The Saint-Sauveur Arts Festival (FASS), which is in its 31e year, attracts more tourists and foreign visitors than ever before. The small town in the Laurentians has even become a flagship destination for dance in the country, thanks to the efforts of dancers Guillaume Côté and Étienne Lavigne, at the helm of the event since 2014 and 2016 respectively.
“Ticket sales have increased by 75% in four years since we arrived,” says Étienne Lavigne, general manager of FASS. He is also pleased with the tourist appeal of the event: “30% of our audience comes from outside the region, and 2% come from abroad especially for the festival, that’s a lot. »
“Year after year, the festival attracts more people from outside, and there are significant economic benefits in shops, hotels, and restaurants,” rejoices Jacques Gariépy, mayor of the city since 2013. “It’s interesting, because it attracts a clientele that you wouldn’t see otherwise in Saint-Sauveur,” he adds.
Guillaume Côté, artistic director of the FASS, does not hide the fact that the growing popularity of the festival is due in particular to his reputation as a dancer. Promoted to principal dancer with the National Ballet of Canada in 2004, he has distinguished himself on prestigious stages abroad, such as the Bolshoi Theater and the Metropolitan Opera in New York.
“Until recently, I wasn’t known at all in Quebec, but I’m proud to have had a great career. We bet on that to promote the event, and on my contacts to build our ambitious program,” he says.
Étienne Lavigne, who was also a dancer with the National Ballet of Canada and manager of Guillaume Côté, believes that the FASS has also earned an enviable reputation thanks to its “soirées des étoiles”, where it invites star dancers from companies every year. prestigious foreigners, as well as thanks to its famous guests, such as Marie Chouinard and Margie Gillis last year.
As if to mark the evolution of the regional festival towards a well-established and recognized event, the show Cryptoby Guillaume Côté himself, will be presented again under the white marquee on Thursday. Crypto had first been presented in international premiere at the FASS as an original creation in 2019, and it is therefore returning this year, “on the strength of a major tour in ten cities”, says Guillaume Côté.
The FASS also presents each year at least one “creative” show concocted to measure for the event. This year, it’s a double program that will be presented on Wednesday, August 3, with two creations by Quebec choreographers Virginie Brunelle and Anne Plamondon.
“Another key element of our success is our collaboration with the Orchester Métropolitain,” maintains Étienne Lavigne. Yannick Nézet-Séguin’s orchestra comes regularly to the FASS. He will interpret, among other things, the Symphony noh 5 of Beethoven, Friday.
“Democratize” dance
The FASS presents a wide variety of dance styles each year, with the aim of offering several possibilities to its public, which does not necessarily know the world of contemporary dance very well, according to Guillaume Côté.
Last Sunday’s show One. One&One, from the Vertigo Dance Company, which has toured extensively abroad, also received a long standing ovation. Bringing together nine dancers who, over the course of their sensual and frenetic choreography, cover the floor of the stage with earth, the show is representative of “the level that we want to bring to Saint-Sauveur”, says Guillaume Côté.
The latter adds that the FASS also organizes many free events outside, with the aim of “democratizing” the “hermetic” dance environment. Étienne Lavigne says that their event The paths of dance, which sold out this year, is their greatest success in this regard. These are free walking tours, upon reservation, on marked trails in the forest of John-H.-Molson Park, where dance and music performances are organized.
The festival also tries to get closer to the world of hip-hop from year to year, explains Guillaume Côté. This is why he presented, for the second time, a dance battle urban dances, including breakdance. This event, which took place at John-H.-Molson Park, was also free.
Cultural center project
“The infrastructures to host the festival are less and less sufficient”, recognizes however the mayor of the city, Jacques Gariépy. “The marquee he rents this year can accommodate 400 people, it is clearly insufficient,” he adds.
This is why the two directors of the festival wish to build, with the support of the City, a new cultural center in the city center. For now, they are only using pop-up installations. A permanent performance hall would allow them not only to broaden their audience, but also, as Guillaume Côté points out, to organize events throughout the year.
“In 2021, the City and the Festival des arts signed a memorandum of understanding” to define the terms of the project “over a period of three years”, explains Jacques Gariépy. A piece of land in the city center has already been donated to the Festival by the City.
“We want to grow every aspect of the festival,” concludes Guillaume Côté, who specifies that it “must pass” through this permanent room.
The FASS is in full swing until Sunday August 7th. The Cuban dance company Malpaso Dance Company will perform the closing show.