[Opinion] Dance at a turn

Recently, Quebec dance creators mobilized to make their concerns heard with one voice about the future of the discipline. In a letter signed by more than 60 choreographers and addressed to the Conseil des arts et des lettres du Québec (CALQ), the signatories report a worrying situation regarding the conditions of practice, throughout the creation-production- diffusion. This document highlights the chronic impoverishment of the dance community, a phenomenon that is largely the result of historically insufficient funding from all arts councils.

Despite long-standing precariousness within the community, dance artists, thanks to their talent, their creative sense and their great adaptability, have always been able to offer the public works of high quality recognized on stages around the world. entire. Despite this, today, the situation is brutal, and the pandemic has only exacerbated a situation of vulnerability already too present within the community.

For decades, despite some minor improvements, it seems to us that austerity has almost always been the rule. We deplore a leveling down of funding for artists and companies. We are concerned about what the community will be able to create, produce and promote given the limited means at its disposal. We are seeing a decrease in these resources, which is due to the increase in many costs and the improvement of working conditions that our artistic and support teams rightly demand.

New generations of artists are deploying artistic signatures whose sustainability and viability are fundamental to the development of the dance sector. These creators are the pillars of the Quebec dance of tomorrow. From a long-term perspective and vision, these artistic endeavors require immediate financial consolidation.

We recognize that during the pandemic, significant assistance from the CALQ nevertheless allowed several artists to explore new avenues in the difficult context of health restrictions. Innovative initiatives have appeared and have even favored the approach to new audiences in Quebec. The new modes of creation deployed during the pandemic, supported by this emergency aid, have made it possible to accept a slowdown in production activities, a diversification of activities and the appearance of approaches concerned with sustainable development.

As a repercussion, new practices have also emerged, for example: more time for research, an increase in in situ presentations and immersive projects, an increase in residencies in the regions with financial support. Unfortunately, the non-recurrence of this aid has slowed down this momentum.

These realities have led us to question our previous modes of production deeply rooted in poverty and the depletion of human resources.

In light of these findings, we believe that a major effort on the part of funders must be made to allow dance to be more present in Quebec, both in major centers and in the regions. . The aim here is to correct a deplorable state of affairs regarding the accessibility of dance works in Quebec, despite notable efforts.

We are asking for a significant increase in overall funding for the dance sector in Quebec in order to improve, as a priority, support for creation, dissemination and outreach.

Signatory choreographers:

1. David Albert-Toth

2. Louise Bedard

3. Marie Beland

4. Helene Blackburn

5. Ariane Boulet

6. Sarah Bronsard

7. Virginie Brunelle

8. Soraida Caron

9. Marie Chouinard

10. Sophie Corriveau

11. Lina Cruz

12. Sarah Dell’Ava

13. Melanie Demers

14. Charles-Alexis Desgagnes

15. Rhodnie Desire

16. Daniele Desnoyers

17. Genevieve Duong

18. Sylvain Emard

19. Annie Gagnon

20. Catherine Gaudet

21. Katia-Marie Germain

22. Margie Gillis

23. Frederick Gravel

24. Lucie Gregoire

25. Emily Gualtieri

26. Emmanuel Jouthe

27. Audree Juteau

28. Sasha Kleinplatz

29. Alan Lake

30. Alexandra Lande

31. Caroline Laurin-Beaucage

32. Emmanuelle Le Phan

33. Louise Lecavalier

34. Karine Ledoyen

35. Diana Leon

36. Elodie Lombardo

37. Severine Lombardo

38. Victoria Mackenzie

39. Philippe Meunier

40. Alexandre Morin

41. Jose Navas

42. Brice Noeser

43. Dorian Nuskind-Oder

44. Erin O’Loughlin

45. Aurelie Pedron

46. ​​Andrea Pena

47. Emile Pineault

48. Jacques Poulin-Denis

49. Sebastien Provencher

50. Victor Quijada

51. Amelie Rajotte

52. Kunal Ranchod

53. Gerard X Reyes

54. Harold Rheaume

55. Manu Roque

56. Helen Simard

57. Caroline Simonis

58. Nadine Sylvester

59. Yvon Soglo (Crazy Smooth)

60. Bettina Szabo

61. Anne Theriault

62. Laura Toma

63.Andrew Turner

64. Nate Yaffe, The Raft

65. Ian Yaworski

66. Paco Ziel

This letter is also supported by:

Fannie Bellefeuille, RUBBERBANDance Group; Francine Bernier, The Agora of Dance; Martin Boisjoly, The Square of Lombes; Adrien Bussy, Flak Company; Maya Daoud, Sylvain Emard Dance; Pierre Des Marais, Dance Dance; Francine Gagné, Circuit-Est choreographic center; Marie-Andrée Gougeon, Daniel Léveillé Dance; Steve Huot, The Dance Everywhere Group; Stéphane Labbé, Tangente; Sylvie Lavoie, The organization; Nadine Medawar, Regroupement québécois de la danse; Claire Molinot, Parbleux

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