Ballet Divertimento has vacated its premises — five dance studios, 10,888 square feet. The dance school is now located at the YMCA on Drummond Street, having lost 3,000 square feet in the move, which will have to be done again in two years. And long-term choreographer Lucie Grégoire closed her studio located at 4416 Saint-Laurent Boulevard last June, in a building that already housed five training, yoga and table gym studios. Quick on its feet, but poor, the dance does not have the means to keep up with the real estate bidding wars taking place in Montreal.
These examples are added to the case of the O Vertigo Creation Center (CCOV), which is still looking for somewhere to find accommodation, and to the closure of the Fleur d’asphalte studio, rue Saint-Hubert. And Circuit-Est is experiencing a countdown: the lease for its three studios on rue Saint-André has been secured, upon the sale of the building, until 2030.
How to make people understand the importance of having their own dance studio? Lucie Grégoire attempts the exercise: “We were there in the middle of the city, and this enclosed, calm place was my creative home. I walked through the door and I felt available to dance, to ideas,” explains the artist, nourished by butoh and slowness.
On the third floor, between Avenue du Mont-Royal and Rue Marie-Anne, Louise Lecavalier, veteran and pioneer Linda Rabin and improviser Andrew Harwood danced, rehearsed, created or taught for 30 years, never to be forgotten. name only these.
“It’s a place that inspired me and opened me up. That’s why I kept him longer than I could have afforded. The ideal would have been to keep it for the community. » But the owner had other aims. Leases were stopped before the pandemic, which prevented Mme Grégoire to find rental partners, or to transfer his studio to the CCOV.
“My studio is empty now,” continues the choreographer, like the whole floor. The artist believes that the building is being renovated to be transformed into condos.
What it takes to dance
To dance, you need a lot of space. An imperative that is less and less compatible with the Montreal real estate market. You also need good floors — resilient, otherwise suspended or wooden — so that dancers can jump with as little wear on their joints as possible.
The Regroupement québécois de la danse recently intervened to raise awareness in the City of Montreal of the fact that “several dance spaces in Montreal are weakened. An action plan is needed to slow the trend,” as stated by Duty its general director, Nadine Medawar.
The Regroupement proposes the development of “a strategy which secures spaces intended for organizations, artists and capable of meeting professional needs in dance”, continues Mme Medawar. “Whether it is purchasing certain buildings historically dedicated to dance, or developing programs for owners with empty spaces,” the ideas are there, she continues.
But help is needed. When the Montreal School Service Center recovered and put up for sale the building where Ballet Divertimento was housed, Susan Alexander, director of the dance school, thought about buying it.
“We had the first right of refusal. It’s really sad: before the pandemic, it would have been possible to buy. We were asked for $3.5 million, which is an extraordinary price for the place, but it remains very difficult for a non-profit organization. »
The pandemic has disrupted school revenue. Some of the customers never returned, making the project impossible. “We spent two years looking at all the possibilities. Even when renting, the upgrades required for dancing are so expensive that purchasing remains a better option. But with inflation and the state of the market…”
The future is not very bright for an establishment like ours
“The future is not very bright for an establishment like ours,” continues M.me Alexander. The YMCA agreed to host the school. The studios are smaller, the rent remains the same: “He was very generous,” she adds, “but he can only accommodate us for two years. In six months, we have to start looking for a place again. I think this time we’re going to have to close. »
Impossible mapping
How many dance studios are there in Montreal? How many were there 20 years ago? Impossible to know. “Occupancy certificates for authorized use of dance studios are produced by the boroughs according to their regulations,” replies Kim Nantais, for the City.
“For example, for the Ville-Marie district, there is no specific use of “dance studio” in its regulations. The district regulates this type of activity through the use of “specialized education school”, which also includes martial arts, language, training schools, etc. »
In Plateau-Mont-Royal, the answer is similar: “For a dance studio or a dance school, we use the term “specialized education school”. This use is, however, not exclusive to dance. We therefore do not have the data you are looking for,” replied Geneviève Allard, communications manager for the district. It is therefore impossible to document a potential reduction in spaces dedicated to dance.
In the Old Capital
In Quebec, the situation of the Maison pour la danse is different. “We are lucky to be owners. The companies that are established in Quebec do not have their own studios, and come to rent ours,” explain Steve Huot, from the Danse Tandie Group, and Amélie Langevin, director of the Maison pour la danse.
“The fact remains that we are using the studios almost at full capacity, at 85% or 86%, they continue. It is professional dance that takes up most of the time in the studios. But by its mandate, the Maison pour la danse must also open its doors to amateur practices. »
“It brings in money, but it mobilizes the whole team, our resources. This puts pressure on the premises, which wear out prematurely. All of this harms the accomplishment of our fundamental mission, but the subsidies we are given require us to cover these angles as well. »
Is dance in Quebec therefore condemned, in the medium term, to becoming street dance? To be continued.