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Les Grands Ballets Canadiens de Montréal - To conquer Paris from ......
MONTREAL, July 3 /CNW Telbec/ - The countdown has begun for Les GrandsBallets Canadiens de Montréal, which is feverishly preparing for its visit tothe Les étés de la danse de Paris festival. Thirty-four years after thestunning success of Tommy in 1974, the company's long-awaited return to theFrench capital will occur as part of the official events the celebration ofQuébec City's 400th anniversary. From July 21 to August 9, Paris will move tothe beat of Québec! "Youth, passion, the cultural diversity of the dancers, their artisticquality and the eclecticism of their choreographic choices are all elementsthat led me to choose Les Grands Ballets Canadiens de Montréal as the guestcompany for Les étés de la danse," says event Director Valéry Colin. "I amcertain that Paris will give Les Grands the welcome that such a stronginternational company deserves." Following in the footsteps of the San Francisco Ballet, Alvin AileyAmerican Dance Theater and Ballet Nacional de Cuba - respectively guestartists of the festival's last three editions - Les Grands Ballets, under itsArtistic Director Gradimir Pankov, will fly our country's colours at the GrandPalais. The company will give a total of 16 performances in three differentprograms that bring together the recent creations in its repertoire by OhadNaharin, Didy Veldman, Stijn Celis, Jiri Kylian and Mauro Bigonzetti. In sodoing, the company will underscore its raison d'être: to introduce the public(approximately 45,000 spectators attend Les étés de la danse!) to new facetsof contemporary ballet in all its diversity. A number of these works willpremière in France on this occasion. Minus One by Ohad Naharin, a phenomenal hit in the Grands Balletsrepertoire since its première in 2002, will open the gala on July 21. Thisfrenzied patchwork of dance and performance, featuring song, movement andcabaret, showcases the incredible variety of the renowned Israelichoreographer's style. Parisian audiences won't fail to catch his contagiousenthusiasm! Performances will take place at 9:30 p.m. on July 21, 22, 23, 24,25 and 26. The second program comprises TooT, Noces and Six Dances. TooT, a piecefor 15 dancers by Dutch choreographer Veldman, was inspired by Shostakovich'sSuite No 2 for jazz bands. With a humorous and derisive tone, Veldman posesquestions about identity and the relationships between the individual andsociety. Noces was created by Belgian choreographer Celis to the enchantingnotes of Stravinsky. This delirious Balkan country wedding, which calls on thetalents of 24 performers, takes a critical look at the institution ofmarriage. Six Dances, by Kylian, choreographed for eight dancers to the pieceSix German Dances by Mozart, is, according to Kylian, "an absurd poetic floodin six acts," whose humour should "point out the relativity of our values."The three choreographies will be performed at 9:30 p.m. on July 29, 30 and 31,and August 1 and 2. The third program includes The Four Seasons and Cantata by Italianchoreographer Bigonzetti. With The Four Seasons, created in 2007 for LesGrands Ballets and set to the widely known music of Vivaldi, Bigonzetti hascarried off the challenge of expressing something different through piecesthat have been interpreted thousands of times, bringing forth "people'sinternal seasons, our states of mind and our changes of mind." Lastly,Cantata, commissioned by Ballet Gulbenkian in 2001, was added to the GrandsBallets repertoire last year. With traditional music from southern Italy,performed live by the singers of Gruppo Musicale Assurd, Cantata usesinstinctive, vital dance to explore the multiple facets of relations betweenmen and women. The piece is passionately Mediterranean! Performances takeplace at 9:30 p.m. on August 5, 6, 7, 8 and 9. Surrounding Les Grands Ballets Satellite activities showcasing various aspects of contemporary Québeccreative work will take place every day the company performs at the GrandPalais, starting at 7 p.m., with the support of the Government of Québec. Thepublic will be able to discover Occidents, a photographic installation byphotographer, sculptor and conceptual artist Jocelyne Alloucherie. Throughoutthe festival, Les Grand Ballets' performances will be followed by DJ/VJ"after-shows." From July 21 to 26, the Elektra international digital artsfestival will feature DJ/VJ performances by Montréal artists Baya(Jean-Sébastien Baillat, DJ and VJ), Poison Arrow (Alain Thibault, DJ), DelRay(Mathew Biederman, VJ) and Soul Sista (Marie-France Paquin, DJ). From July 21to 23, they will be accompanied by Les Cubes volants, an arts and newtechnologies performance by artist, architect and designer Nicolas Reeves,made up of three flying cubes, or "aerobots," upon which VJs will projectvideo images in real time and to which spectators can send text messages usinga Palmtop or cellular phone. From July 27 until the Festival ends on August 9,Soul Sista will take over the after-show events with a panorama program ofQuébec music and song created especially for this occasion. Gala His Excellency Marc Lortie, Ambassador of Canada, and Wilfrid-Guy Licari,Québec's Delegate General in Paris, will serve as Honorary Chairs of a galaevening to mark the Grands Ballets première and the Festival opening on July21, to be attended by Christine Saint-Pierre, Québec Minister of Culture,Communications and the Status of Women. Classes for the public The dancers of Les Grands Ballets will also give six classes open to thepublic at 3 p.m. on July 23, 26 and 30 and August 2, 6 and 9. Supporting partners and organizations Les Grands Ballets Canadiens de Montréal is pleased to be associated withthe following prestigious partners: GE Capital Solutions, production andopening gala sponsor; Air Canada, official carrier; the Ministère du Tourismedu Québec, evening sponsor; and Global Jump, opening gala partner. Les Grandsis also benefiting from the generous cooperation of the Canadian Embassy andthe Délégation générale du Québec in Paris. Les Grands Ballets Canadiens de Montréal enjoys the financial support ofthe Conseil des arts et des lettres du Québec, the Canada Council for theArts, the Conseil des arts de Montréal, Foreign Affairs and InternationalTrade Canada and Heritage Canada. The company would like to thank the Ministère de la Culture, desCommunications et de la Condition féminine du Québec and the Ministère desRelations internationales du Québec for their special support.
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