My Picks for the 2009-10 Dance Season

The dance season is about to start and, once again, I’ve handpicked the ten shows that are sure to make me change my sheets in anticipation.

From October 15 to 18, Deborah Dunn follows up her hilarious yet visually striking parody of melodrama, Nocturnes, with a solo created for Nadine Sures. You can catch La fille sauvage de Champagne at Tangente. It’s also where you’ll find Jacques Poulin-Denis’s Cible de Dieu. Everything that this talented multi-disciplinary artist touches turns to gold, so this might just be the show that I’m personally looking forward to the most. Mark your calendars: November 19 to 22.

After presenting his critically acclaimed solo at Agora de la danse last year, José Navas goes back to group choreography with S. Danse Danse is showcasing him at Centre Pierre-Péladeau from November 25 to 28. Then a great gift for the Holidays: the UQAM dance department is presenting excerpts from works by one of Quebec’s most important choreographers, the late Jean-Pierre Perreault. Let’s remember that Perreault had created his seminal work, Joe, for the department back in 1983. As always, this show will take place at Agora de la danse, from December 16 to 19.

Tangente monopolizes the first few months of 2009 as far as I’m concerned. After Hawks and Doves, quite possibly the most hysterical piece of dance I’ve ever had the chance to see, Katie Ward gets to present a feature-length work, Sublimation/Transformation, from January 21 to 24. One of the best all-around performers in the city, Anne Thériault, finds herself once again behind the wheel with La physique. Catch it from February 18 to 21. Finally, Andrew Turner, well known for his great physicality and sense of humour, presents a yet-to-be-titled trio from March 11 to 14. Turner never disappoints and after presenting the best piece at this year’s edition of Piss in the Pool, things are only looking up.

Though Les Grands Ballets Canadiens is just as far as a dance company can get from being “indie” and (probably for that reason) they’re the only ones who won’t allow me to review their show for this here website, sometimes (unlike last season) they make it hard for me to ignore them by coming over to the dark, contemporary side. In 2010, they’ll be performing works by both Jiří Kylián (March 18 to 27) and Ohad Naharin (May 6 to 15), two of the most important choreographers on the world scene.

Finally, Théâtre La Chapelle is the first to schedule a feature-length work by Virginie Brunelle since she graduated from UQAM. Based on its title, we can only assume that Foutrement is an extension of the short work of the same name she presented at Danses Buissonnières last year. It’s also been upgraded from a duo to trio in the process. Catch Brunelle’s no doubt hard-hitting look at infidelity from April 6 to 10.

For more information:
Tangente: http://tangente.qc.ca/
Danse Danse: http://dansedanse.net/
Agora de la danse: http://agoradanse.com/
Les Grands Ballets Canadiens: http://www.grandsballets.com/fr/
Théâtre La Chapelle: http://www.lachapelle.org/