A brand new professional dance school will soon open its doors. The National School of Dance of Canada (ENDC) will integrate some forty professional aspirants next September to teach them contemporary dance, but also ballet, jazz, commercial dances, street styles and the fundamentals of management. artistic career. A new option for the dance community.
“A lot of artists in the dance world tell us “finally!” since the official announcement,” says Sonia Clarke, one of the School’s co-founders. It was at the start of the pandemic that the interpreter, who worked for a long time in Europe, decided to start. “I’ve been thinking about it for years, but I never got to the perfect time,” she explains. She then took advantage of the health crisis to resume her studies in arts and culture management.
Throughout her career, which has led her to train in ballet as well as to be a choreographer and performer in the contemporary world, but also a dancer in projects for companies, Sonia Clarke realized the importance versatility in the dance world. “We have great programs in Montreal, for ballet, for the contemporary, but if you want to do something else and become a professional, where do you go? We wanted to give a third option. Indeed, according to her, there are professional schools offering a versatile program in contemporary dance as well as in jazz or street dance in Toronto, Vancouver, but not in Montreal.
“During my career, I have often rubbed shoulders with the same artists, in really diverse fields. We could live from our art thanks to our versatility. It saved us”, expresses the one who finished her training at the Pierre-Laporte school in 1989. The ENDC will therefore give young dancers a complete training so that they are “really good in their specialty, but that they also be able to do three or four other things well.
It will be necessary to be aged 17 to 25 to integrate this training which aspires, in the coming years, to be recognized as an attestation of college studies (AEC). “For now, the government is not comfortable. We’re new, he wants us to prove ourselves, that’s normal. In the meantime, we are a private school, but we made sure to have a reasonable price. If you divide the number of hours by the total price, it costs less than $8 an hour. No dance class exists at this price in Montreal,” she continues.
About forty students will be able to take place next September in the ENDC premises, shared with the Imperium Dance Studio. “We really want to know each student, to supervise them as they should. If there is a lack or a need, we will be there for them. We want them to have all the keys once they get out of school and feel supported throughout their process,” says Sonia Clarke.
One team, one vision
To build her project, Sonia Clarke surrounded herself with Lisa-Marie Villeneuve (teacher at the Grands Ballets Canadiens) and the two directors of the Imperium Dance Studio, Christine Langston and Véronique Sévigny-Leclerc. Together, they have built a three-year program which notably encompasses the practical aspects of the life of an artist.
“In our career management course, we explain how to make a CV, how to keep a valid presentation photo, how to manage your image through social networks or how to do a good audition on video”, specifies the co-founder of the ENDC. Courses in anatomy, somatic practices or even biomechanics will also complete the program. “We will teach them to take care of their bodies, but also to recover from an injury. »
The School’s team conducted market research with current and former dancers to find out what they felt was missing in their professional training. “We integrated all these things, because it’s not easy to learn everything on the job. Sometimes we lose opportunities because of misunderstandings, ”says Sonia Clarke.
On the technical side, the teaching is, as expected, very varied. From partnership work to commercial dance through various street dances, jazz, ballet and finally contemporary, future professionals will develop several strings to their bow during the three years of training. They will also take courses in physical theater and body percussion. “It’s one thing to hear the music, but you have to understand it, develop your sense of listening and understanding the spaces between the notes,” adds Ms.me Clarke.
All courses are given by professionals in the field, who work on TV (as on the show The dancing gods) or in large companies (Cirque du Soleil) or who are recognized in the independent world, such as Nedge “Black Kat” Valmé, pioneer of waacking to Montreal. “We hope to attract young people who compete, who have a very good technical level, but also street dancers. There is no program that speaks directly to them at this time. We hope to give them that space. »
In addition to street dancers, the ENDC plans to accommodate students with physical disabilities. On its board of directors, the School also counts on Luca “Lazylegz” Patuelli, a famous specialist in breakdance on crutches. “These people have never had the chance to integrate schools. We want to be that chance,” says the co-founder.
Since its public launch on April 4, the ENDC has generated real enthusiasm in the dance community, according to Sonia Clarke. “People ask us a lot of questions, and some young people already want to know how to proceed for auditions, etc. It’s a good sign! »