On June 23, under the presidency of Louise Harel, co-governor of the FQD, and presented by Marc Béland, president and spokesperson of the FQD, the official launch of our pilot project of public dance residences at Parc-Gédéon-de-Catalogne took place. We were able to count on the presence of :

Audrey Rioux, Senior Manager, Marketing and Distribution, MAtv

Sylvie Cordeau, Vice President, Philanthropy and Sponsorship of Quebecor;

Benoit Dorais, Mayor of the Sud-Ouest Borough and Chairman of the Executive Committee;

and the choreographers and dancers of the 19th edition of the festival. It was a beautiful moment of sharing, with three new dance performances as a bonus:

Pauline Gervais’ duet from the Pauline Berndsen Dance Company with dancer Leah Tremblay : watch the performance

The duet of choreographer Adrian Batt of the Gargoyle Dance Club company with dancer Emma-Lynn MacKay Ronacher and dancer Mateo Picone : watch the performance

Tentacle Tribe‘s duet with choreographer/dancer Elon Höglund and dancer Amara Barner : watch the performance

To (re)watch the launch it’s here !

This innovative initiative of public creatives laboratories/residencies consists of offering a maximum of 17 dance groups/companies of artists (for a total of 60 performers) an outdoor space to practice their art, during the whole summer, in front of the audience. These artists will have the opportunity to create, work on and finalize their works using the two stages made available to them in Gedeon-de-Catalogne Park. Their final creations will be presented in the neighborhoods of Montreal, during the 19th edition of the festival from September 8 to 19, 2021.

Each group/company will have two to three weeks of public residencies for a total of 10 consecutive weeks of rehearsals in the park. These creative laboratories/residencies will allow the citizens of the Saint-Henri district, tourists and passers-by to experience the world of contemporary dance in the open air and to become familiar with the process of artistic creation of choreographic works.

Residencies take place throughout the summer, from June 28 to September 3, 2021. Come and see the rehearsals in the park from Monday to Friday from 9am to 5pm! Come and discover new talents, unusual approaches, singular artists. Everyone is welcome!

In anticipation of the 19th edition of the festival in September, the outdoor performances will allow the artists to gradually reconnect with the public.

After several months of having access to Quebec culture only through digital means, we believe that Montrealers and tourists in the city need to see live performances. These informal performances will revitalize the Sud-Ouest borough by bringing creative dance directly to the Saint-Henri neighborhood.

“What could be more natural, if you are preparing a work for an urban context, to rehearse that piece, in an urban context, surrounded by the audience and the ambient sounds of the city.” Rafik Hubert Sabbagh, Executive and Artistic Director at Festival Quartiers Danses.

“How nice to get an intimate look at an artist’s creative process and, subsequently, to see the final work at the festival next September!”  Marc Béland, FQD’s president and spokesperson.

The creation labs in Gedeon-de-Catalogne park will be an opportunity to create new links with the citizens of the Sud-Ouest borough:

Cultural mediation workshops with the neighborhood day camps

All artists benefiting from the creation space will be invited to offer a cultural mediation workshop and a performance for the neighborhood day camps in the Gedeon-de-Catalogne park. The artists will collaborate with the FQD’s cultural mediation team to create unique and playful activities that will introduce children to their artistic process. The artists will then perform an excerpt from their piece for the children’s groups.

“We take advantage of this opportunity to develop a taste for dance from an early age. This residency program contributes to the development of new audiences for dance: the very young! ” Rafik Hubert Sabbagh, Executive and Artistic Director at Festival Quartiers Danses.