Mélanie Demers is the winner of the 2021 Grand Prix de la danse de Montréal, endowed with a $ 25,000 grant. The choreographer is rewarded for her show The milky way goddam, co-produced by the Agora de la danse and the Festival TransAmériques. A play presented at the FTA last June and more recently at the Agora.
“I am very happy,” said the recipient. It feels good to be recognized for the work the entire team has done during this terribly hostile time of the pandemic. The milky way goddam was, in effect, a process of conciliation, reconciliation and consolation. We took care of each other in preparing it and I think that is reflected in the show. “
The choreographer, performer, director and author has choreographed some thirty works that have been presented in four continents since the start of her company Mayday in 2007. Even if winning awards is not a career goal for her , Mélanie Demers notes that The milky way goddam represents a turning point in his.
“It’s a milestone for me,” she says, “awareness of the pandemic, but also of the racial and social tensions that we have experienced in recent years. This show is one way to answer it. I’ve always done it in my work, but I wanted to shed more light on plural and multiple femininity outside of clichés. It is a healing spectacle. “
The piece brings together musician Frannie Holder and dancers Stacey Désilier, Brianna Lombardo, Chi Long and Léa Noblet Di Ziranaldi on stage. She will be touring Canada and Europe in 2022.
The Grand Prix de la danse was presented in the presence of the instigator of these awards in 2011, Marie Chouinard, and last year’s winner Rhodnie Désir.
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Coming from the Kanien’keha: ka (Mohawk) nation of Kahnawake, Barbara Kaneratonni Diabo was honored in the performer category for her fusion art navigating between the styles of powwow, Haudenosaunee and contemporary dance. She collaborates with organizations such as La Danse sur les routes du Québec and the Indigenous Performing Arts Alliance. She receives a scholarship of $ 10,000.
The Envol Prize for cultural diversity and inclusive dance practices is awarded to 100 Lux, along with a $ 10,000 grant. This non-profit organization supports the professionalization of performers and the transmission of the foundations of street dance by encouraging creativity and innovation.
Teacher Louise Lapierre, whose school will soon be 50, is the recipient of the Ethel Bruneau Prize. Endowed with a $ 5,000 grant, this honor serves to recognize the work of artists and artisans whose contribution is little known.
The 2021 Montreal Dance Prize, cultural manager category, this year recognizes the work of Francine Gagné, general and artistic director of Circuit-Est center chorégraphique. The prize is endowed with a scholarship of $ 5,000.
Multidisciplinary artist Beatriz Mediavilla won the 2021 Discovery Prize, which includes a prize of $ 5,000 in addition to a creation residency. Finally, a prize was also awarded to Annie-Claude Coutu-Geoffroy to underline her remarkable contribution to the development of dance in the region, in her case, Lanaudière.