From a simple question to international prosperity and the creation of an incubator for apprentice dancers, Rubberband has made its way into the dance world in Quebec and around the world. Twenty years after the founding of the company, Victor Quijada takes stock and offers a brand new piece on stage, Reckless Underdogpresented at the Maisonneuve theatre.
“Twenty years ago, I had an idea, a challenge in mind. What happens if I remove the boundaries that separate different forms of dance, both in movement and in their philosophy? What does it take to get there? What would that give? wondered Victor Quijada in the early 2000s. Born in Los Angeles to Mexican parents, Quijada grew up in the middle of the cyphers where dancers from different backgrounds, all from hip-hop culture, confront each other. After dancing with Rudy Perez and THARP! in New York, he joined Les Grands Ballets Canadiens in 2000. “I have always worked in different visions of dance, hip-hop, contemporary and ballet. I’ve always wanted to share my knowledge, but if only I could do it, it wasn’t interesting, invalid. That’s why I wanted to create Rubberband,” he continues.
A few years after the creation of the company, Mr. Quijada shaped “the Rubberband method”. “Someone who comes from the contemporary doesn’t have the tools for the break, and vice versa. It required specific training, because our gestures were not visible anywhere else,” he says. A way for him to create “a common language”. “Everyone has their own particular accent, that of break, contemporary, etc., but everyone speaks the same language thanks to common training,” he says.
Thanks to this, Mr. Quijada gradually detaches himself more from the physical side of creation. “At the beginning, for a new creation, I moved a lot, I showed everything, I had a lot of control, everything came from me, he recalls. Today, the company takes this place, the dancers know how to validate the different styles, the different approaches, without me. I can fully rely on them. »
Shaping today’s artists
In twenty years, the choreographer has seen “the mentalities of institutions change”. “When I started, it was difficult to get feedback official… the echoes we had were that Rubberband was not considered art, it was only entertainment. No one was there when we needed money. I hit a lot of walls, we were very alone, he laments, even today. Rubberband has brought to the table in discussions with institutions questions such as: “What kind of dance should qualify for grants?”, “What is movement research in dance, and does hip-hop can be part of an artistic research without being onlyamusement ?” and, even more importantly, “Which dance communities are entitled to financial support, and which are not?” Now, in 2023, there are significant grants for diversity in dance, but that wasn’t the case 20 years ago. »
Mr. Quijada has also seen the dance scene evolve, and is delighted. “At that time, few people wondered about the place of hip-hop on stage. It’s not like today. Montreal has become a veritable incubator for dance in North America, in all its forms,” he continues. According to the choreographer, Rubberband has “opened the doors to so many worlds, and so many styles”. “We are part of the heritage of dance in Quebec,” he says.
Thus, since its beginnings, the company has welcomed around forty dancers in its creations, not counting apprentices, workshops and intensive programs. “All the artists who rub shoulders with the company continue to shape the dance landscape in turn,” he says.
This heritage, as he calls it himself, is one of his greatest prides. “I’m very proud of things that have a long-term impact. Sharing at Rubberband, whatever the context, brings a new way of seeing to the artists, which they then carry with them. I see the impact on them, even in a workshop. It’s really exciting for me,” he says.
The different facets of the same bridge
For Victor Quijada, Rubberband has removed the boundaries that existed between three dance styles, namely urban dances, contemporary and ballet. “A bridge” was then built. However, for his new creation, Reckless Underdog, he wanted to “move on this bridge”. “At the centre, all dance styles and philosophies come together,” he recalls. There, with this creation, I wanted to move away from the center a little and get closer to the ballet branch, then to the contemporary branch, which is more theatrical, etc. »
In addition to playing with the movements and the different gestures associated with each dance style, Mr. Quijada also sees a deeper philosophical reflection behind his approach. “It’s a question that everyone has. For my part, I ask myself: “What if I hadn’t left New York and the ballet? If I hadn’t moved to Montreal? What kind of work would I do? Would I be someone else? I would do something else? If I had made different choices, would I still have arrived here? he asks himself thoughtfully.
Imagined since 2020 in the head of Mr. Quijada, Reckless Underdog leaves more room for specialists in each form of dance. “We make deeper excursions into each style, we approach the ‘pure’ form of each without really going there,” he explains.
For the future, Victor Quijada wishes to continue to train apprentices, to tour around the world with the pieces already created, nearly fifteen, and to shape new ones. Dance films are also an avenue that continues to interest the artistic director. A brand new one should see the light of day this year. “Film projects, sharing projects, training. My goal is to continue to create, and perhaps on a larger scale… To be continued…” he concludes.