L’École de danse contemporaine de Montréal presents the show entitled Les danses de la mi-chemin, featuring its second-year students. For the occasion, artistic and program director Lucie Boissinot has invited choreographers Dany Desjardins and Lucas Viallefond to create pieces for large groups.
Choreographers Dany Desjardins, Lucas Viallefond
Performers Catherine Bellefleur, Christophe Benoît-Piau, Sophie Carl, Julianne Decerf, Philippe Dépelteau, Louise Gamain, Benjamin Harvey, Lauranne Heulot, Luce Lainé, Aaricia Laperrière-Roy, Maude Laurin-Beaulieu, Alexandre Leblanc, Tiffany Leclair, Marie Levêque, Joanie Michaud, Amanda Petropoulos, Marie-Maxime Ross, Valentin Rosso, Molly Siboulet-Ryan, Alexandre Smith, Angélique St-Pierre, Alicia Toublanc
Artistic director Lucie Boissinot
Rehearsal director Tassy Teekman
Dany Desjardins began his artistic development at a very young age through drawing and theatre. After studying visual arts in Alma, he completed a dance program in Drummondville and continued his studies at the École de danse contemporaine de Montréal (formerly LADMMI). Since 2007, Dany has worked for Compagnie Chouinard, PPS Danse, Daniel Léveillé Danse, Compagnie Dave St-Pierre, GroupedArtGravelArtGroup, Danse K par K, Maribé – sors de ce corps, and has worked with choreographers Catherine Gaudet, George Stamos, David Pressault and Kathy Ward. In 2007, he presented his composition Shitoi & Dordur at Tangente (Danses Buissonnières series). He then participated in the Festivals Quartiers Danses (formerly Transatlantique) and Vue sur la relève. In 2008, he won the Cirque du Soleil scholarship for the same work. His second creation, All villains have a broken heart, was again featured at Tangente (Danses Buissonnières 2008) before appearing at the OFFTA in 2009. Dany also received a CALQ scholarship to do a creative residency in Berlin, where he performed the On Airsolo presented at Tangente, as well as at Piss in the pool and the Quartiers Danses festival. Subsequently, he performed POW WOW at La Chapelle theatre in 2011, then the Winnin’ solo in 2014, and Sang Bleu in 2018, co-created with the contortionist Andréane Leclerc. At the same time, he worked with La Tortue Noire as a movement consultant and created Daidalos in 2012.
Trained at the Conservatoire Supérieur de Paris (CNSMDP), Lucas Viallefond obtained his Certificate of Interpretation with mention in 2009. He danced pieces from Preljocaj, Sokolow, Nikolais, Taylor, Bastin, Gallotta, Bagouet, Boivin and Larrieu. He then joined the Folkwang Hochschule (Germany). He worked for the Compagnie Beau Geste, for several events in Morocco and Japan, danced at the Théâtre du Châtelet, has been part of the CCN Angers team (repertoire: Cunningham) and in the Folkwang Tanzstudio (repertoire: Reinhild Hoffmann, Malou Airaudo, Stephan Brinkmann). He has choreographed for one of the soloists of the StaatsBallett Berlin, for the students of the Taipei National University of the Arts in Taiwan, for the French Ministry of Culture… Since 2010, Lucas has taught at the Ballet Preljocaj and for Bolshoï dancers, at the Paris Opera Ballet School and in Austria, Germany, Australia, Singapore, Korea, Israel, London, Hungary, Switzerland, Hong Kong, Canada, Belgium, India, Metz Opera House.
