Montréal, June 12, 2023 – Festival Quartiers Danses (FQD) proudly announces the artists, choreographers and performers who will provide rich indoor entertainment during the 21st edition of the Festival. From September 6th to 17th, most performances will be held in the Theatre Studio of Grands Ballets Canadiens in the Wilder Building, and a few will take place at the McCord Stewart Museum Amphitheater and the Pointe-à-Callière Museum. Over 30 choreographers and dance companies from 8 countries will present their creations, some of which were specifically designed for the FQD. Pieces will centre around fascinating tributes and themes, including social action, body image, identity, virility, the working world, futurism, the burlesque, disability, agism, nature and parapraxis. Regular FQD well-known artists Margie Gillis, Louise Bédard, Véronique Giasson, Morgane Le Tiec, Jane Mappin, Charles Brecard, Pauline Gervais, and Kyra Jean Green will be accompanied by renowned performers from the Czech Republic, Belgium, England, Italy, Iceland, Scotland, and Spain, presenting their shows for the first time in North America. FQD will also present young talents who will be performing professionally on stage for the first time. In a few weeks, FQD will unveil all outdoor performances, projections, and cultural projects that will be held for free in various neighbourhoods. In the meantime, tickets to indoor performances are now on sale.
“The FQD 21st edition brings surprises and breaks down barriers… Over the past 20 years, we have been advocating the universal language of dance and contemporary dance creations which are much more accessible than one may think. I invite you to experience curiosity, discovery, and wonder, while letting yourself be transported to a brand-new universe during a show, an artistic performance, or a dance on stage… Just like the City of Montréal, the FQD is an inclusive Festival and a cosmopolitan welcoming site. Everyone is welcome. Come with your little ones, or older ones, there will be something for everyone, no matter their tastes or age.” Rafik Hubert Sabbagh, FQD artistic and general director.
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An ode to female choreographers and poetic thinking with a new take on the moving body, the Festival will not only appeal to dance lovers, but also to novices and families, thanks to its accessible price point designed to encourage inclusion.
From September 8th to 15th (excluding Sunday September 10th), the FQD invites guests to discover, before each show, a free virtual-reality experience created and directed by Jemima Cano (Bilbao). An immersive dance video, WITHIN lets users get inside a choreographic creation. Using a VR headset, participants can choose various scenarios while discovering Spanish landscapes. WITHIN was also presented at the MEET festival in Milan.
WEDNESDAY SEPTEMBER 6TH – Pre-Opening Evening with two Premieres
THÉÂTRE DES GRANDS BALLETS STUDIO – WILDER BUILDING
7:00 PM
Seven poems from an unwritten book of poetry – Ólöf Ingólfsdóttir (IS)
NORTH AMERICAN PREMIERE
The pain and I – Dr. Sarah Hopfinger (GB) – NORTH AMERICAN PREMIERE
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THURSDAY SEPTEMBER 7TH – Opening Evening
THÉÂTRE DES GRANDS BALLETS STUDIO – WILDER BUILDING
8:00 PM
Messe en KA (KA Mass) – Morgane Le Tiec (QC)
RESET² – Véronique Giasson (QC)
RESET² by Véronique Giasson © Damian Siqueiros
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FRIDAY, SEPTEMBER 8TH
THÉÂTRE DES GRANDS BALLETS STUDIO – WILDER BUILDING
7:30 PM
*In the Hall*
Portrait – Adrian Batt (QC) – WORLD PREMIERE
I Dream in Wampum – Barbara Diabo (QC) – CANADIAN PREMIERE
A new creation from Cai Glover (QC) – WORLD PREMIERE
Play dead – People Watching (QC)
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SATURDAY, SEPTEMBER 9TH
POINTE-À-CALLIÈRES MUSEUM
11:00 AM
3 Femmes – Pauline Gervais (QC)
THÉÂTRE DES GRANDS BALLETS STUDIO – WILDER BUILDING
7:30 PM
*In the hall*
A new creation from Charles Brécard (QC) – WORLD PREMIERE
Portrait – Adrian Batt (QC) – WORLD PREMIERE
À travers moi (Through me) – Kristen Cere et Nina Galea (QC) – WORLD PREMIERE
COWARDS – Àngel Duran (ES) – NORTH-AMERICAN PREMIERE
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SUNDAY, SEPTEMBER 10TH
THÉÂTRE DES GRANDS BALLETS STUDIO – WILDER BUILDING
7:30 PM
*In the Hall*
Portrait – Adrian Batt (QC) – WORLD PREMIERE
La marée des saisons (The Tide of the Seasons) – Margie Gillis (QC)
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MONDAY, SEPTEMBER 11TH
THÉÂTRE DES GRANDS BALLETS STUDIO – WILDER BUILDING
8:00 PM
Solos de la relève Showcase
Od Sor – Misheel Ganbold (QC)
The Songbird Dreams of Singing – Amara Barner (QC)
Getting There – Leah Hamel (QC)
Embrasement synaptique (Synaptic Blaze) – Zachary Bastille (QC)
Anima Inaspecta – Yiannis Tsakalos (GR)
Mines Intérieures (Inner Land Mines) – Eva Kolarova (CZ)
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TUESDAY, SEPTEMBER 12TH
THÉÂTRE DES GRANDS BALLETS STUDIO – WILDER BUILDING
8:00 PM
Encrypted – Tentacle Tribe (QC) – WORLD PREMIERE
New Creation – Mario Coccetti (IT) – NORTH-AMERICAN PREMIERE
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WEDNESDAY, SEPTEMBER 13TH
THÉÂTRE DES GRANDS BALLETS STUDIO – WILDER BUILDING
8:00 PM
Czech Focus Evening
SAME SAME – Karine Ponties (CZ) – NORTH-AMERICAN PREMIERE
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THURSDAY, SEPTEMBER 14TH
THÉÂTRE DES GRANDS BALLETS STUDIO – WILDER BUILDING
Dea – Maya Orchin (US) – WORLD PREMIERE
A new creation from Véronique Giasson (QC) – WORLD PREMIERE
Reservoir – Rebecca Margolick (US) – WORLD PREMIERE
Anthem for the Living – Belinda McGuire (CA/US) – NORTH-AMERICAN PREMIERE
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FRIDAY, SEPTEMBER 15TH
THÉÂTRE DES GRANDS BALLETS STUDIO – WILDER BUILDING
*In the Hall*
A new creation from Charles Brécard (QC)- WORLD PREMIERE
Lemniscate – Nicolas Zemmour (QC)
Souffle (Breath) – Jane Mappin (QC)
The Other Half – Belinda McGuire Dance Projects (CA/US) & Rebecca Margolick (US)
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SATURDAY, SEPTEMBER 16TH
McCORD MUSEUM AMPHITHEATRE
1:00 PM
FAUNUS / SOMA – Martin Talaga (CZ) – NORTH-AMERICAN PREMIERE
Closing Evening
THÉÂTRE DES GRANDS BALLETS STUDIO – WILDER BUILDING
7:00 PM
Les murmures du passé – Kyra Jean Green (Montreal) – WORLD PREMIERE
Grands Ballets Canadiens :
Fête Sauvage – Hélène Blackburn (QC)
Fukuoka – Marcos Morau (ES)
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SUNDAY, SEPTEMBER 17TH – Closing Matinée
THÉÂTRE DES GRANDS BALLETS STUDIO – WILDER BUILDING
3:00 PM
En Pièce Jointe – Armande Sanseverino et Gaël Germain (FR) – NORTH-AMERICAN PREMIERE
MMXX – Pauline Gervais (QC)
Grands Ballets Canadiens:
Fête Sauvage – Hélène Blackburn (QC)
Fukuoka – Marcos Morau (ES)
Honouring the Czech Republic
For its 21st Edition, the FQD is pleased to present a Czech Focus. Through a partnership between the Tanec Praha Festival and the FQD, three Czech contemporary dance companies will be performing from September 6th to 17th 2023, hosting 12 indoor shows and 18 urban performances. As the FQD participated to the Czech Dance Platform in 2019 and 2022, they met Yvona Kreuzmannovà, director of one of the most prominent cultural event in the Czech Republic; the International Contemporary Dance Festival Tanec Praha she founded in 1989. The FQD now welcomes Focus Czech, featuring solo artists Martin Talaga and Karine Ponties (Temporary Collective), and duo artists Tereza Ondrová & Jaro Viňarský, as well as their creations centering around irony, questioning, honesty, and poetry.
And so much more! Outdoor performances and other projections and activities in unusual venues will be announced in August.
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About the FQD
Over the past 20 years, the Festival Quartiers Danses (FQD) has been offering indoor and outdoor performances, screening movies and short-films, and organizing round tables on current dance-related issues, and art-promoting workshops. During this time, they have strived to fulfill their mission of popularizing all aspects of contemporary creative dance by making it more accessible and showcasing it in both traditional and unusual venues. To date, the FQD has hosted over 1,781 artists, 438 choreographies, 135 movies and short-films about dance, 26 dance visual arts and photography exhibits, 70 public conferences and meetings, and, since 2013, over 1,000 cultural mediation workshops year-round.
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