Alice Blanchet-Gavouyère + Jean Bui & Sydney McManus + Marika D. Lafond + Pénélope Gromko + Audrée Juteau + Alejandro Sajgalik

An interdisciplinary artist and energy worker, Alejandro Sajgalik is a descendent of restless blood. His current practice honours the transformative potential of transient deep-rootedness, drawing from his experience with somatic movement, urban voids, queerness, intimacy, and holistic bodywork. His work includes dance performances, videos, experimental music, and writings.

Nate Yaffe is a Montréal-based experimental dance, theatre and video artist whose practice aims to uncorrect the self-censored body. His most recent work for the stage, Dunno wat u kno (2017), lies at the intersection of the sensitive body and our virtual lived experiences. As a performer, he received a Helen Hayes Award nomination for Best Supporting Actor for the role he created in Molly Maxner’s play Occupied Territories (2015), which he reprised in the off-Broadway production in 2017. He is also the creator and curator of the residency series “This is actively built”, which bring together artists from the queer community into a shared space for collaboration and discussion.

Lee Anholt moved to Montréal in 1990 after completing a BAC in Contemporary Dance at Simon Fraser University. His work was produced in Montréal, Toronto, and Vancouver. In 1995, he began gravitating towards the technical field. Lee was the technical director and lighting director on tour for Montréal Danse and FLAK (José Navas) for many years and also had the chance to work with many great creators in dance as well as theatre: Peggy Baker, Louise Lecavalier, and Denis Marleau (UBU), to name but a few. Presently, Lee is the technical and production director for Danse-Cité. He also creates lighting for theatre, music, and especially dance.

After studies in photography, Sylvie Nobert became interested in lighting for the stage, and for contemporary dance in particular. She now designs and does technical direction for independent choreographers, as well as for the New Waves series at Tangente. She works regularly in Montreal’s maisons de la culture, and has also been technical director for the Printemps de la Danse tour.

Lee Anholt moved to Montréal in 1990 after completing a BAC in Contemporary Dance at Simon Fraser University. His work was produced in Montréal, Toronto, and Vancouver. In 1995, he began gravitating towards the technical field. Lee was the technical director and lighting director on tour for Montréal Danse and FLAK (José Navas) for many years and also had the chance to work with many great creators in dance as well as theatre: Peggy Baker, Louise Lecavalier, and Denis Marleau (UBU), to name but a few. Presently, Lee is the technical and production director for Danse-Cité. He also creates lighting for theatre, music, and especially dance.

After studies in photography, Sylvie Nobert became interested in lighting for the stage, and for contemporary dance in particular. She now designs and does technical direction for independent choreographers, as well as for the New Waves series at Tangente. She works regularly in Montreal’s maisons de la culture, and has also been technical director for the Printemps de la Danse tour.

Jean Bui studied visual arts but earned his BA in Contemporary Dance at UQAM. Over the course of his career, Jean has had the opportunity to work with George Stamos, Katya Montaignac and Andrea Peña, as well as to appear in numerous music videos and commercials. He is a company dancer for RUBBERBANDance Group.

Sydney McManus is an artist from London, Ontario, with work based between Montreal and Toronto. She is a multidisciplinary artist with a practice in illustration, dance and performance. Currently, Sydney is a company dancer with RUBBERBANDance Group while also pursuing a BFA at OCAD University.

Lee Anholt moved to Montréal in 1990 after completing a BAC in Contemporary Dance at Simon Fraser University. His work was produced in Montréal, Toronto, and Vancouver. In 1995, he began gravitating towards the technical field. Lee was the technical director and lighting director on tour for Montréal Danse and FLAK (José Navas) for many years and also had the chance to work with many great creators in dance as well as theatre: Peggy Baker, Louise Lecavalier, and Denis Marleau (UBU), to name but a few. Presently, Lee is the technical and production director for Danse-Cité. He also creates lighting for theatre, music, and especially dance.

After studies in photography, Sylvie Nobert became interested in lighting for the stage, and for contemporary dance in particular. She now designs and does technical direction for independent choreographers, as well as for the New Waves series at Tangente. She works regularly in Montreal’s maisons de la culture, and has also been technical director for the Printemps de la Danse tour.

We are interested in generating work that highlights design principles. How can we construct dance that explores functionality? Design is engineered for the human form. But can our bodies serve design? We believe in the minimal, in only showing the essential. Consequently, our focus is to reduce ornamentation because, for us, form follows function. Borrowing from the Bauhaus, we are looking at balancing efficiency and esthetic. By doing so, one might say we are “moving for nothing” and “perfecting the useless.” (a translation of F. Pouillaude, 2014)

Since graduating in Dance at UQAM, Marika D. Lafond has defined her path as an independent artist who likes to work on collaborative projects. To fulfil her desire to initiate these kinds of projects, she explores choreographic commissions as a way to live professional experiences with artists who inspire her. Through these projects, she discovers the complex worlds of many well-known and emerging artists: Manon Oligny, Jean-Sébastien Lourdais, Emmanuel Jouthe, Sébastien Provencher, Ian Yaworski, and Emmalie Ruest, among many others. Curious and passionate about women’s issues, she co-founds Danses Insoumises with Marie-Denise Bettez, an artistic feminist organization.

A versatile dancer, Mattew Heli Brunel began performing at a very young age and has evolved in all the spheres a dancer can during his professional career. He has danced and/or choreographed for Cirque du Soleil, the musicals Footloose and West Side Story, the French pop group 2B3, Mitsou, Nanette Workman, Malajube, as well as for American singers Jah Rule, Ashanti and Tweet at the Bell Centre. He has also collaborated with designer Mikael D, choreographers Benoît Lachambre from Par B.L.eux and Marc Boivin, and the French company Kafig. Mattew is also the artistic director of and choreographer for his own dance company, Miroir Miroir.

Marie-Denise Bettez finishes her professionnal dance studies in 2013 at L’École de danse de Québec. Since then, she has had the chance to work for many choreographers: Ghislaine Dote, Mattew Brunel, Elizabeth Suich, and Soraida Caron (Trois-Pistoles). She has performed at many festivals, including Quartiers Danses and AIR. In 2016, she and her colleague Marika D. Lafond organise a choreographic commission with Simon Gélinas Beauregard, Sébastien Provencher, and Emmanuel Jouthe. This project is followed by a nightlife platform for contemporary dance called F.E.M. at Le Cercle – Lab Vivant in Québec City. Since 2017, she dances in some of Nyata Nyata’s projects.

Interested in theatre and improvisation since childhood, Ariane Demers quickly learns to play characters and to exploit the expressivity of her body language. In 2011, it’s by chance that she begins studies in both dance and sciences at Collège Montmorency. There, she develops her critical thinking, a rigour in her work, and a growing passion for movement. In 2018, she completes a BA in Dance (choreography) at UQAM. Her studies allowed her to expand her body movement possibilities, from modern dance to partner and floor work, and to acquire a precise vocabulary.

Lee Anholt moved to Montréal in 1990 after completing a BAC in Contemporary Dance at Simon Fraser University. His work was produced in Montréal, Toronto, and Vancouver. In 1995, he began gravitating towards the technical field. Lee was the technical director and lighting director on tour for Montréal Danse and FLAK (José Navas) for many years and also had the chance to work with many great creators in dance as well as theatre: Peggy Baker, Louise Lecavalier, and Denis Marleau (UBU), to name but a few. Presently, Lee is the technical and production director for Danse-Cité. He also creates lighting for theatre, music, and especially dance.

After studies in photography, Sylvie Nobert became interested in lighting for the stage, and for contemporary dance in particular. She now designs and does technical direction for independent choreographers, as well as for the New Waves series at Tangente. She works regularly in Montreal’s maisons de la culture, and has also been technical director for the Printemps de la Danse tour.

Pénélope Gromko was born in Montréal in 1996. Following nine years devoted to the elite basketball teams of her region, she turns to dancing, hoping to make a career out of it. In 2014, she begins a four-year training at École de Danse Contemporaine de Montréal. The teachings of Neil Sochasky, Isabelle Morissette, Marc Boivin, Jamie Wright and Linda Rabin have increased her fascination with a holistic approach to the art of dance. Pénélope is fortunate to work with such accomplished artists as Isabelle Poirier, Sophie Corriveau, Emmanuelle Bourassa-Beaudoin, Harold Rhéaume, Victor Quijada, Lucy May, Helen Simard, Manuel Roque and Mélanie Demers. Parallel to a career as a performer, Pénélope aspires to create. With her growing interest in political issues, she hopes to explore her own art with a more activist approach.

Emmanuelle Bourassa-Beaudoin has performed the work of several choreographers, but mainly that of Dave St-Pierre and Danièle Desnoyers. She was recently rehearsal director for the projects of Danièle Desnoyers and Marie Chouinard. She currently teaches various movement-related classes at UQAM, EDCM, the National Theatre School, and École supérieure de ballet du Québec’s recreational program. In the interstices of dance, Emmanuelle is interested in Qigong, yoga, meditation, singing, long hikes, and nature conservation. Her favourite roles in the world: wanderer and matante.

Isabelle Poirier danced with Compagnie Marie Chouinard for eight years before becoming its rehearsal master and assistant artistic director in 2006. She completed the technical training program at École de danse contemporaine de Montréal and a major in art history at Université de Montréal. She danced with Sarah Bild, Michèle Rioux, Montanaro Danse, Roger Sinha, Lucie Grégoire and Louise Bédard, and taught in Concordia University’s Dance Department and at École de danse contemporaine de Montréal. In 2003, she won the Linda Rabin Award for her achievements.

Clara Bastiani graduated from Conservatoire Lassalle in 2014. She is inspired by dance and movement, music, acting, writing, photography, costumes but, more than anything, by human beings. Since she was a young girl, she has been drawn to the stage. She is having fun as a self-taught artist who takes risks and does a lot of listening to go beyond boundaries. She prefers sincerity to appearances and sees art as a path to push ourselves and dig deep into ideas.

Born in Mexico, Pamela Gómez Widman graduated from l’École de danse contemporaine de Montréal in 2018. During her training, she collaborated with renowned choreographers such as Mélanie Demers, Helen Simard, Jacques Poulin-Denis, Manuel Roque, the RUBBERBANDance group, Sophie Corriveau, and Harold Rhéaume, among others. She intends to continue her professional development as a performer and in other areas, such as production and visual arts.

Lee Anholt moved to Montréal in 1990 after completing a BAC in Contemporary Dance at Simon Fraser University. His work was produced in Montréal, Toronto, and Vancouver. In 1995, he began gravitating towards the technical field. Lee was the technical director and lighting director on tour for Montréal Danse and FLAK (José Navas) for many years and also had the chance to work with many great creators in dance as well as theatre: Peggy Baker, Louise Lecavalier, and Denis Marleau (UBU), to name but a few. Presently, Lee is the technical and production director for Danse-Cité. He also creates lighting for theatre, music, and especially dance.

After studies in photography, Sylvie Nobert became interested in lighting for the stage, and for contemporary dance in particular. She now designs and does technical direction for independent choreographers, as well as for the New Waves series at Tangente. She works regularly in Montreal’s maisons de la culture, and has also been technical director for the Printemps de la Danse tour.

Alice Blanchet-Gavouyère is a young performer and choreographer from Montréal. Graduating in 2018 from the University of Québec in Montréal with a BA in Dance, she is a recipient of the William-Douglas Prize. She presents her first artwork, which deconstruct social and political consensus around gender and work, in 2016. Since then, she has been presenting minimalist works that place the sensibility of the performer at the heart of choreographic writing. Her work deals with uncommon forms of presentation that propose a reconstruction of the scenic space as well as a reappropriation of poetry in daily environments. Her productions are presented by UQAM’s Dance Department, the SOIR festival, Tangente, and Passerelle 840.

Awarded a diploma from the Contemporary Dance Program of UQAM in 2018, Maude Archambault-Wakil is a young Montréal performer. During her studies, she meets Danièle Desnoyers for the production of Danse de société and explores Mélanie Demers’s repertoire. Her path is strewed with creative projects presented at Passerelle 840, in particular in collaborations with Alice Blanchet-Gavouyère and Penélope Desjardins. In her dance practice, she questions the body and its functions, discovering a body filled with reactive possibilities within diverse parameters. Passionate and committed, she is largely interested in an interbreeding between live arts such as dance, theatre, performance, etc.

Penélope Desjardins is a young dance performer who stands out for her curiosity, various interests, desire to democratize art, and love of collaborations. Convinced that a mix of practices consolidates arts, she devotes herself to different artistic projects while pursuing an interest in the intellectual and in a personal dance language that tends to be fiery and poetic. A graduate from Université du Québec à Montréal’s dance program and a recipient of the William-Douglas Award (2018), she has met several mentors who nourish and refine her practice. She also developed a young artistic network that has brought her to Festival SOIR (2017), Divan Orange (2018), and Tangente (2018).

Lee Anholt moved to Montréal in 1990 after completing a BAC in Contemporary Dance at Simon Fraser University. His work was produced in Montréal, Toronto, and Vancouver. In 1995, he began gravitating towards the technical field. Lee was the technical director and lighting director on tour for Montréal Danse and FLAK (José Navas) for many years and also had the chance to work with many great creators in dance as well as theatre: Peggy Baker, Louise Lecavalier, and Denis Marleau (UBU), to name but a few. Presently, Lee is the technical and production director for Danse-Cité. He also creates lighting for theatre, music, and especially dance.

After studies in photography, Sylvie Nobert became interested in lighting for the stage, and for contemporary dance in particular. She now designs and does technical direction for independent choreographers, as well as for the New Waves series at Tangente. She works regularly in Montreal’s maisons de la culture, and has also been technical director for the Printemps de la Danse tour.