Pierre-Marc Ouellette + Jacques Poulin-Denis + Medhi Walerski

Pierre-Marc Ouellette is a contemporary dance artist, performer, and choreographer. He has danced for 10 years with the company Le Carré des Lombes (dir. Danièle Desnoyers), among others, and has presented his choreographic works at Tangente, Agora de la danse, Galerie VOX, and Galerie B-312, in Montréal. His artistic practice explores the relationships that emerge within the choreographic process, with a sustained attention to what each performer brings that is singular, both physically and expressively. Deeply informed by a creative collaboration with visual artist Manon De Pauw, with whom he has worked for the past 15 years, his practice has recently expanded to include video. He holds a Bachelor’s degree in Art History (UQAM) and a Master’s degree in Arts from Concordia University’s individualized program. He is currently pursuing a doctoral degree in Arts Studies and Practices at Université du Québec à Montréal, where he is conducting a doctoral research-creation project. His doctoral project is supported by a scholarship from the Social Sciences and Humanities Research Council. He has been teaching for 10 years (EDCM, UQAM) and has been a part-time instructor in the Department of Contemporary Dance at Concordia University since 2023. In 2026, he joins the dance department at Montmorency College.

Jacques Poulin-Denis is a choreographer and performing arts practitioner with a quirky imagination. His works explore the powerful vulnerability and resilience of human beings in the face of the relentless machinery of our modern systems, as well as the individual’s self-determination and their – sometimes fallible – ability to shape their own lives. His choreographic approach, tinged with theatricality, is characterized by the influence of his musical training and by the creation of devices (prostheses, machines, sensors) that support movement to generate a form of assisted choreography, echoing his own disability. His work has been presented in some 60 Canadian cities, as well as in Europe, the United States, and Asia. As an artist-in-residence at Agora de la danse, his most recent works include On/Off (2023), Punch Line (2021), Running Piece (2018), and the choreographic installation Train-Train (2021), presented at the Joliette Art Museum. In 2009, he founded Grand Poney, an interdisciplinary company where he serves as executive and artistic director.

Medhi Walerski was appointed Artistic Director of Ballet BC in 2020. His leadership tenure has been highlighted by an artist-centred approach and deep commitment to creation and innovation, an expanded global touring program, increased dancer compensation and equity, a world-renowned brand identity, and unprecedented audience growth. Raised in France, Walerski initially trained in Normandy with Laurie Bokobza and Christine Caroly before joining the Conservatoire Supérieur de Musique et de Danse de Paris. He danced at the Paris Opera Ballet and the Ballet du Rhin before joining the Nederlands Dans Theater in 2001. For more than a decade, he was an integral part of the company, contributing to the creative, innovative style that NDT is famed for. Walerski has worked closely with many renowned choreographers, creating alongside and performing works by Jiří Kylián, William Forsythe, Ohad Naharin, George Balanchine, Rudolf Nureyev, Paul Lightfoot and Sol León, Crystal Pite, Johan Inger, and Wayne McGregor, among others. Walerski’s choreographic debut was in 2008 for NDT 2. Since then, he has created numerous acclaimed works, including Petite Cérémonie (2011), Blink of an eye (2011), Chamber (2012), GARDEN (2016), SWAY (2019), Silent Tides (2021), just BEFORE right AFTER (2022), Pieces of Tomorrow (2024), and Last light (2025), and more, which have been performed by companies such as Nederlands Dans Theater, Ballet BC, National Ballet of Canada, Alvin Ailey American Dance Theater, GöteborgsOperans Danskompani, Royal Swedish Ballet, State Ballet of Georgia, StaatBallet Hannover, and Charlotte Ballet. Walerski was awarded the prestigious Dutch dance prize VSCD Zwaan in 2013, and was named a Chevalier de l’Ordre des Arts et des Lettres by France’s Ministry of Culture in 2026. As an educator, he is regularly invited to lecture and give workshops at dance conservatories, intensives, and festivals around the world.