Les Grands Ballets Canadiens

Les Grands Ballets Canadiens de Montréal (GBCM) is a ballet company based in Montreal, Quebec, Canada. A creative and repertory company, it performs works that reflect the diverse trends of contemporary ballet.

History

Les Grands Ballets Canadiens de Montréal was founded in 1957 by Ludmilla Chiriaeff. Conductor and composer Michel Perrault served as the organization's first music director.

Since its creation, Les Grands Ballets has performed a broad range of dance, ranging from classics to major contemporary work. Under the direction of Chiriaeff and Fernand Nault (1965–1973), Brian Macdonald (1974–1977) and Lawrence Rhodes (1990–1999), the institution fostered the development of such notable artists as James Kudelka, Édouard Lock and Ginette Laurin.

In 1981 the company participated alongside the National Ballet of Canada, the Royal Winnipeg Ballet, le Groupe de la Place Royale, the Danny Grossman Dance Company, the Toronto Dance Theatre, Winnipeg Contemporary Dancers and the Anna Wyman Dance Theatre in the Canadian Dance Spectacular,[1] a dance show at Ottawa's National Arts Centre which was filmed by the National Film Board of Canada for the 1982 documentary film Gala.[2]

In 2000, Gradimir Pankov became artistic director. A native of Macedonia, Pankov previously served as artistic director of Nederlands Dans Theater II (Netherlands), the National Ballet of Finland (Helsinki), the Cullberg Ballet (Sweden), and Ballet du Grand Théâtre de Genève (Switzerland).

In 2017, Ivan Cavallari became the artistic director of les Grands Ballets. Born in Italy, he trained at Teatro alla Scala Ballet School in Milan. Before becoming artistic director of les Grands Ballets, he was artistic director of the West Australian Ballet and then the Ballet de l'Opéra national du Rhin. The ballet masters are Hervé Courtain, appointed in 2017, and Marina Villanueva Arias, appointed in 2020.[3]

The company has commissioned work from some of the world's most prominent choreographers: The Queen of Spades by Kim Brandstrup; The Butterfly Effect by Shawn Hounsell; Between Ashes and Angels by Adam Hougland; Noces, Cinderella and The Rite of Spring by Stijn Celis; The Little Prince, Possibly Six and TooT by Didy Veldman; The Beast and the Beauty by Kader Belarbi; Four Seasons by Mauro Bigonzetti; Minus One and Danz by Ohad Naharin; Rodin/Claudel by Peter Quanz; and Re–II by Shen Wei.

Its repertoire also includes major acquisitions by such artists as Mats Ek, Jiří Kylián, Jean-Christophe Maillot and Christopher Wheeldon, along with works by young creators like Stephan Thoss, Didy Veldman and Peter Quanz. In 2008 Gradimir Pankov established the national choreographic contest, won by Jean-Sébastien Couture, which has allowed Les Grands Ballets to showcase work by emerging Canadian choreographers. Each season, Les Grands Ballets invited international companies to perform as part of its program; the list includes Houston Ballet, Royal Winnipeg Ballet, Alvin Ailey® American Dance Theater, Cullberg Ballet (Sweden), Compañía Nacional de Danza (Spain), Warsaw Ballet (Poland), Cloud Gate Dance Theatre (Taiwan), Shen Wei Dance Arts (New York City), Ballet de l’Opéra de Lyon (France), Dutch National Ballet and Eifman Ballet Theatre of St-Petersburg (Russia).

Since Ivan Cavallari took artistic leadership, the company focuses on extending its repertoire to both showcase the great ballet classics and acquire new works by emerging contemporary creators.[4]

Dancers

Dancers for the 2022–2023 season:[5]

Principal Dancers

  • Raphaël Bouchard[6]
  • Rachele Buriassi[7]
  • Roddy Doble[8]
  • Vanesa Garcia-Ribala Montoya[9]
  • Maude Sabourin[10]
  • Myriam Simon[11]
  • Yui Sugawara[12]

First Soloists

Soloists

Demi-soloists

  • Kiara DeNae Felder[22]
  • Graeme Fuhrman[23]
  • Jose Carlos Losada Morales[24]
  • Hamilton Nieh[25]
  • Éline Malègue[26]

Corps de ballet

  • Antoine Benjamin Bertran[27]
  • Bernardo Betancor[28]
  • Giuseppe Canale[29]
  • Bernard Dubois II[30]
  • Alexandra Eccles[31]
  • Kiara Flavin[32]
  • Maude Fleury[33]
  • François Gagné[34]
  • Étienne Gagnon-Delorme[35]
  • Sofía González[36]
  • Enno Kleinehanding[37]
  • Tatiana Lerebours[38]
  • James Lyttle[39]
  • Carrigan MacDonald[40]
  • Tetyana Martyanova[41]
  • Felixovich Morante[42]
  • Stefano Russiello[43]
  • Théodore Poubeau[44]
  • Catherine Toupin[45]
  • Angel Vizcaíno[46]

Apprentice

Former principal dancer

Former soloists

  • Edi Blloshmi[53]
  • Hervé Courtain[54]
  • Émilie Durville[55]
  • Lénaïg Guégan (2007-2010)[56]
  • Marcin Kaczorowski[57]
  • Isabelle Paquette (2001-2010)[58]
  • Guillaume Pruneau (2002-2010)[59]
  • Jeremy Raia[60]
  • André Silva[61]

Notable people

References

  1. ^ Stephen Godfrey, "Dance Spectacular is just that". The Globe and Mail, May 30, 1981.
  2. ^ Stephen Godfrey, "Gala: a dance milestone makes a fascinating film". The Globe and Mail, May 1, 1982.
  3. ^ "Artistic Direction". Les Grands Ballets Canadiens. Les Grands Ballets Canadiens. Retrieved December 13, 2022.
  4. ^ "The Company". Les Grands Ballets Canadiens. Les Grands Ballets Canadiens. Retrieved December 13, 2022.
  5. ^ "About Us - Dancers". Les Grands Ballets Canadiens de Montréal. 2012–2013. Retrieved October 30, 2012.
  6. ^ "Raphaël Bouchard". Les Grands Ballets Canadiens de Montréal. 2022–2023. Retrieved December 12, 2022. In 2015 he returned to his native Quebec to join Les Grands Ballets Canadiens
  7. ^ "Rachele Buriassi". Les Grands Ballets Canadiens de Montréal. 2022–2023. Retrieved December 12, 2022. before joining, in 2019, Les Grands Ballets Canadiens de Montréal as Principal dancer
  8. ^ "Roddy Doble". Les Grands Ballets Canadiens de Montréal. 2022–2023. Retrieved December 12, 2022. 2019 Les Grands Ballets Canadiens (principal dancer)
  9. ^ "Vanesa Garcia-Ribala Montoya". Les Grands Ballets Canadiens de Montréal. 2022–2023. Retrieved December 12, 2022. 2006 joined GBCM (Corps de ballet), 2018 Promoted to Principal Dancer
  10. ^ "Maude Sabourin". Les Grands Ballets Canadiens de Montréal. 2022–2023. Retrieved December 12, 2022. In 2018, she came back to Quebec and joined Les Grands Ballets Canadiens. She was promoted Principal Dancer at the beginning of the 2022-2023 Season.
  11. ^ "Myriam Simon". Les Grands Ballets Canadiens de Montréal. 2022–2023. Retrieved October 30, 2012. 2017 Les Grands Ballets Canadiens (Principal Dancer)
  12. ^ "Yui Sugawara". Les Grands Ballets Canadiens de Montréal. 2022–2023. Retrieved December 12, 2022. 2017 Joined Les Grands Ballets Canadiens, corps de ballet; 2022 Promoted Principal Dancer
  13. ^ "Célestin Boutin". Les Grands Ballets Canadiens de Montréal. 2022–2023. Retrieved December 12, 2022. 2015: Les Grands Ballets Canadiens, corps de ballet; 2020: Promoted to First Soloist
  14. ^ "Emma Garau Cima". Les Grands Ballets Canadiens de Montréal. 2022–2023. Retrieved December 12, 2022. 2009 Les Grands Ballets Canadiens
  15. ^ "Anna Ishii". Les Grands Ballets Canadiens de Montréal. 2022–2023. Retrieved December 12, 2022. 2017 Joins Les Grands Ballets Canadiens as Demi-Soloist; 2022 Promoted to First Soloist
  16. ^ "Anya Nesvitaylo". Les Grands Ballets Canadiens de Montréal. 2022–2023. Retrieved December 12, 2022. 2015 Joined Les Grands Ballets Canadiens; 2022 Promoted to first soloist at Les Grands Ballets Canadiens
  17. ^ "Esnel Ramos". Les Grands Ballets Canadiens de Montréal. 2022–2023. Retrieved December 12, 2022.
  18. ^ "Mai Kono". Les Grands Ballets Canadiens de Montréal. 2022–2023. Retrieved December 12, 2022. 2017 Les Grands Ballets Canadiens (Soloist)
  19. ^ "Sahra Maira". Les Grands Ballets Canadiens de Montréal. 2022–2023. Retrieved December 12, 2022. 2010 Les Grands Ballets Canadiens de Montréal
  20. ^ "Stephen Satterfield". Les Grands Ballets Canadiens de Montréal. 2022–2023. Retrieved December 12, 2022. 2011 Les Grands Ballets Canadiens de Montréal
  21. ^ "Andre Santos". Les Grands Ballets Canadiens de Montréal. 2022–2023. Retrieved December 12, 2022. 2017 Joins Les Grands Ballets as Demi-Soloist; 2022 Promoted Soloist
  22. ^ "Kiara DeNae Felder". Les Grands Ballets Canadiens de Montréal. 2022–2023. Retrieved December 12, 2022. 2017 Les Grands Ballet Canadiens de Montréal, corps de ballet; 2022 Promoted to Demi-soloist
  23. ^ "Graeme Fuhrman". Les Grands Ballets Canadiens de Montréal. 2022–2023. Retrieved December 12, 2022. 2019 Joins Les Grands Ballets Canadiens; 2022 Promoted to Demi-Soloist
  24. ^ "Jose Carlos Losada Morales". Les Grands Ballets Canadiens de Montréal. 2022–2023. Retrieved December 12, 2022. 2021 – Joins Les Grands Ballets as a Demi-Soloist
  25. ^ "Hamilton Nieh". Les Grands Ballets Canadiens de Montréal. 2022–2023. Retrieved December 12, 2022. 2017 - Les Grands Ballets; 2022 - Promoted Semi-Soloist
  26. ^ "Éline Malègue". Les Grands Ballets Canadiens de Montréal. 2022–2023. Retrieved December 12, 2022. 2010 Les Grands Ballets Canadiens de Montréal
  27. ^ "Antoine Benjamin Bertran". Les Grands Ballets Canadiens de Montréal. 2022–2023. Retrieved December 12, 2022. 2021 Les Grands Ballets
  28. ^ "Bernardo Betancor". Les Grands Ballets Canadiens de Montréal. 2022–2023. Retrieved December 12, 2022. He joins Les Grands Ballets Canadiens for the 2022-2023 season
  29. ^ "Giuseppe Canale". Les Grands Ballets Canadiens de Montréal. 2022–2023. Retrieved December 12, 2022.
  30. ^ "Bernard Dubois II". Les Grands Ballets Canadiens de Montréal. 2022–2023. Retrieved December 12, 2022.
  31. ^ "Alexandra Eccles". Les Grands Ballets Canadiens de Montréal. 2022–2023. Retrieved December 12, 2022. 2022 Joins the corps de ballet at Les Grands Ballets
  32. ^ "Kiara Flavin". Les Grands Ballets Canadiens de Montréal. 2022–2023. Retrieved December 12, 2022. before joining Les Grands Ballets Canadiens in 2020
  33. ^ "Maude Fleury". Les Grands Ballets Canadiens de Montréal. 2022–2023. Retrieved December 12, 2022. she is invited to join Les Grands Ballets as an apprentice for the 2021-2022 season, then she joins the corps de ballet for the 2022-2023 season
  34. ^ "François Gagné". Les Grands Ballets Canadiens de Montréal. 2022–2023. Retrieved December 12, 2022. 2021 Joins les Grands Ballet as an apprentice; 2022 Joins the corps de ballet
  35. ^ "Étienne Gagnon-Delorme". Les Grands Ballets Canadiens de Montréal. 2022–2023. Retrieved December 12, 2022. In 2019 he joined Les Grands Ballets Canadiens as a member of the corps de ballet.
  36. ^ "Sofía González". Les Grands Ballets Canadiens de Montréal. 2022–2023. Retrieved December 12, 2022.
  37. ^ "Enno Kleinehanding". Les Grands Ballets Canadiens de Montréal. 2022–2023. Retrieved December 12, 2022. 2020 - Joins Les Grands Ballets in the corps de ballet
  38. ^ "Tatiana Lerebours". Les Grands Ballets Canadiens de Montréal. 2022–2023. Retrieved December 12, 2022. she joined Les Grands Ballets as an apprentice for 2019-2020.
  39. ^ "James Lyttle". Les Grands Ballets Canadiens de Montréal. 2022–2023. Retrieved December 12, 2022. Les Grands Ballets Canadiens (2017-present)
  40. ^ "Carrigan MacDonald". Les Grands Ballets Canadiens de Montréal. 2022–2023. Retrieved December 12, 2022.
  41. ^ "Tetyana Martyanova". Les Grands Ballets Canadiens de Montréal. 2022–2023. Retrieved December 12, 2022. 2017 Re-joined Les Grands Ballets Canadiens de Montreal under directorship of Ivan Cavallari
  42. ^ "Felixovich Morante". Les Grands Ballets Canadiens de Montréal. 2022–2023. Retrieved December 12, 2022.
  43. ^ "Stefano Russiello". Les Grands Ballets Canadiens de Montréal. 2022–2023. Retrieved December 12, 2022. 2019 Les Grands Ballets Canadiens, corps de ballet
  44. ^ "Théodore Poubeau". Les Grands Ballets Canadiens de Montréal. 2022–2023. Retrieved December 12, 2022. Les Grands Ballets Canadiens since 2020
  45. ^ "Catherine Toupin". Les Grands Ballets Canadiens de Montréal. 2022–2023. Retrieved December 12, 2022. she became a full-time member of Les Grands Ballets Canadiens for the 2019-2020 season
  46. ^ "Angel Vizcaíno". Les Grands Ballets Canadiens de Montréal. 2022–2023. Retrieved December 12, 2022.
  47. ^ "Oscar Lambert". Les Grands Ballets Canadiens de Montréal. 2022–2023. Retrieved December 12, 2022. He joins Les Grands Ballets as a apprentice for the 2022-2023 season
  48. ^ "Christian Scifo". Les Grands Ballets Canadiens de Montréal. 2022–2023. Retrieved December 12, 2022. before joining Les Grands Ballets Canadiens for the 2022-2023 season
  49. ^ "Calista Shepheard". Les Grands Ballets Canadiens de Montréal. 2022–2023. Retrieved December 12, 2022. She joins Les Grands Ballets Canadiens for the 2022-2023 season
  50. ^ "Rose Trahan". Les Grands Ballets Canadiens de Montréal. 2022–2023. Retrieved December 12, 2022. She joined Les Grands Ballets Canadiens as an apprentice for the 2021-2022 season
  51. ^ "Rachel Rufer". Les Grands Ballets Canadiens de Montréal. Retrieved February 5, 2012. 2000 joined GBCM, 2002 promoted to first soloist
  52. ^ "Geneviève Guérard". bibliodanse.ca (in French).
  53. ^ "Edi Blloshmi". Les Grands Ballets Canadiens de Montréal. 2012–2013. Retrieved October 30, 2012. 2005, joined Les Grands Ballets Canadiens de Montréal (corps de ballet; 2008 Promoted to Soloist
  54. ^ "Hervé Courtain". Les Grands Ballets Canadiens de Montréal. 2012–2013. Retrieved October 30, 2012. 2004 joined GBCM (soloist), 2005 promoted to First Soloist
  55. ^ "Émilie Durville". Les Grands Ballets Canadiens de Montréal. 2012–2013. Retrieved October 30, 2012. 2004 joined GBCM, 2008 promoted to soloist
  56. ^ "Lénaïg Guégan". Les Grands Ballets Canadiens de Montréal. Archived from the original on February 8, 2009. Retrieved February 5, 2012. 2007 joined GBCM (demi-soloist)
  57. ^ "Marcin Kaczorowski". Les Grands Ballets Canadiens de Montréal. 2012–2013. Retrieved October 30, 2012. 2002 joined GBCM
  58. ^ "Isabelle Paquette". Les Grands Ballets Canadiens de Montréal. Archived from the original on February 8, 2009. Retrieved February 5, 2012. 2001 joined GBCM (apprentice), 2002 promoted to corps de ballet, 2003 promoted to demi-soloist
  59. ^ "Guillaume Pruneau". Les Grands Ballets Canadiens de Montréal. Archived from the original on February 7, 2009. Retrieved February 5, 2012. 2002 joined GBCM (corps de ballet), 2005 promoted to demi-soloist
  60. ^ "Jeremy Raia". Les Grands Ballets Canadiens de Montréal. 2012–2013. Retrieved October 30, 2012. 1998 joined GBCM (corps de ballet), 2000 promoted to Demi-Soloist, 2001 promoted to Soloist, 2005 promoted to First Soloist
  61. ^ "André Silva". Les Grands Ballets Canadiens de Montréal. 2012–2013. Retrieved October 30, 2012. 2009 joined GBCM