 The name says
it all – or at least, most of it. Les Ballets jazz de Montréal,
which makes its Joyce Theater debut, December 2–7, is known
for its energetic combination of ballet, jazz and modern dance,
not to mention its indefatigable dancing. For its Joyce season,
the Canadian troupe of 11 powerhouse performers will present the
New York premiere of “Circle Songs” and five of its
established hits. Louis Robitaille is the artistic director of the
30-year-old company.
Among the highlights of the season is “Short Works: 24,”
created in 2001 by the company’s resident choreographer, former
Ballett Frankfurt principal Crystal Pite. Danced to an original
score by Owen Belton, “Short Works” is comprised of
24, one minute-long dances interspersed with darkness. The imagery,
rapidly changing from intimate to playful to ephemeral, creates
two dozen separate and surprising worlds. Another work, “clin
d’oeil,” which translates to “blink of an eye,”
does just that. It’s a 50-second piece that showcases a swatch
of break-dancing. The choreographer is Jason Shipley-Holmes.
Patrick Delcroix’s “Sous le rythme, je…,”
initially segregates the dancers by sex, with the women situated
on a platform above the stage, and the men, below. While the work
begins with the women playing a series of percussion instruments
to which the men respond with dance, the men’s subsequent
clapping inspires the women to join them in movement until the stage
vibrates with dancing.
Mia Michaels’s “No Strings Attached” is filled
to the brim with hip swiveling and bumps and grinds joyously performed.
The music for the seven-dancer work is a jazz-combo score by Albert
Sterling Menendez. Jubilant in a different way is Shawn Hounsell’s
“Circle Songs,” choreographed to a percussive score
by Bobby McFerrin. The spirit is tribal and the atmosphere totemic
as the dancers spin on their knees and gyrate as they encircle a
central figure.
Les Ballets jazz de Montréal was conceived in 1972 when dancer
and choreographer Geneviève Salbaing opened a dance school
with Eva Von Gencsy and Eddy Toussaint in Montreal, combining jazz
music and dance. It soon drew 1,000 students. The success of the
school’s first full-scale production led to the formation
of Les Ballets jazz de Montréal.
Louis Robitaille, the company’s artistic director since 1998,
was an alum of Les Ballets jazz de Montréal, where he began
his dance career in 1973. His work outside the company includes
dancing in les Grands Ballets Canadiens, directing Le Jeune Ballet
du Québec and in 1996, founding Danse-Théâtre
de Montréal.
Briefly about the choreographers: Crystal Pite, who has been the
company’s resident choreographer since 2000, has created pieces
for William Forsythe’s Ballett Frankfurt, as well as for the
Alberta Ballet and Ballet British Columbia. Choreographer Patrick
Delcroix has danced and created choreography for the Netherlands
Dance Theater, as well as for Djazzex and Ballet Prague. The 1997
recipient of the Clifford E. Lee prize for choreography, Shawn Hounsell
danced with the Royal Winnipeg Ballet, as well as with les Grands
Ballets Canadiens, and created works for both companies. Another
former member of les Grands Ballets Canadiens, Jason Shipley-Holmes
has been dancing with La La La Human Steps since 1997. Since forming
her first company, The Miami Movement Dance Company, in 1989, Mia
Michaels has choreographed for Ballet Hispanico, Miami Ballet, Joffrey
II and Jazz Theater of Amsterdam.
Following its Joyce season, Les Ballets jazz will travel to Europe
for appearances in Chateauroux (January 29); Valencienne (February
2–3); Martigues (February 6–7); and Draguignan (February
9–10), France, as well as in Vicenza, Italy (February 21).
Returning to North America, Les Ballets jazz de Montréal
next perform in the United States in Denver, CO (February 28); Scottsdale,
AR (March 6–8); San Luis Obispo, CA (March 18–19); and
Philadelphia, PA (March 25–27).
At The Joyce Theater, the evening curtain for Les Ballets jazz de
Montréal will be at 8pm, Tuesday through Saturday, and at
7:30pm on Sunday. There will also be 2pm matinees on Saturday and
Sunday. Tickets are $38, and are available at The Joyce Theater
box office, by calling JoyceCharge at 212-242-0800 or online at
www.joyce.org. The Joyce Theater is located at 175 Eighth Avenue
at 19th Street.
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Leadership support for The Joyce Theater’s 2003–2004
season has been received from the LuEsther T. Mertz Charitable Trust.
This Joyce presentation is made possible, in part, with public funds
from the National Endowment for the Arts and the New York State
Council on the Arts, a state agency, and with private funds from
the Lila Wallace-Reader’s Digest Endowment Fund to encourage
the performances of out-of-town companies at The Joyce Theater.
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