“Montreal has been a capital of contemporary dance. There, we no longer have the means to be. Gone are the years when Margie Gillis, La la la Human Steps, O Vertigo, Marie Chouinard and, later, Benoît Lachambre or Louise Lecavalier made headlines in European theatres, creating a long trail of fine reputation in Quebec creation. On this International Dance Day, some sixty important Quebec choreographers are launching a rare common cry. The dance, known in Quebec for working miracles with three pieces of string and a lot of sweat, is suffocating.
This group of creators also transmitted to the Duty a longer version of his letter sent to the Conseil des arts et des lettres du Québec (CALQ). At the origin of the approach, the choreographers Danièle Desnoyers, Andrea Peña, David Albert-Toth, Caroline Laurin-Beaucage, Adrien Bussy, Alexandra “Spicey” Landé and Sylvain Émard.
It takes a major financial turnaround to revive the discipline. Everyone agrees on that.
The choreographers indicate that the dance milieu “has been suffering from impoverishment for many years”. “The pandemic has exacerbated the fragility of our ecosystem. We are currently reaching a breaking point, jeopardizing the vitality and survival of our sector. »
“We deplore a leveling down of the financing of artists and companies, we read again. We are concerned about what the community will be able to create, produce and promote given the limited means at its disposal. »
Andrea Peña, Rhodnie Désir, Victor Quijada, the Schmutt sisters, Mélanie Demers, Fred Gravel, José Navas, Karine Ledoyen, Virginie Brunelle are also among the signatories. Different ages, different styles. A single message: “the working conditions are much more difficult than before”, summarizes in an interview Sylvain Émard, sent as spokesperson.
“It takes a major financial recovery to revive the discipline. The whole community agrees on it, ”continues the man who was also president of the Regroupement québécois de la danse (RQD). “Right now, we are no longer able to live up to what we have been,” laments the choreographer.
“We are still open to the international scene, but when we look at what is being done elsewhere, we see that we have lost our means of producing works of the same scope as what international creation offers. We are no longer competitive. »
The RQD and the presenters Danse Danse, Tangente and Agora de la danse support the process. “We are interdependent,” emphasizes Mr. Émard. A healthy arts community needs dynamic creation and dynamic dissemination. »
Stress fracture
It was not the pandemic that caused this breaking point, specifies Sylvain Émard. Perhaps it served as a trigger for speaking out, forcing a change of perspective, we understand.
The new ways of creating, made necessary by health constraints, and emergency financial aid have led to “a slowdown in production activities, a diversification of activities and the appearance of approaches concerned with sustainable development”, explain the choreographers in their letter.
This also allowed them to become aware, in hollow, of “previous modes of production deeply rooted in poverty and the depletion of human resources”, continues the group.
“I belong to that generation of choreographers who had to invent resources because we couldn’t afford to pay for them,” adds Mr. Émard, who created his company in 1990. in common, pooling, we have expertise in that. »
“We can’t go any further. We survived because of that. And decades later, I’m not convinced that it served us. We’re still just surviving. »
Dance me to the end of dance
The creators note the rapid increase in the number of independent artists and emerging companies, due among other things to the “excellent dance training schools” that Quebec has, according to Mr. Émard.
“What can we offer to all these young dancers? Work from time to time in a small form. There, I have just embarked on a great form: it is the first time that I have done a piece with my company with more than seven dancers, and I have 40 years of experience. Compare to the theatre, to see…”
“We are very worried about the younger generations,” continues Mr. Émard. The future in dance is not very bright. Access to broadcasting is also more complicated. The jam caused by all the creations made during the pandemic that have not yet been seen seals access to theaters.
Going on tour is much more expensive today. And in Europe, a long-time ally of Quebec contemporary dance, theaters are experiencing the same post-pandemic blockages. They turn, by reflex, to local creators, out of duty to the local community and because they cost less to bring in. In the aftermath, the co-productions with Europe that several choreographers managed to cobble together to finance their ends also dried up.
Dollaradance
It is also difficult here, in Quebec, for young choreographers to hope one day to have the means to support their company through operating funding, and thus to be able to think of medium-term plans.
“It’s important for us to be able to recognize artists who are on a momentum, to support them at that time, appropriately, so that they can flourish. “And serve as a locomotive in markets to reopen.
Sylvain Émard specifies: “It is not a charge against the CALQ that we are leading. The CALQ is an open and receptive interlocutor; he immediately replied to our letter with a meeting proposal. There is a desire to discuss and find solutions. But we are asking for a major rectification of the situation “, which the CALQ cannot resolve on its own with its current funding, we understand between the lines.
How much would it take for dance to regain its great momentum? Sylvain Emard smiled. “We will soon do this exercise and quantify the needs. We wanted to start by first talking about our experience. Starting with what the body feels and experiences, in the studios, on the field, even during the dance.