La Fondation Jean-Pierre Perreault (Montreal)

It was in creating pieces for groups of students (Refrain: An Opera, Simon Fraser University, Vancouver, 1981, and Official Version Red, Laban Center for Movement and Dance, London, 1982), that Perreault discovered the formal and expressive possibilities of group choreography. In 1983, he wrote Joe for students in the dance department at Université du Québec à Montréal. It was performed by 24 non-professional dancers wearing black boots, dark raincoats and felt hats. Starting in 1984, professional productions with as many as 32 dancers revived the piece and toured the world. The last performance was in 2005.

In 1984, Perreault worked with lighting designer Jean Gervais for the second time in order to cast a distinctive light on the stage for Joe. Their collaboration continued for a number of years. Other projects on which Gervais worked included Nuit, Stella and Adieux.

Perreault was responsible for almost all aspects of Joe: choreography, set design, costumes and the percussive music produced by the dancers’ steps on a stage wired for sound. With this work, he realized not only the evocative power of the group but also the dramatic impact of music. “It was starting with Joe that I really started working out a musical score in conjunction with the choreographic steps and began amplifying the sound made by the movements,” Perreault later recalled. “So it is the choreography, the motions themselves, that produce some of the music.”

In Joe, Perreault also continues exploring an expressive dimension that is a recurring theme in his work: the body’s gravity as an emblem of the human condition. This masterfully structured piece speaks to our individual condition within the mass. However, the anonymity which is an overarching motif in Joe does not arise from the dancer’s self-abnegation but rather from the synchronization of a collective quest.

Joe Credits:

A choreography by Jean-Pierre Perreault.

Produced by La Fondation Jean-Pierre Perreault.

Choreography, set design, costumes Jean-Pierre Perreault.

Dancers Michel Boisclair, Christine Charles, Carmen Chevalier, Michael English, Claude Godbout, Brigitte Gonthier, Marie-Andrée Gougeon, Sylviane Martineau, Jean-Pierre Mondor, Maya Ostrofofsky, Luc Ouellette, David Rose, Mark Shaub, Daniel Soulières, Yves St-Pierre, Suzanne Trépanier, Gaétan Verret.

With the participation of the Winnipeg Contemporary Dancers Tom Casey, Christopher Gower, Bonnie Kim, Carol Prieur, Alana Shewchuk, Tom Stroud, Olivia Thorvaldson, Dans Wild; and the dancers from Dancemakers Julia Aplin, Marie-Josée Chartier, Ken Cunningham, Julia Sasso, Gary Tai, Gerry Trentham, Carolyn Woods.

Rehearsals Ginelle Chagnon.

Fondation Jean-Pierre Perreault Production Director Richard Mayrand.

Film directed by Bernard Picard.

Production Société Radio-Canada © 1995.

“As human beings, we are sensitive to two things: to one another, as well as to the spaces we inhabit and that surround us,” states Jean-Pierre Perreault, choreographer and scenographer. [translation from original in French]

Jean-Pierre Perreault (1947-2002), one of the most important Canadian choreographers and winner of several prestigious national awards, is recognized for his global conception of his works. Perreault is known for works such as Rodolphe (1983), Joe (1984), Stella (1985), Nuit (1986), Flykt (1991), created for the Ballet Cullberg, Adieux (1993), La vita (1993), Les années de pèlerinage (1995), Eironos (1996), L’exil, l’oubli (1999), and a series of choreographic installations (1994, 1997 and 2000). A thoroughly committed artist, Perreault was responsible for the stage design, choreography, lighting and sound design of all his work. He placed fragile beings – intense, authentic and “Perreault-esque” – in a world of vast architectural spaces. Racing, jumping, ruptures, sounds and rhythms are the features of Perreault’s style, a dance with deep roots in space and place and which, in part, creates its own music. Jean-Pierre Perreault’s work constantly brings us face to face with human nature.

Photo: Jean-Pierre Perreault © Michael Slobodian.

“Joe is Perreault’s masterpiece and a prime example of the dimension of this talent choreographer-cumsculptor/designer/acoustics expert.” – The Gazette, Montreal

“A work that has become a hallmark of contemporary Canadian dance and a masterpiece for all time.” – Pittsburgh Tribune-Review, 1996

“Joe has all the elements of a cult piece, if such a thing can exist in contemporary dance. It can be compared to a film by Jarmush or Wenders, a Beatles album, a book by Kundera, or an Andy Warhol print. “– Aline Gélinas, Voir, Montréal, 23-29 mars 1989

Dance Collection Danse (DCD) champions the preservation and celebration of Canada’s dance history. The richness of DCD’s collection is extraordinary with documentation, artifacts and imagery ranging from the personal collections of renowned Canadians, to the memory and celebration of a range of dance genres, performers and teachers that reflect the diverse nature of our country. DCD houses various archival collections, including materials from Jean-Pierre Perreault’s Joe.

DCD’s public programming includes a rich and dynamic combination of:

• film screenings
• panel discussions
• lectures
• exhibitions
• publications dcd.ca/shop
• travelling education program for grades 1-12
• Grassroots Archiving Workshops for artists
• outreach programs
• Dance Collection Danse Hall of Fame
• DCD Discover digital collections project

Co-founded by Lawrence and Miriam Adams in 1986, DCD is an integral member of Canada’s dance community and one of the country’s most respected dance voices. Their main aims are: to gather stories, safely house artifacts and cultural objects, and share these treasures with those who love dance.

www.dcd.ca