International Dance Day: Quebec Message from Francine Châteauvert
Photo: François Lafrance
Movement is the secret of centenarians.
As a child, I ran from the house to the barn, from the school bus to the house. To get anywhere I always ran, jumping over or crawling under fences. My body in movement gave me this sublime feeling of freedom, the physical effort invariably filling me with joy. I was naturally agile with my body, in all kinds of games and sports. This attraction to movement and the need for bodily expression were powerful—and unexpected—calls to the profession of dancer and choreographer.
Close to their bodies and their subconscious, children are particularly sensitive to dance. I am happy to offer them works that touch them, fill them with wonder, stimulate their imaginations. Movement, after all, lies at the heart of my life, in every respect.
For some, dance is a profession; for others, it is a pastime, a passion or escape. Dance and International Dance Day belong to everyone. Dance is all around us, it is at the heart of society. It can be a part of everyday life in so many different ways. It can be spontaneous, delightful, mesmerizing, touching, provocative, complex, insignificant, poignant, beautiful. For the body—home to our senses—contains everything, which is why its expression can be so powerful.
Even after thirty years in the profession, dance never ceases to fascinate me, its images and grandeur leaving me deeply humbled.
Have a great International Dance Day!
Francine Châteauvert
Choreographer, Artistic and Executive Director
Sursaut Dance Company
Dedicated for 30 years to the creation of dance works for young and family audiences
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Francine Châteauvert has created over thirty choreographies for young and family audiences. A self-taught artist, she is strongly influenced by her memories of childhood and rural lifestyle. As the choreographer, Artistic and Executive Director of the Sursaut Dance Company based in Sherbrooke, which is celebrating its 30th anniversary, she has created works combining abstraction, symbolism and theatrical movement. She has received several awards, including the 2014 CALQ Prize – Work of the Year in the Eastern Townships for her recent choreography The Cicada and the Ant.
Read the international message for International Dance Day from Lemi Ponifasio, a Samoan choreographer based in New Zealand, as well as the Canadian message from Susanne Chui, a dancer and Co-Artistic Director of Mocean Dance.
International Dance Day, online!
Many thanks to La Fabrique culturelle for making this magnificent video:
Le secret des centenaires | Journée internationale de la danse
(The Secret of Centenarians / International Dance Day)
On the agenda of International Dance Day!
Scheduled during the Québec Danse event, which runs until May 1, are over 100 activities held in the regions of Montreal, Quebec City, Chaudière-Appalaches, Eastern Townships, Lanaudière and Laval. Plan your own program with the Dance Agenda at www.quebecdanse.org. And to arouse your curiosity, here is a special selection of activities presented on April 29, some of which are designed specially for young audiences! Follow the event on Facebook and Twitter using the hashtag #QD16.
Acknowledgments
RQD extends it warmest thanks to all those associated with the 5th edition of Québec Danse, and in particular the following partners: Montreal Public Libraries Network, Notre-Dame-de-Grâce Cultural Centre, Danse Danse, École supérieure de ballet du Québec, Conseil de la culture de l’Estrie, Conseil de la culture de Québec et de Chaudière-Appalaches, Accès culture, Studio Bizz and Télé-Québec. For its Montreal activities, Québec Danse receives funding from the Borough of Ville-Marie, the Borough of Plateau-Mont-Royal and the program A Montreal School for All. In Quebec City, Québec Danse is financially supported under the cultural development agreement between the Ministère de la Culture et des Communications and the Ville de Québec. For its regular activities, RQD is funded by the Conseil des arts et des lettres du Québec, the Canada Council for the Arts, the Conseil des arts de Montréal, Compétence culture, Emploi-Québec, as well as the Ville de Montréal and the Ministère de la Culture et des Communications du Québec through its Diffusion du patrimoine montréalais program.
RQD is pleased to schedule this 5th edition of Québec Danse during National Dance Week, a project spearheaded by the Assemblée canadienne de la danse/Canadian Dance Assembly (ACD-CDA).
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Source:
RQD: Judith Lessard-Bérubé, Communications Manager, 514-849-4003, ext. 225, jlb@quebecdanse.org
Media Relations: Valérie Grig, RuGicomm, 514-759-0494, valerie@rugicomm.ca