Compagnie Catherine Gaudet (Montreal)

Catherine Gaudet

After completing a bachelor’s and a master’s degree in contemporary dance at UQAM, Catherine Gaudet established from the outset a reputation as a choreographer with a strong, distinctive style. Slipping under the mask of social conventions, she tracks down the convulsive movements of the subconscious in the body, the micro movements that reveal emotions and sensations we try to hide. Obsessed by the quest for existential truth and well-being, she plunges into the meanderings of the psyche, finding beauty in flaws in contradictions. Her state of dance emerges from opposing forces that constrain and control her tormented characters. Her raw yet precise physicality is complemented by a theatricality that subtly combines absurd dramatic tensions with black humour. In parallel to her creative activities, she was a founding member of the company Lorganisme from 2010 to 2019; co-director of the Centre de création O’ Vertigo; guest professor at the Département de danse de l’UQAM in 2018-2019 as well as a lecturer at the same institution, from 2019 to 2021. Catherine is currently the artistic and general director of the Compagnie Catherine Gaudet, a member of Circuit-Est center chorégraphique, associate creator at DLD – Daniel Léveillé Danse and associate artist at the Agora de la danse.

Dany Desjardins

Dany Desjardins began his artistic approach at a very young age through drawing and theater. After studying visual arts in Alma, he completed a dance program in Drummondville and continued his studies at LADMMI in Montreal. Since March 2007, Dany has collaborated with choreographers Catherine Gaudet, Fred Gravel, David Pressault, George Stamos and Kathy Ward. At Théâtre Lachapelle, he presented in February 2018 the piece Sang Bleu, a co-creation with contortionist artist Andréane Leclerc.

Dany Desjardins a commencé sa démarche artistique dès son plus jeune âge par le dessin et le théâtre. Après des études en arts visuels à Alma, il complète un programme de danse à Drummondville et poursuit ses études à LADMMI à Montréal. Depuis mars 2007, Dany collabore avec les chorégraphes Catherine Gaudet, Fred Gravel, David Pressault, George Stamos et Kathy Ward. Au Théâtre Lachapelle, il a présenté en février 2018 la pièce Sang Bleu, une cocréation avec l’artiste contorsionniste Andréane Leclerc.

Caroline Gravel

Performer, dance artist, workshops and choreographic projects leader, Caroline Gravel anchors her actions in the physical and digital space. Known for her original approach as a contemporary dance performer, she collaborates with Montreal choreographers and performs on local and international stages. Her body of work investigate the division between memories and experiences through the documentation of events and the question of their (re)presentation. She creates evocative atmospheres without narratives. The drama is somewhere else but the tension crystallizes to embody a constantly evolving event.

Interprète, artiste de la danse, animatrice d’ateliers et de projets chorégraphiques, Caroline Gravel ancre ses actions dans l’espace physique et numérique. Reconnue pour son approche originale en tant qu’interprète de danse contemporaine, elle collabore avec des chorégraphes montréalais et se produit sur des scènes locales et internationales. Son travail explore la division entre souvenirs et expériences à travers la documentation d’événements et la question de leur (re)présentation. Elle crée des atmosphères évocatrices sans narration. Le drame est ailleurs mais la tension se cristallise pour incarner un événement en constante évolution.

Scott McCabe

Originating from Toronto, Scott McCabe graduated from The Juilliard School in 2013.  They performed with Gallim Dance while finishing his studies. Scott was a member of Ate9 Dance Company from 2013-2015 before joining Compagnie Marie Chouinard from 2015-2020.  Scott is also an Ilan Lev practitioner.

Originaire de Toronto, Scott McCabe a obtenu son diplôme de la Juilliard School en 2013.  Il s’est produit avec Gallim Dance tout en terminant ses études. Scott a été membre de la Ate9 Dance Company de 2013 à 2015 avant de rejoindre la Compagnie Marie Chouinard de 2015 à 2020.  Scott est également un praticien d’Ilan Lev.

James Philipps

After graduating from the Royal Winnipeg Ballet School, James Phillips completed the professional program at the School of Contemporary Dancers in Winnipeg. From 2005 to 2009, he was a member of Le Groupe Lab de Danse in Ottawa, where he participated in over 25 creative processes with choreographers such as Tedd Robinson, Lionel Hoche and Louise Bédard. James Phillips also collaborated on Gaile Petursson’s Faeries (2006) and Brontë (2009). He joined O Vertigo in the fall of 2009 for Onde de choc.

Après avoir obtenu son diplôme de la Royal Winnipeg Ballet School, James Phillips a suivi le programme professionnel de School of Contemporary Dancers à Winnipeg. De 2005 à 2009, il a été membre du Groupe Lab de Danse à Ottawa, où il a participé à plus de 25 processus créatifs avec des chorégraphes tels que Tedd Robinson, Lionel Hoche et Louise Bédard. James Phillips a également collaboré aux pièces Faeries (2006) et Brontë (2009) de Gaile Petursson. Il a rejoint O Vertigo à l’automne 2009 pour Onde de choc.

Lauren Semeschuk

Originally from Saskatchewan, Lauren Semeschuk began her career in Ukrainian dance, touring internationally with Pavlychenko Folklorique Ensemble. After a detour into accounting, she returned to dance, graduating from Ryerson University in 2008. Her professional path has included projects with multiple choreographers, including compagnie Catherine Gaudet, José Navas/compagnie Flak, Louise Bédard Danse, compagnie Marie Chouinard, and Je suis Julio/Le Radeau. Since 2017, she is also a somatic practitioner of the Ilan Lev Method.

Originaire de la Saskatchewan, Lauren Semeschuk a commencé sa carrière dans la danse ukrainienne, effectuant des tournées internationales avec le Pavlychenko Folklorique Ensemble. Après un détour en comptabilité, elle est revenue à la danse et a obtenu son diplôme de l’Université Ryerson en 2008. Son parcours professionnel comprend des projets avec de multiples chorégraphes, dont la compagnie Catherine Gaudet, José Navas/compagnie Flak, Louise Bédard Danse, la compagnie Marie Chouinard, et Je suis Julio/Le Radeau. Depuis 2017, elle est également praticienne somatique de la méthode Ilan Lev.

Created by Catherine Gaudet 

Performers at creation 
Francis Ducharme, Caroline Gravel, Leila Mailly, Scott McCabe, James Phillips 

Music Antoine Berthiaume  

Assistant Dramaturge and Rehearsal Director Sophie Michaud

Lighting Design Hugo Dalphond 

Costume Design Marilène Bastien  

Production Compagnie Catherine Gaudet 

Co-Production 
Festival TransAmériques + Agora de la danse + Centre Chorégraphique National de Caen + Réseau CanDance (Toronto) + Centre national des Arts (Ottawa) + Harbourfront Center (Toronto) + DLD-Daniel Léveillé Danse 

Creative Residencies DLD-Daniel Léveillé Danse + Agora de la danse 

Development DLD-Daniel Léveillé Danse 

Catherine Gaudet is a member of Circuit-Est center de chorégraphie (Montreal)

Noam Gagnon

Noam Gagnon is an acclaimed choreographer and dance artist. Over the course of his career he has helped lead Canadian dance to the forefront of the international stage.

Co-artistic director and choreographer for The Holy Body Tattoo, Noam created work to worldwide critical and audience acclaim. our brief eternity toured internationally, including performances at the Sydney Opera House, the Barbican in London, winning the Dora Mavor Moore award for Best Ensemble Performance in dance. Circa, winner of the inaugural Alcan Performing Arts Award, was performed over one hundred times all around the world. monumental, the company’s largest and most ambitious piece, premiered in Ottawa in 2005, touring across Canada and the USA. In 2016 monumental was remounted with a score performed live by post-rock collective Godspeed You, Black Emperor!. Heralded as “an almighty revelation” by The Guardian UK and “surely one of the defining dance works of the 21st century” by the Adelaide Advertiser South Australia, the show toured to critical acclaim in Vancouver (PuSh Festival), Adelaide (Adelaide Festival), Montreal (Place Des Arts), Quebec City (Grand Theatre de Quebec), Toronto (Luminato Festival), Edinburgh (Edinburgh Festival), and New York (BAM).

Noam founded Vision Impure in 2006. As Vision Impure’s artistic director, he continues to reshape the dance landscape with his achingly intimate and powerful works. Noam has created, choreographed and performed full-length works for Vision Impure including The Vision Impure (winner of The Isadora Award for Excellence in Performance), Pathways, This Crazy Show and most recently being live stream performance with 4 cameras presented at VIDF. Noam is regularly commissioned by dance and theatre artists and companies. Noam is an Associate Dance Artist of Canada’s National Arts Centre.

Natalie Lefebvre Gnam

Natalie LeFebvre Gnam (she/elle) is a dance artist, producer, teacher, curator, performance maker and mother to two energetic boys, originally from Lheidli T’enneh (colonially known as Prince George), now gratefully living on unceded xʷməθkʷəy̓əm (Musqueam), Skwxwú7mesh (Squamish) and səlil̓ilw̓ətaʔɬ (Tsleil-Waututh) Territory (colonially, Vancouver). plasticorchidfactory.ca/