Festival Quartiers Danses celebrates its 20th anniversary from September 7th to 18th, 2022

Over the past 20 years, the Festival Quartiers Danses (FQD) has been offering indoor and outdoor performances, screening movies and short films, and organizing round tables on current dance-related issues, and cultural mediation workshops.

During this time, they have strived to fulfill their mission of democratizing all aspects of contemporary creative dance by making it more accessible and showcasing it in both traditional and unusual venues. This year’s Festival will be held from September 7th to September 18th, 2022. As it’s been the case for the past 4 editions, the Festival will bring women artists to center stage, as they represent 30 of the 47 attending national and international guest choreographers.

The Festival will feature 1,781 artists, 438 choreographic pieces, 135 movies and short films, 26 visual arts and dance photography exhibits, as well as 70 public conferences and meetings. In addition, FQD remains active throughout the year, offering well over a thousand cultural mediation workshops.

“I remain convinced that dance is a universal language everyone can understand. As such, FQD’s goal is to be inclusive of all artists, whether they are emerging or renowned, and regardless of their generation, style, or background. Just like the City of Montreal is a welcoming haven and a true breeding ground for creativity, FQD is cosmopolitan in nature and embraces all cultures. Discovering dance artists and supporting their professional development has been part of our DNA for now 19 years ,” says Rafik Hubert Sabbagh, Festival Quartiers Danses’ General and Artistic Director.

Two international shows premiering at the Bourgie Hall

Two Premiere shows are already on pre-sale at the Bourgie Hall of the Montreal Museum of Fine Arts :

Gorputzu – Eva Guerrero / Bilbao (North American Premiere)

Coming from the Spanish Basque Region, Gorpuztu alludes to the pursuit of balance, peace, and weightlessness through the interactions of four female musicians and a soloist female dancer. The feminist piece was inspired by gestures from various religious rituals. To create Gorpuztu, the body was divided into various parts, and the movements of prayers were studied to explore concepts that are common to many religions, including guilt, penance, transcendence, love, and submission. The piece’s poetry, powerful aesthetic and Japanese inspiration has touched hundreds of people.

Tickets: Eva Guerrero (Bilbao) Gorpuztu (mbam.qc.ca)

Focus danse Bach – Alex Neoral / Rio de Janeiro (World Premiere)

The renowned Focus Cia de Dança Company comes to Montreal for the third time from Rio de Janeiro. During the Festival, they will present the World Premiere of IN-FINITO, a piece specifically designed for the Bourgie Hall where seven Brazilian dancers will be performing on stage next to three female musicians from Quebec (harp, harpsichord and cello) playing Jean-Sebastien Bach’s music.

Tickets : Alex Neoral (Rio de Janeiro) – Focus danse Bach (mbam.qc.ca)

Featuring the Basque Country

For its 20th Edition, FQD is pleased to prominently feature the Basque Country, thanks to a partnership between Quebec’s Ministry of Culture and Communications (MCC), Conseil des arts et des lettres du Québec (CALQ) and Etxepare Basque Institute. 5 Basque dance companies will participate in the 20th edition of FQD from September 7th to September 18th, 2022. Lasala, Osa + Mujika, Proyecto Larrua and Eva Guerrero will put on 11 outdoor contemporary dance shows, while Eva Guerrero and the French-Basque company Ballet Biarritz of the renowned choreographer Thierry Malandain will perform 4 indoors shows. Eva Guerrero will present one show at the Bourgie Hall of the Montreal Museum of Fine Arts, and Ballet Biarritz will present 3 shows, one at the Théâtre Maisonneuve of La Place des Arts, and 2 at the Grands Ballets Canadiens’s Studio-Theâtre/ Wilder Building.

Public rehearsals returning as of June 13th

Through close collaboration with the South-West Borough Culture team and MATv, FQD officially kicks off their public dance rehearsals project, following a successful pilot project in 2021. From June 13th to September 2nd, 2022, the public will have the opportunity to observe 17 dance companies and collectives, as they practice their art outside at Gédéon-De Catalogne Park, in the South-West Borough, ahead of the FQD’s 20th edition. Moreover, youths participating in Saint-Henri day camps will be invited to cultural mediation workshops hosted by residing FQD choreographers. Such outdoor cultural mediation activities will be an excellent opportunity for young people to become familiar with contemporary dance and thus, develop new audiences.

Charles Brecard and Odile Amélie-Peters © Florent Demortière

Free outdoor performances for everyone

In addition to the 17 Premieres held at the Théâtre Maisonneuve of La Place des Arts, the Grands Ballets Canadiens’s Studio-Theâtre/ Wilder Building, and the Bourgie Hall of the Montreal Museum of Fine Arts, FQD will follow tradition by offering multiple free outdoor performances. 27 local, Quebec and international dance companies will perform in various cultural boroughs in Montreal, including Jardins Gamelin, Place des Festivals, Bassin-à-Gravier Park in Griffintown, Montreal Museum of Fine Arts Avenue, Place Ville Marie Esplanade in collaboration with Musée d’art contemporain de Montréal, Bernard Avenue in Outremont and McCord Museum’s Urban Forest.

And so much more

A retrospective photographic exhibit retracing FQD’s journey since 2012 will soon be made available for free to the public online. A round table discussing challenges women face in dance and contemporary creations will be held in the Grands Ballets Canadiens’s Studio-Theâtre/ Wilder Building, and 5 national and international short films on dance will be presented in various cinemas, including Cinéma du Musée, Cinéma Beaubien and Cinéma du Parc. During the summer, a taste of the FQD will be offered on Avenue du Musée at the Montreal Museum of Fine Arts on August 3rd, from 5 p.m. to 8 p.m., and at Coubertin Park, in St Léonard, on August 20th in the afternoon.

FQD’s indoor programming will be released in June , while its outdoor programming will be unveiled in August.

Festival Quartiers Danses

The Festival Quartiers Danses (FQD) has made it its mission to democratize contemporary dance and bring it where it is not: in the streets, parks, public markets, museums, daycare centers and community organizations. It is the annual meeting of contemporary dance in Montreal, both on stage and in an urban context.

For eleven days, the FQD offers shows at Place des Arts, outdoor performances in several neighborhoods of Montreal and screenings of short films on dance at the Cinéma du Musée at the Montreal Museum of Fine Arts. To dance in the company of the artists of the festival, workshops are offered free of charge outside and in the studio, open to all!

Sep. 5, 2024 15, 2024

Place des Arts
175, rue Sainte-Catherine, Montréal