montréal Danse co-founds Art Circulation, a consortium dedicated to the promotion and dissemination of its members’ artistic work on a national and international scale.
As of 2010
The company continues evolving. Montréal Danse is now an active choreographic platform for new voices and new choreographic practices to reach an ever wider local and international audience. This change involves:
- Creation of more atypical works, both in their nature and in their performance contexts;
- Rather than a permanent group of dancers, dancers and collaborators are chosen for each creation;
- Two to three years are dedicated to the development of each project in order to give the necessary time to experiment;
- Artistic partnerships and coproductions with the companies of the associated choreographers are established. This association brings about an important change in the implementation of creative teams, in the sharing of ownership of works and in the defence of artistic ideas.
- 2010 – Montréal Danse implants the art for social action project Dance Against Violence, in collaboration with Agora de la Danse, La Dauphinelle and Amélie Dionne-Charest. This project offers movement workshops to women who are victims of violence, helping them reclaim their bodies. The workshops benefit a growing and increasingly diversified clientele.
- 2012 – Kathy Casey begins offering dramaturgy workshops.
- 2013 – Montréal Danse’s piece Prisms, by Benoît Lachambre, receives the CALQ award for best choreographic work of the 2013-2014 season.
- 2014 – Charlotte Calais takes over the administrative management and development of the company.
- 2014 – Dance Against Violence and Montréal Danse merge in order to reach more women in need, and to ensure the ongoing development of projects.
- Starting in 2014, the company develops a successful collaboration with Montreal artists Caroline Laurin-Beaucage (White Matter, 2015; GROUND, 2018; REBO(U)ND, 2018) and Marie Béland (BETWEEN, 2014; BESIDE, 2018; RADIOMATON, 2022). These artistic partnerships are active to this day.
- 2018 – Creation of the digital object theatre piece Instant Community with Peter Quanz (Canada).
- From 2019 to today – new immersive works are in the making with Montreal choreographers Aurélie Pedron (Invisible), Marie Béland (RADIOMATON), and Benoît Lachambre (All in All).