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Les Ballets Jazz de Montréal Dance Me | Music by Leonard Cohen November 16, 2018 • 7:30 pm November 17, 2018 • 2:00 pm + 7:30 pm Royal Theatre Running time: 80 minutes (No intermission) The Royal Theatre is located on the traditional lands of the Lekwungen peoples, also known as the Esquimalt and Songhees Nations. We extend our appreciation for the opportunity to live, create, and perform on this territory.
About Dance Me World Premiere: December 5, 2017 Danse Danse, Montréal Dance Me is an exclusive creation inspired by the rich and profound work of Montreal-based poet, artist and songwriter, Leonard Cohen. Approved by Leonard Cohen during his lifetime, and under the artistic direction of Louis Robitaille and the strong and bold dramaturgy of Eric Jean, this riveting homage to the famed poet-singer-songwriter evokes the grand cycles of existence in five seasons, as described in Cohen’s deeply reflective music and poems. Three internationally renowned choreographers were entrusted with putting movement to Cohen’s legendary songs: Andonis Foniadakis, Annabelle Lopez Ochoa and Ihsan Rustem. Their powerful and profound choreographic world reflective of Cohen’s singular work is brought to life by 14 BJM performing artists. Surrounded by a team of celebrated designers, Dance Me combines scenic, visual, musical, dramaturgical and choreographic writing to pay tribute to Montréal’s greatest ambassador. Dance, music, lighting, scenography and videography all come together in this unforgettable show, for which BJM has been granted exclusive dance rights for five years.
Ideation: Louis Robitaille Dramaturgy and Stage Direction: Eric Jean Choreography: Andonis Foniadakis, Annabelle Lopez Ochoa, Ihsan Rustem Principal Roles: Céline Cassone and Jayson Syrette Music Direction: Martin Léon Music Conception: Alexis Dumais Scenography and Prop Conception: Pierre-Etienne Locas Scenography Technical Direction: Alexandre Brunet Lighting Design and Production: Cédric Delorme-Bouchard, Simon Beetschen Video Design: HUB Studio: Gonzalo Soldi, Thomas Payette, Jeremy Fassio Costume Design: Philippe Dubuc Costume Production: Anne-Marie Veevaete Assistance Stage Direction: Elsa Posnic Sound Engineer: Guy Fortin BJM has benefited from the support of CCOV – Centre de Création O Vertigo. We would like to thank Judy Bronfman for the support given to the creation of the show.
About Dance Me (cont’d) SONGS OF LEONARD COHEN
SONG EXCERPTS
Suzanne (1967) – So Long, Marianne (1967) – Famous Blue Raincoat (1971) – Lover, Lover, Lover (1974) – Hallelujah (1984) – First We Take Manhattan (1988) – Tower of Song (1988) – Everybody Knows (2001) – Here It Is (2001) – Dance Me to the End of Love (live in London, 2009) – Boogie Street (live in London, 2009) – Nevermind (2014) – Steer Your Way (2016) – It Seemed the Better Way (2016) – String Reprise / Treaty (2016) – A Thousand Kisses Deep (poem)
And you want to travel with her, And you want to travel blind And you know that She will trust you For you’ve touched her Perfect body with your mind – SUZANNE Dance me to the wedding now, Dance me on and on Dance me very tenderly And dance me very long We’re both of us beneath our love, We’re both of us above Dance me to the end of love Dance me to the end of love – DANCE ME TO THE END OF LOVE And I wish there was a treaty We could sign I wish there was a treaty Between your love and mine – TREATY
It’s four in the morning, The end of December I’m writing you now Just to see if you’re better New York is cold, But I like where I’m living There’s music on Clinton Street All through the evening – FAMOUS BLUE RAINCOAT
Saskya Pauzé-Bégin and Pier-Loup Lacour in Dance Me. Photo © Marc Montplaisir.
So long Marianne, It’s time that we began To laugh and cry and cry and Laugh about it all again – SO LONG, MARIANNE
About Les Ballets Jazz de Montréal An internationally renowned repertory company founded in 1972, BJM - Les Ballets Jazz de Montréal has been constantly evolving in dynamic fashion ever since. Louis Robitaille has been artistic director of the company since 1998, and over the years BJM has presented more than 2500 performances in 68 countries all over the world, reaching a total audience of
more 2.8 million. With its troupe of international calibre dancers pursuing the vision and mission of the company, BJM also collaborates with celebrated dance professionals and contemporary ballet artists. A major force on the Montreal cultural scene, BJM remains one of the most prolific dance companies.
Creatives’ Biographies LOUIS ROBITAILLE, ARTISTIC DIRECTOR The dancer and artistic director Louis Robitaille was born in Montreal in 1957. He was inspired to pursue a career in dance after being discovered at a high school dance performance in 1973. His natural talent attracted the attention of his physical education teacher Peter George, who was also a dancer with the Ballets Jazz de Montréal. Thanks to Mr. George’s intervention, he received a scholarship enabling him to take part in the BJM summer training program. In 1974 at the age of 16, Louis Robitaille joined the Compagnie de danse Eddy Toussaint (later known as the Ballet de Montréal), where he performed and studied dance under the tutelage of a wide range of ballet masters. His incarnation of the legendary character Alexis le Trotteur turned him into an icon of Quebec dance. At the initiative of Madam Chiriaeff, whom he viewed as a mentor, the young dancer was recruited by the Grands Ballets Canadiens in 1978. As part of the GBC’s 20th anniversary program, he was chosen for the title role in Lucas Hoving’s modern dance classic Icarus. In the early 1980s he was invited on several occasions to perform with the Ballets de l’Opéra in Avignon, France. It was there that he had a significant encounter with Rudy Bryans. This principal dancer with the Ballet National de Marseille (a company directed by Roland Petit) made a big impact on Louis Robitaille, as he became a source of inspiration and a guide who greatly influenced his dancing and his artistic path. In 1984 he participated in the Helsinki International Ballet Competition with his partner Anik Bissonnette. They performed Eddy Toussaint’s Un simple moment, and won a gold medal for the choreographer. They were invited to perform at the Festival of Two Worlds in Spoleto, Italy by its founder Gian Carlo Menotti, who proved to be a supportive presence. They also performed as guest artists at three
festivals directed by Menotti in Italy, and at Spoleto Festival USA in Charleston as well as the Melbourne International Arts Festival in Australia, in addition to guest artist performances with the Ballet de Toulouse in France and a lot of galas around the world. Louis Robitaille joined the Grands Ballets Canadiens as a principal dancer in 1989. Between 1990 and his departure in 1998, he added 35 roles to his repertoire in works by choreographers such as Balanchine, Dolin, Duato, Fokine, Forsythe, Kudelka, Kylián, Limon, Lock, Nault and Tudor. In 1994 Louis Robitaille became artistic director of the Jeune Ballet du Québec, where he explored new dance forms. Encouraged by the response to his work, he established a small chamber ballet group, Bande à Part, and also founded Danse-Théâtre de Montréal. Along with Karen Kain, Frank Augustyn, David Peregrine and Evelyn Hart, he was an outstanding dance artist of his generation. He continued to dance and was appointed artistic director of BJM in 1998, where he redefined the company’s artistic approach without abandoning its unique nature. Louis Robitaille is the recipient of the Order of Canada, the Ordre national du Québec and the Jacqueline Lemieux Prize. He has received numerous grants from the Quebec Ministry of Culture, and he and his company were awarded the Prix Rideau Hommage in addition to the Montreal Arts Council’s Prix de reconnaissance.
ERIC JEAN, STAGE DIRECTOR Eric Jean is without a shadow of a doubt one of the most esteemed and outstanding stage directors of his generation. His appointment in 2004 as general and artistic director of Théâtre de Quat’Sous, and his ensuing success, are a reflection of the trust and confidence he has established in the theatre milieu,
Creatives’ Biographies (cont’d) which quickly saw in him a bold, unique artist who has made a significant artistic contribution to Quebec theatre. A prolific and inventive director and an occasional actor, he is greatly appreciated for his commitment to up-and-coming artists, both as a teacher and also at the professional level. Where Eric Jean has made his mark and his reputation, however, is in his creative approach. Using structured improvisations as his point of departure, he also works in conjunction with the playwright and with the set design, gradually piecing together his stage plays. Striking examples of this, which he calls “writing as action”, are his renowned Hippocampe, written in collaboration with Pascal Brullemans, and his 2009 staging of Chambre(s), co-written with Pascal Chevarie. Not only was Hippocampe the recipient of the 2003 Prix de la critique, but the director was also nominated for the prestigious Siminovitch Prize in 2004, one of five finalists. Other notable productions were Corps étrangers/Cuerpos extranos (2005), a piece co-written with Pascal Brullemans and first created in Mexico before being presented in Quebec. Opium_37 (2009-2011) was written in collaboration with Catherine Léger, after which he staged Luc Tartar’s play for adolescents S’embrasent (2009-2017). This was followed by Le ventriloque (2012) by Larry Tremblay, Survivre (2013) by Olivier Kemeid, Testament by Vickie Gendreau (2014), Variations sur un temps by David Ives (2015) and Le Joker (2016) by Larry Tremblay. Autumn 2016 marked the beginning of a new adventure for Eric Jean, as he resigned as artistic director of Théâtre de Quat’Sous to focus on directing, writing and filmmaking.
ANDONIS FONIADAKIS, CHOREOGRAPHER Andonis Foniadakis grew up in city of Ierapetra, in the south part of the island of Crete, in Greece. He began his dance training with Niki Papadaki at the local dance school, in his hometown. From 1990 to 1992, he studied at the State Dance School of Athens and before his graduation he received the prestigious Maria Callas scholarship to continue his studies in Rudra Bejart Lausanne, in Switzerland until 1994. As a dancer Andonis has collaborated with Bejart Ballet Lausanne (1994-1996) under the direction of Maurice Bejart, Lyon Opera Ballet (1996-2002) under the direction of Yorgos Loukos, Saburo Teshigawara / Karas Co. (2004) under the direction of Saburo Teshigawara, as well as, with his own dance company Apotosoma-Andonis Foniadakis. During the years of his professional engagement with these companies
he has performed choreographic works of Maguy Marin, Jiri Kilian, William Forsythe, Dominique Boivin, Nacho Duato, Mats Ek, Maurice Bejart, Ohad Naharin, Frederic Flamand, Bill T Jones, Herve Robbe, Tero Saarinen, Lionel Hoche, Joachim Schlomer, John Jasperse, Saburo Teshigawara, etc. As a freelance choreographer he has collaborated with The Royal New Zealand Ballet, Geneva Ballet Switzerland, Lyon Opera Ballet (France), Bern Ballet (Switzerland), Ballet de Lorraine (France) Luzern Ballet (Switzerland) Gauthier Dance Company (Germany), Les Ballets Jazz de Montréal (Canada), Martha Graham Dance Company (USA) Cedar Lake Contemporary Ballet (USA) Aterballetto (Italy), Ballet du Rhin (France), Sydney Dance Company (Australia) Florence Ballet (Italy), National Dance Company of Wales (England) Dansgroep Amsterdam (Netherlands), Cia Sociedade Masculina Brazil Bale da Cidade of Sao Paulo (Brazil), Helsinki Dance Company (Finland), National Ballet of Greece, National Theater of Northern Greece, Greek National Theater (Greece), Codarts (Netherlands), Benjamin Millepied Dance Company (USA) Washington Ballet (USA), Bejart Ballet Lausanne (Switzerland), Ballet Junior Geneva (Switzerland), Hellenic Dance Company (Greece), CNSMD Lyon (France), and Copenhagen International Dance Festival (Denmark). He has been director of the Greek National Ballet for the season 2016- 2017 and has programmed the seasons 201617 and 2017-18. He is currently the resident choreographer of the Greek National Ballet. Foniadakis has been commissioned to choreograph for three operas: The Theatre des Champs Elysees - Castor et Pollux; Opera National du Rhin - Les boreades by Rameau; and Grame Lyon - Il canto della pelle by Claudio Ambrosini. He has collaborated as moving coordinator for the film NOAH by Darren Aronofsky. In 2012 he received the Danza and Danza Award for the “Best Choreographer 2012” in Italy for the creation Les Noces in Maggio Danza - Florence Ballet. As well he has collaborated with Palais de Tokyo as Choreographic Curator for the exhibition Prec(ar)ious Collectives that took place in Athens, Greece as a parallel event of the Documenta 14 in 2017. In addition to creating and performing, Andonis teaches seminars based on his personal dance technique. He has been teaching in the State Dance School of Greece, DAN.C.CE studios and Baile de Barrio in Athens, DOCK11 in Berlin, CND and CNSMD in Lyon, Dansgroep Amsterdam, and Henny Jurriens.
Annabelle Lopez Ochoa, CHOREOGRAPHER The Colombian-Belgian Annabelle Lopez Ochoa (1973) completed her dance education at the Royal Ballet School of Flanders in Belgium. After a 12-year long dance career, where she danced as a soloist with the Scapino Ballet, she decided in 2003 to focus her energies solely on choreography. In that same year she was hailed a “rising star of the Dutch dance scene” (NRC newspaper) and only seven years later the Temecula Performing Arts Examiner wrote: ”Ochoa is truly a masterful choreographer with an edge for what dance can and should be in this constantly changing industry.” Annabelle is an award-winning and sought-after choreographer who has created works for more than 40 companies around the world such as the Scapino Ballet Rotterdam, Dutch National Ballet, Djazzex, Ballet de Genève, Royal Ballet of Flanders, Gothenburg Ballet, Pennsylvania Ballet, BalletX, BJM-Danse Montreal, Luna Negra Dance Theater, Ballet National de Marseille, Saarbrucken Ballet, Jacoby & Pronk, Chemnitzer Ballet, Ballet Hispánico, Morphoses Wheeldon Company, Whim W’Him, IncolBallet de Colombia, Finnish National Ballet, Compania Nacional de Danza Madrid, Pacific Northwest Ballet, Scottish Ballet, The Washington Ballet, Ballet Nacional Dominicano, Ballet Saarbrucken, Augsburg Ballet, Ballet Austin, Atlanta Ballet, Grand Rapids Ballet, Ballet Moscow, Ballet Nacional de Cuba, West Australian Ballet, Danza Contemporanea de Cuba, Ballet Nacional Chileno, Ballet Staatstheater am Gartnerplatz Munchen, Ballet Manila, Daniil Simkin Intensio Project, Cincinnati Ballet, Silicon Valley Ballet, Joffrey Ballet, English National Ballet, Ballet Black and New York City Ballet. Ms. Lopez Ochoa is a versatile choreographer who creates also for theater, opera, musical theater and for fashion events such as for the celebrated Dutch fashion designers Viktor & Rolf’s project in the Van Gogh Museum. She belongs to the Theater-Dance collective “De Fantasten” with whom she codirected successfully five full-length productions and which have been performed in numerous theaters and festivals throughout the Netherlands. In 2009, she created for BJM, Zip Zap Zoom which is included in the 10 best dance moments of the year by the Pittsburg Gazette, Boston Globe and the Montreal Gazette and was included in the list of 10 best dance highlights of the year in San Diego and Chicago. Her work was several times awarded. In 2016 Broken Wings, created for English National Ballet, was nominated for a National UK Dance Award in the category Best Classical Premiere. In 2015 Sombrerisimo, created for Ballet Hispánico,
was awarded with the Villanueva Award in Cuba. In 2012 A Streetcar Named Desire was nominated for a prestigious Olivier award (UK), received the Best Classical Choreography by the Circle of Critics of the National Dance Award (UK) and was awarded Best Dance Production 2012, by the SouthBank Sky Arts Awards. In 2007 Annabelle was elected to participate with the prestigious New York City Ballet Choreographic Institute. In 2002, Replay received the first prize and public’s prize at the Bornem Choreographers Competition and in 2001 Clair/Obscur had the third prize at the Hannover Choreographer’s Competition.
Ihsan Rustem, CHOREOGRAPHER Ihsan Rustem was born in London, where he trained at the Rambert School of Ballet and Contemporary Dance. Rustem began his professional career at the age of 17, joining Matthew Bourne’s Adventures in Motion Pictures, followed by engagements with the Ballett Theater Munich (Staatstheater am Gärtnerplatz) and Introdans in The Netherlands. In 2007 Ihsan moved to Switzerland as a Soloist with the Bern Ballet and later a founding member of the Tanz Luzerner Theater. During this period, Ihsan originated roles in creations by Wayne McGregor, Hofesh Shechter, Alexander Ekman, Matthew Bourne, Stijn Celis, Patrick Delcroix, Cayetano Soto, Felix Landerer, Guilherme Bothello and worked with choreographers Mats Ek, Jiri Kylián, Paul Lightfoot / Sol Leon, Hans van Manen and William Forsythe, amongst others. In 2010 Sarah Slipper invited Ihsan to Portland, Oregon USA, where he created State of Matter for the Northwest Dance Project (NWDP), a piece which went on to win both the 2012 Sadler’s Wells Global Dance Contest and the Audience Choice Award at the 25th International Competition for Choreographers Hannover. In 2015 Ihsan was appointed Resident Choreographer for NWDP and continues in this position today. He is the former Artistic Director of the Dance Art Studio Balletschule Luzern, Switzerland and currently serves as its Artistic Advisor. Rustem was the 2014 recipient of Hubbard Street Dance Chicago’s International Commissioning Project and a winner of Whim W’Him’s inaugural Choreographic Shindig in 2015. His sixth original work for the NWDP, Carmen, won Dance Magazine’s 2017 Readers’ Choice Award for Best Collaboration. He was a featured choreographer for Russia’s TV show The Bolshoi Ballet. To date, Ihsan has created works for Hubbard Street Dance Chicago 2 (USA), Northwest Dance Project (USA), Istanbul State Ballet MDT (Turkey), Tanz Luzerner Theater (CH), Kazan
Creatives’ Biographies (cont’d) State Opera and Ballet (Russia), Whim W’Him (USA), Ballet Regensburg (DE), Ballett Koblenz (DE), Würzburg Ballett (DE), Salt Contemporary Dance Company (USA) National Youth Dance Company (UK), Aksanat Istanbul, Cinevox (CH) and the Palucca Schule Dresden (DE).
LEONARD COHEN Leonard Norman Cohen, poet, novelist, singer, songwriter (born 21 September 1934 in Montréal, QC; died 7 November 2016 in Los Angeles, California) was one of the most iconic Canadian artists of the 20th century. A sage, mystic, bohemian and romantic, he built an acclaimed body of literary work and a revered career
in pop music. In his poetry, novels and music, he constantly probed the human condition, exploring themes of love, loss, death and his commitment to his art. As a poetic and unlikely pop star, his narrow-ranged, gruff voice, which deepened and darkened with age, and his reliance on simple, singsong melodies were complimented by the intense imagery and depth of his lyrics. A Companion of the Order of Canada, he was inducted into the Canadian Music Hall of Fame, the Canadian Songwriters Hall of Fame, the US Songwriters Hall of Fame, the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame and the Folk Music Walk of Fame. He also received the Glenn Gould Prize, the Prince of Asturias Award for Literature, eight Juno Awards, a Grammy Lifetime Achievement Award and numerous other honours.
Dancers’ Biographies CÉLINE CASSONE (PRINCIPAL ARTIST)
BRANDI BAKER
Born in France, Céline began studying dance as a child at the Conservatoire National de Danse d’Avignon. In 1993, she joined the Deutsch Oper Berlin for one year and then, the following season, the Badisches Staatstheater Karlsruhe for four years. She then enrolled in the Béjart Ballet Lausanne, under the direction of Maurice Béjart, where she performed many solo roles. It was also as a soloist that she joined, in 1999, the Ballet du Grand Théâtre de Genève. Céline has had the opportunity to take part in many innovative contemporary productions while also working with internationally-renowned choreographers. She performed in several international galas and was the recipient, in 2006, of the Étoile de Ballet 2000 dance award and in 2010, she received the Premio Asti Danza dance award. Deciding to acquire the freedom to accept a variety of new challenges, Céline became an independent artist in 2008. She was part of Morphoses, Christopher Wheeldon’s company, and she worked with choreographer Benjamin Millepied (Dances Concertantes). She joined BJM in 2008 as principal artist and she became the artistic coordinator in 2009.
Brandi began her dance training studying a variety of disciplines. Earlier on in her career she focused more on the commercial industry and this took her to California where she signed to an agency. After some time there her passion brought her to Vancouver where she started training at Arts Umbrella under the guidance of Artemis Gordon. During this time she has been fortunate enough to have performed works by Cayetano Soto, Compagnie Marie Chouinard, Mauro Astolfi, Fernando Magadan, Aszure Barton, Crystal Pite, Sharon Eyal, Jirí Kylián, William Forsythe, Gioconda Barbuto, James Kudelka, Leslie Telford, Wen Wei Wang and Mats Ek. After two years at Arts Umbrella, she joined BJM in 2017.
YOSMELL CALDERON Born in Russia, Yosmell graduated as a dancer and teacher of contemporary dance and folk dance from Cuba’s National School of Dance (ENA) in Havana in 2005, and also received a diploma from the University of Arts (ISA) in 2014. Yosmell has collaborated with outstanding figures in the world of dance such as Rafael
Dancers’ Biographies (cont’d) Bonachela, Mats Ek, Itzik Galili, Carlos Junior Acosta, Jan Linkens, Juan Cuz and Ana Laguna. He has performed as a principal dancer of Danza Contemporanea de Cuba in Pal Frenak Company, in more than 22 works by Cuban and foreign choreographers, touring important festivals and theatre venues around the world. He is a choreographer for the Cuban National Ballet School and its performances at the International Ballet Festival of Havana and, thanks to his background in Olympic gymnastics, he also choreographs for circus performances. He joined BJM in July 2016.
JEREMY COACHMAN Born and raised in Riviera Beach, Florida, Jeremy began his preliminary training at the Palm Beach Ballet Center, under the direction of Joan Miller for six years. While training, he worked and performed with members of Ballet Florida as well as other companies around the country. Jeremy spent two years training full-time with Ballet Florida where he performed fulllength ballets such as The Nutcracker, Coppélia, and Cleopatra, as well as appearing as a dancer in the Palm Beach Opera’s production of La Traviata in 2007. He studied under the direction of Heather Lescaille and Tina Martin at the Florida Dance Conservatory in 2009 and graduated from the Alexander W. Dreyfoos School of the Arts in 2011 and became a finalist in the Young Arts National Foundation for Advancement of the Arts (NFAA) competition. Jeremy worked with performers and choreographers such as Desmond Richardson, Aubrey Lynch, Camille A. Brown, and Bill T. Jones. Jeremy graduated from The Juilliard School with a BFA in dance, and started the adventure with BJM in 2015.
KENNEDY HENRY Born in Ottawa, Kennedy started studying dance at Ecole superieure de ballet du Quebec when she was 14 years old. For the next six years she had the opportunity of working with many internationally renowned choreographers and dancers, such as Roberto Campanella, James Gregg, Eric Beauchesne and many others. In 2013, Kennedy won second place for her contemporary solo at the Youth American Grand Prix competition. She has also performed classical roles such as the Four Swans in Swan Lake and the grand pas de deux of Les Sylphides. Kennedy has worked with the company since May 2014.
TERRA KELL Terra Kell was raised in Calgary, Alberta, where she attended Drewitz Dance Productions and EDGE School for Athletes. She continued her dance training at the University of Arizona, where she received a Bachelor of Fine Arts in Dance, Summa Cum Laude. Upon graduating, Terra attended Springboard Danse Montréal, through which she auditioned for and joined Visceral Dance Chicago. With Visceral, Terra had the opportunity to perform at the Harris Theatre and take part in a collaboration with the Chicago Philharmonic Orchestra. Terra has had the great pleasure of dancing works by Ohad Naharin, Jerome Robbins, Lesley Telford, and Anne Teresa De Keersmaeker, among others. In 2015, Terra was the recipient of the Maria C. Mandel Memorial Ballet Scholarship. Terra is very excited to be joining Les Ballets Jazz des Montréal and looks forward to the adventures that lie ahead.
KENNEDY KRAELING Born in Vancouver, Canada in 1995, Kennedy began dancing at the Flora Pigeau Dance Academy where she had the opportunity to study RAD ballet and compete in local festivals. She had the honour of representing a local festival at the B.C. provincial championships at the age of 10. She began her formal training at age 11 in Toronto at Canada’s National Ballet School under the tutelage and guidance of Mavis Staines, Deborah Hess, Carina Bomers, Laurel Toto, Jeremy Ransom and Martine Lamy. She moved back to Vancouver at 15 and began to train under Artemis Gordon at Arts Umbrella and in the Arts Umbrella Dance Company. Upon graduation she spent two years in the Arts Umbrella Graduate Program. During these two years she worked on new and existing repertoire with Lesley Telford, Crystal Pite, James Kudelka, Fernando Magadan, Gioconda Barbuto, Walter Matteini, Mauro Astolfi, Thomas Klein, Francesca Caroti and Shawn Hounsell. Over the years her training has been complemented by summer intensives such as San Francisco Conservatory of Dance and Alvin Ailey. She joined the company in 2015.
ELIJAH LABAY Elijah Labay, born in Victoria, Canada, started training at Ballet Arts Academy in Spokane, Washington. In 2004, Elijah joined Canada’s Royal Winnipeg Ballet Professional Division and then later attended the Fellowship Program at The
Dancers’ Biographies (cont’d) Alvin Ailey School on full scholarship. Elijah received a Professional Advancement Award at Jacob’s Pillow to work with Aszure Barton, Helen Pickett, and Tero Saarinen. In 2009, he joined Florida Dance Theatre directed by Carol Erkes. In 2010, Elijah joined NW Dance Project, where he danced original works created by Sarah Slipper, Patrick Delcroix, Ihsan Rustem, Lucas Crandall, Jiri Pokorny, Pedro Dias, Danielle Agami, Yin Yue, Gregory Dolbashian, André Mesquita, Wen Wei Wang, James Gregg, Felix Lander, Alex Soares, Loni Landon, Olivier Wevers, Noam Gagnon, and others. Elijah begins his first season with the company.
ANDREW MIKHAIEL Andrew Mikhaiel, originally from Mississauga, Ontario, earned a BFA at Marymount Manhattan College, Class of 2017, under the direction of Katie Langan. During his tenure at MMC he danced in works choreographed by Paul Taylor, Aszure Barton, Alexandra Damiani, Darrell Grand Moultrie, Norbert De La Cruz III, Adam Barruch, Larry Keigwin, and Jo Strømgren. He performed at The Joyce Theater for the Martha Graham Company’s University Partners Showcase, at the 92nd Street Y’s Fridays at Noon Series, and for the American Dance Guild. In his senior year, Andrew directed and organized a dance outreach program for NYC public schools, serving 240 third to fifth graders. He was accepted to and attended Springboard Danse Montréal in the summer of 2016. Andrew has been with the company since 2017.
BENJAMIIN MITCHELL Born in Germany, Ben trained in London at the Royal Ballet’s White Lodge and Upper School. He completed his last year of training at Elmhurst School, where he performed with the Birmingham Royal Ballet. After graduating in 2007, he joined the Northern Ballet where he performed many leading roles and worked with choreographers such as Wayne McGregor, Hanz van Manen and Cathy Marston. In 2013 he received the ‘Outstanding Male Dancer’ award from Dance Europe. On his departure from Northern Ballet in 2013, he joined Deborah Colker Dance Company in Rio de Janeiro where he performed in and around South America and danced at the FIFA World Cup final performance. In 2014 Ben joined Phoenix Dance Theatre where he danced for two years. As a teacher and assistant, he has taught and staged works for companies and schools in the United Kingdom and the United States. Ben begins his third season with BJM.
SASKYA PAUZÉ-BÉGIN Saskya Pauzé-Bégin studied at the École supérieure de ballet du Québec from 2011 to 2014. She spent the past two summers at the Arts Umbrella summer Intensive workshop in Vancouver, and attended summer ballet classes in Berlin taught by William Forsythe, learning the repertoire of The Nutcracker – Claude Caron; Swan Lake – Taïna Morales; Balanchine’s Diamonds and Episodes – Josyanne Sidimus; Seascape – Judith Marcuse; M.O.R. – Gioconda Barbuto; and Hommage – Sophie Estel. She began her first season with BJM in 2014 as the second recipient of the Eva von Gencsy Scholarship, which supports emerging young dancers in Quebec.
MARK SAMPSON Originally from Charlottetown, Prince Edward Island, Mark trained in the professional divisions of both the National Ballet School of Canada and the Royal Winnipeg Ballet School, as well as graduating with a BFA from the Julliard School, where he received the Martha Hill Prize for excellence and leadership in dance. He has performed works by Kyle Abraham, Danielle Agami, Brian Brooks, Camille Brown, Merce Cunningham, Sylvain Émard, José Limon, Fernando Melo, Jerome Robbins, Twyla Tharp and Kate Weare. In autumn 2015, Mark was selected to take part in the José Limon International Dance Festival at the Joyce Theater, where he performed Concerto Grosso, a Limon trio reconstructed by Risa Steinberg and originally created in 1945. He has also performed throughout New York City at the Brooklyn Academy of Music, the Guggenheim Museum and New York City Center. Mark joined the company for his first season in 2016.
JAYSON SYRETTE Jayson Syrette was born in Vancouver, Canada. It was at the Arts Umbrella Dance Company where Jayson completed his post secondary dance training under the artistic direction of Artemis Gordon. During this time Jayson was fortunate enough to dance works by Crystal Pite, Sharon Eyal, William Forsythe, Jacopo Godani, Jiri Kylian, Nacho Duato, Fernando Hernando Magadan as well as choreographing his first work 1 to 20; Chronicles of with choreographic guidance from Crystal Pite. Upon graduating from the AUDC Jayson moved to Rome, Italy to dance for Spellbound Contemporary Ballet under the artistic direction of Mauro Astolfi. With Spellbound, Jayson
danced works from Mauro Astolfi and Sang Jijia. He then moved to Germany and danced with Dance Company Theater Osnabruck where Jayson choreographed his second work SCHWEINE as well as dancing works from Marco Goecke and artistic director, Mauro DeCandia. He then returned to Rome and danced for Balletto Di Roma under the artistic direction of Roberto Casarotto, dancing works by Itamar Serussi, Chris Haring, and Fabrizio Monteverde. Jayson begins his first season with the company.
IZABELA SZYLINSKA Izabela Szylinska, a native of Poland, trained at professional ballet school in Warsaw. In 2008, she won the first prize in the International Ballet Competition ‘’Gold Pointe Shoes’’ in Poland and received a prestigious scholarship from The Ministry of Culture for artistic achievement. She danced as a demi–
soloist with Opera Nova in Bydgoszcz and in 2009 she joined Polish National Ballet under the direction of Krzysztof Pastor where she performed works by George Balanchine, Alexei Ratmansky, Patrice Bart, John Cranko, Krzysztof Pastor, Emanuel Gat and many others. Izabela moved to New York in August 2012 and soon started working with Stuart Loungway’s Terra Firma Dance Theatre, Julia GleichDances, MorDance, Brooklyn Ballet, Ballet Verite, Thomas Ortiz Dance, Emery LeCrone Dance and Jérôme Bel. In 2014 she joined Armitage Gone! Dance where she performed at many prestigious venues in US and Europe. She had a pleasure of guesting with Aspen Santa Fe Ballet during their 2016 winter season. Besides dance Izabela has appeared in fashion campaigns and photo shoots for Barney’s New York, Alexandra Grecco, Town and Country Magazine and at Sachin and Babi New York Fashion Week. She joined the company in 2017.
BJM – Les Ballets Jazz de Montréal Artistic Director: Louis Robitaille Artistic Coordinator: Céline Cassone Principal Artist: Céline Cassone Artists: Brandi Baker, Yosmell Calderon, Jeremy Coachman, Kennedy Henry, Terra Kell, Kennedy Kraeling, Elijah Labay, Andrew Mikhaiel, Benjamin Mitchell, Saskya Pauzé-Bégin, Mark Sampson, Jayson Syrette, Izabela Szylinska Deputy General Manager: Marie-Joëlle Tremblay Administration and Finance Manager: Julio Gonzalo Communications and Fundraising Manager: Alexia Deruard Production Coordinator: Josée Kleinbaum Administration and Finance Coordinator: Gabrielle Ouellette Technical and Tour Director Director: Hervé Holdrinet Head Carpenter: Daniel Ranger Head of Sound: Manon Meunier Head of Lighting: Claude Plante Head of Video: Hugues Latour Website: www.bjmdanse.ca Follow us! Facebook / LesBalletsJazzdeMontréal Instagram / balletsjazzdemontreal Twitter @bjmdanse
Public Partners
Sell your home. Support Dance Victoria. Choose a DFH realtor below and mention Dance Victoria when you buy or sell your property. Ten percent of the realtor’s commission helps bring the World’s Best Dance to our community. Dorothee Friese
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DANCE VICTORIA Board of Directors
Staff
Dance Victoria Studios
President: Susan Howard Vice-President: René Peloquin Treasurer: Susan Porter Secretary: Nikki Sieben Directors: Kari McLay, Andrew Newcombe, Colin Nicol, Kirsty Thomson, Emily Zeng
Executive Producer: Stephen White General Manager: Bernard Sauvé Operations Manager: Shireen McNeilage Marketing Manager: Tracy Smith Accounting: Julie Collins Production Manager: Holly Vivian Graphic Design: Rayola Creative Advertising Sales: Bonnie Light Advertising Events Manager: Pamela Sanderson - Hire a Somm
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Dance Victoria wishes to thank its many donors and volunteers. Dance Victoria’s Chrystal Dance Prize and Endowment Fund are held at Victoria Foundation. Dance Victoria is a proud member of the CanDance Network, The ProArt Alliance, and the Greater Vancouver Alliance for Arts and Culture.