Contemporary dance solos in situ, group creations in the hall, parties, choreographic tours… To mark its 20 years of existence, the company Danse K par K will offer a special edition of its concept from August 20 to 31 in the upper town of Quebec City Dare! whose first edition took place in 2001. It will feature 37 dance artists and 12 musicians who, in some cases, will create their performance the same day before presenting it to the public in the evening.
“I have always been in a perspective of exchanges, of sharing spaces between choreographers, musicians and different audiences,” remembers Karine Ledoyen, general and artistic director and choreographer of the company Danse K par K, when she evokes the beginnings of Dare! in the early 2000s.
When she was a young dance graduate, the only company in Quebec City, Danse Partout, closed its doors. “It shocked me at the time. The closure meant that it was almost impossible to dance in Quebec City. I quickly became worried about the future of dance in Quebec City and it remained in the back of my mind the whole time. It ultimately motivated the rest of my career,” she continues.
It is in this spirit of gathering and creation that she sets up Dare!. “At the time, everything had to be built, both the broadcast and the audience, and I had friends who danced everywhere, in Montreal, in Saguenay. In Saint-Jean-Port-Joli, I knew the wharf well from having spent my childhood summers there, we could set up there. So we all got together, we went camping, we created the day and we presented at sunset,” she recalls.
In the following editions, Karine Ledoyen gives herself the means to continue the adventure Dare!. The artists receive a salary and their travel expenses are paid. The project lasted 9 years, traveling on other quays, along the Saint-Laurent River, but also in Europe, Belgium and Wales. “Each year, we invited different choreographers, international or not, associated with musicians, and during the day, together, they had to create a 20-minute show, with between 10 and 40 dancers,” explains the artistic director.
After a few years of hiatus, Karine Ledoyen took over the reins of Dare! in 2017, for the inauguration of the Maison pour la danse. But this time with an indoor format, until the advent of the COVID-19 pandemic. For the choreographer, it was impossible to let go Dare!, even in these exceptional conditions. “In this gloomy period, I thought it was important to intervene, to bring dance back for everyone, especially our community in Quebec City,” she explains. Thus, artists danced solos, each in their city and in their neighborhood, in front of one or two spectators, remotely and with headphones to avoid gatherings. Same formula in 2021 where the concept extends to 16 cities. “We couldn’t get together, but we could still dance, and it was rich in meaning,” she says, a smile on her lips. In addition to the co-broadcast, Danse K par K then produced 72 solos during this pandemic period.
“For the 20the anniversary of the company, we wanted to honor all the versions of Dare! and the artists,” says Karine Ledoyen. Thus, the event offers both group creations, in the hall at La Poudrière, and solos through Quebec City, but not only. “We also have celebrations, parties, an “open floor” evening where everyone can propose a 4 or 5 minute creation, whatever their medium of live art, and also tours that allow spectators to move from one creation to another, from one space to another,” she continues.
A nice development, but some fears
In its 20 years of existence, the company Danse K par K has seen the evolution of dance in Quebec City. “Now, we have a pool of dancers in Quebec City and it’s wonderful to see,” rejoices Karine Ledoyen. “There are lots of companies, it’s also opening up to other forms of dance, other possibilities, other references. It’s really great. Having a place, the Maison pour la danse, has changed everything. There are six studios, a presenter—La Rotonde—which is an important partner, a professional school, a space to work, to talk. It takes time and adequate funding to build a dance community, but if everyone makes an effort in this direction, it’s possible.”
Karine Ledoyen is however more nuanced about the public, given the current context. “We talk a lot about recession, about thinking smaller about our productions, etc. I pay attention to my budget, every dollar is very well thought out. But I wanted to do a special edition to highlight not our resilience but our resistance, and I want the public to be there. They are the ones we think of when we imagine, when we make all this. And the real value of our work is not in the money, but in what the creations can bring to people, and that is priceless.” So, to be able to attract as many people as possible, Dare! will offer different formulas, “adapted to all budgets”: a show alone for $10, or a tour that can go up to $60. “In all cases, spectators will have an exceptional experience,” she says.
For the experience creator, the “small laboratories”, as she calls them, like the project Dare! can be spaces that inspire much larger. “Art and dance are small incubators of tests, where we try to change the way of seeing, doing and perceiving things, on a small scale,” she concludes. And here, nothing is drawn in advance, it is a risk-taking for the artists, but also for the spectators, and it is through this experience that the ineffable essential occurs.”