By Victor Swoboda In March, midway through Broadway Across Canada’s run of the musical Cats at Place des Arts, Montreal theatres dropped COVID passport requirements. Cats was Montreal’s first Broadway musical in over two years, and the public filled the city’s biggest hall to the uppermost tiers. Andy Blankenbuehler’s adaptation of Gillian Lynne’s original choreography
by Victor Swoboda Balloons. Hugs. Heartfelt speeches. At Théâtre Maisonneuve on May 25, Les Grands Ballets Canadiens de Montréal paid homage to 79-year-old Gradimir Pankov following a performance of his last program as artistic director. It marked the end of an 18-year era at Quebec’s largest dance company. The triple bill was characteristically Pankov. Two works by old friend Jirí Kylián were local premieres. First, the sweet folksy Evening Songs (1987) set