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Browsing: Dance

Youth 2025-2026: A Season of Programs for the Younger Set

By Heather Weinreb on 4 September 2025 Dance, Montreal, Musical Theatre, Orchestral, Ottawa, Quebec City, Theatre, Toronto, Vocal

Montreal Jeunesses Musicales Jeunesses Musicales’ 2025-26 season is full of original children’s programming. Opéra Bon-Bon, an operatic retelling of the story of Hansel and Gretel, will be performed on Oct. 26. On Nov. 16, Rythmo-Rigolo, an interactive percussion concert, will get children drumming in a variety of ways. Penguin musicians set the stage for this year’s Christmas concert, Le grand bal de Noël, on Dec. 7. On Feb. 8, La forêt des mélomanes takes children on a musical walk through an enchanted forest. On March 22, three musicians and their puppets help children navigate the complex world of friendships—and the…

Dance: A Fall Season Preview

By Nathalie de Han on 3 September 2025 Dance, Montreal, Ottawa, Toronto

Montreal Playing with male stereotypes, Frédérick Gravel revives the striking and very rock-inspired Tout se pète la gueule, chérie. Music by Stéfan Boucher. 4’Sous, Sept. 10-13 www.quatsous.com Combining rhythm and motion, with four performers and three percussionists, Sasha Kleinplatz presents Making Time, in which the body becomes a sounding board. La Chapelle, Sept. 10-13 www.lachapelle.org Between a sacrificial rite and a pop-rock show, Catherine Gaudet presents Ode. This must-see show for 11 performers is inspired by heathen processions. Wilder Building, Sept. 24-26 www.agoradanse.com Find yourself among dancers, on a stage. Experience virtual reality with the works of Margie Gillis, Hélène…

Wisdom Meets Curiosity: Arts Learning Opportunities for Older Adults

By Kaitlyn Chan on 3 September 2025 Classical Music, Dance, Education, Interviews, Literature, Montreal, Theatre, Toronto

After young adulthood, structured forms of education might no longer be a regular part of your routine. But there are many benefits to lifelong learning, including improved cognitive health, increased personal fulfillment, and a sense of community and connection with others. For those seeking learning opportunities in music and the arts as older adults, here are some options to consider. University Courses If you have an interest in academic study, many Canadian universities offer courses for those continuing their education. Often, these programs will have smaller class sizes, which allow students to form deeper connections with their peers and professors…

Rachel Fenlon and Will Jessup in the first Pierrot workshop. Photo: Marc Lebel

Preview | An Underground Berlin-infused Schoenberg Premiere at Festival d’opéra de Québec

By Gianmarco Segato on 25 July 2025 Contemporary, Dance, Opera, Quebec City, Vocal

Berlin-based Canadian artists, soprano/composer Rachel Fenlon and mezzo-soprano Mireille Lebel have created a unique take on Arnold Schoenberg seen through the filter of Berlin’s electrifying underground. Pierrot entre 3 lunes is their bold new production of Schoenberg’s Pierrot Lunaire, incorporating original electro-pop compositions, and contemporary dance. It premieres at Festival d’Opéra de Québec for two performances on July 31 and August 2. Under their joint artistic collective Crown The Muse, Fenlon and Lebel began work in 2022 to create and produce a bold, genre-defying 60-minute opera/dance production built around Schoenberg’s iconic Pierrot Lunaire. Their all-new creation presents the original work…

Discover the latest Canada Council prize winners

By Newswire on 9 July 2025 Arts Industry, Dance, Literature, Newswire, Opera, Strings, Visual Arts, Vocal

The Canada Council for the Arts has the immense pleasure of recognizing the following prize winners for their contributions to photography, dance, visual arts, literature and music. Bernard Diamant Prize Emma Pennell is recognized for their powerful operatic voice and unwavering advocacy for Indigenous representation in classical music. Emma will receive a $5,000 prize. Read More Canada Council for the Arts Photography Prize Sandra Brewster is recognized for her compelling explorations of identity, memory, and place through photo-based and multimedia art. Sandra will receive a $8,000 prize. Read More Jacqueline Lemieux Prize Cai Glover is recognized for his innovative choreography that fuses movement…

Claudine Schoch and Marcos Menha; Hyo‑jung Kang and Marcos Menha. Photos: Ashley Taylor

Review | As he exits, Martin Schläpfer puts a modern stamp on Vienna State Ballet

By Ossama el Naggar on 7 July 2025 Concert Reviews, Dance, Scena Arts

A revolution has erupted: the Swiss dancer and choreographer Martin Schläpfer, formerly director of Düsseldorf’s Ballet am Rhein (known for its innovative choreography), became director and chief choreographer of the venerable Wiener Staatsballett in the 2020/21 season. The Covid pandemic happened during his first year in that new position and hampered his creative projects. His first choreography, 4, was premiered during the pandemic to an almost empty theatre. Seen on June 22, 4, is set to the Fourth Symphony by Gustav Mahler, whose music is not the first thing that comes to mind when one thinks of ballet. Like his…

SekouMcMiller and Friends, Marielys Molina. Photo: Elyse Mertz

Fall for Dance North Announces 11th Annual Festival Lineup

By Newswire on 23 June 2025 Dance, Newswire, Scena Arts, Toronto

TORONTO, ON – Fall for Dance North (FFDN) unveils its 11th annual lineup, featuring a vibrant mix of more than 30 Canadian and international artists across eight distinct mixed programs, from October 15-26, 2025. Under the festival’s new leadership of Co-CEO’s, Festival Director Lily Sutherland and Artistic Director Robert Binet, and co-curated with FFDN 2025 Artist-in-Residence Esie Mensah and renowned Toronto Kathak dancer Tanveer Alam, FFDN’s 2025 season builds on its roots with an exciting new vision. Grounded by three dynamic signature mixed programs and supported by a series of intimate performance offerings, this year’s festival increases accessibility for the…

Juan Duarte and Kyra Soo in Endless Summer. Photo: Jack Tupper

Review | MOVETHECOMPANY’s Gala is All About the Dancers

By Kaija Pepper on 2 June 2025 Concert Reviews, Contemporary, Dance, Scena Arts, Vancouver, West

It was great to see a well-filled Vancouver Playhouse on the May 29th opening night of MOVETHECOMPANY’s 20th Anniversary Gala, with another crowd booked in for the second, closing show. Artistic director Joshua Beamish brought in a few leading dancers from major international ballet companies to up the glamour and give Vancouverites a welcome dose of pointe shoes and elegance—ballet is a hard sell in this city, and companies have stopped touring here, leaving many bereft. The earthiness and quirks of contemporary dance were also much in evidence—all five pieces were choreographed by Beamish, who straddles both worlds. The highlight…

The 34th Festival des Arts de Saint-Sauveur program unveiled

By Newswire on 6 May 2025 Dance, Film, Multimedia, Newswire

Saint-Sauveur, May 6th, 2025. For its 34th season, from July 23rd to August 3rd, FASS, now the largest regional dance presenter in the country, unveils its international-calibre program in terms of the number of large-scale shows it offers and its record attendance. Performances under the big top kick off this year on Wednesday, July 23rd at 8 p.m. with a triple bill from BalletX featuring Loughlan Prior’s Macaroni, Takehiro Ueyama’s Heroes and Justin Peck’s Becomes a Mountain. This vibrant contemporary ballet company from Philadelphia, hailed as “one of America’s best” (The New York Times), will kick off the 2025 Festival with flair. Regularly gracing major theatres and festivals, BalletX boldly ventures beyond…

Hubert Hazebroucq and Ensemble Doulce Mémoire

Review | Hubert Hazebroucq Leads Choreographed Splendor with EMV and Ensemble Doulce Mémoire

By Madeline Boldt on 17 April 2025 Baroque and Early, Concert Reviews, Dance, Vancouver, West

Doulce Mémoire is an old French phrase that can be translated as “sweet memory,” a poetic connection to the past. This is what Ensemble Doulce Mémoire and Renaissance and baroque dance specialist Hubert Hazebroucq brought to the Vancouver Playhouse for Early Music Vancouver’s presentation of Now Let Us Dance on April 12th. A tribute to song and dance of the 15th and 16th centuries, the performance was unlike anything I had ever seen or heard before. The narrative aspect of the show kept the audience holding onto every detail with the show divided into four separate story segments. The first was…