Before his death on January 31, 2021, Pierre-Paul Savoie was working on a new creation, in line with Dance Lhasa Dance and Body Love Anarchy/Leo Ferre. Today, David Rancourt, a longtime collaborator of the late choreographer, with the support of musical director Alexis Dumais, brings the project to fruition with Beadsdedicated to the (sometimes hidden) treasures of Quebec song.
With Dance Lhasa Dance then Body Love Anarchy/Léo Ferréinterdisciplinary shows combining music, song and dance, Pierre-Paul Savoie has undoubtedly more than ever fulfilled the mission he set himself with his company PPS Danse, founded in 1989: the democratization of contemporary dance and the creation works that call for encounters between artistic disciplines, but also with the public, young and old.
PHOTO MARCO CAMPANOZZI, THE PRESS
David Rancourt, dancer, choreographer and artistic director of PPS Danse
It was while he was at the airport, on a Quebec tour for the show dedicated to Léo Ferré, that Pierre-Paul Savoie spoke about his new idea to David Rancourt, who was part of the production as choreographer and interpreter. “He found that we were on a good run of encounter between music and dance. This time, he wanted to focus on Quebec territory rather than a particular artist,” he recalls.
As Pierre-Paul Savoie’s health declined, David Rancourt officially took over the artistic co-direction of the project. For a year, the two accomplices pored over the repertoire of Quebec songs, from the 1960s to today, without distinction of genre or language – French-speaking, English-speaking, instrumental, even – in order to unearth the “pearls” to be made. shine on stage, in music, but also in motion.
PHOTO MARJORIE GUINDON, PROVIDED BY PPS DANCE
Beads will have its Montreal premiere on November 24 at Théâtre Maisonneuve.
Shine hidden pearls
“It took us about a year. We got together again, we made reading lists. I went back to the ADISQ galas of the 1980s, to find the artists and albums nominated. There were a lot of things that weren’t initially on our radar! remarks the one who has become, since the death of Mr. Savoie, the artistic director of PPS Danse and intends to continue the mission of the company.
There are plenty of good popular Quebec songs. But you had to be able to imagine the choreographic potential of the songs. And we quickly realized that these were not necessarily the most famous hits of the artists.
David Rancourt, dancer, choreographer and artistic director of PPS Danse
Alexis Dumas has participated as a pianist in all the shows of Body Love Anarchy. He also contributed to creating the original music for PPS Danse’s most recent creation for young audiences, The treasure. It was only natural that he joined Beads as musical director and musician.
PHOTO MARCO CAMPANOZZI, THE PRESS
Alexis Dumais, musical director of the show Beads
“The spirit was to unearth pearls that are perhaps less brilliant and less known. The songs also had to be able to be adapted with the instrumentation we have, that is a piano and a string trio. And with the addition of dance, a lot of pieces suddenly made sense,” he adds.
In the end, around fifty selected pieces were sent to the guest choreographers (Myriam Allard, Lina Cruz, Milan Gervais, Sara Harton, Emmanuel Jouthe, Alan Lake and Hoor Malas, in addition to Rancourt himself) so that they make their selection. Among them, Richard Desjardins (senorita), Bran Van 3000 (Drinking in LA)Milk & Bone (tmrw) or Flore Laurentienne (River No. 1).
In the meantime, illness unfortunately got the better of Pierre-Paul Savoie. “He worked until the last minute. Four days before his death, I was sitting in front of his bed with a notebook,” says David Rancourt. “We think a lot about him, it is of course a form of homage. It’s a show for him,” adds Alexis Dumais.
On stage, four singers (Bïa, Roxane Filion, Sébastien Lacombe and JP Loignon), six in dance and four musicians will bring the songs to life. “The risk was that it would become a musical pizza, but we managed to create a guideline with the instrumentation, then thanks to Marilyne Bastien in the scenography, involved very early in the process. Pearls, it is a large landscape; there are valleys, a hollow lake. It’s breathable,” concludes David Rancourt.
After being presented at the Salle Pauline-Julien in preview and then in Longueuil last week, Beads will make its Montreal premiere on November 24, at the Théâtre Maisonneuve, and will begin a Quebec tour that will notably visit Quebec, Saguenay, Drummondville, Sherbrooke, Rimouski and Sept-Îles.