By Victor Swoboda Masks. Hand cleanser. Early curtain. Ushered entry and exit. Limited audiences. Such was the scene when live-dance performances cautiously returned to Montreal theatres in late March, 2021, after a 12-month absence because of the COVID-19 lockdown. During the lockdown, Montreal’s dancemakers toiled on virtual platforms. The oldest, largest companies, Les Grands Ballets
By Victor Swoboda Opportunity in the arts sometimes knocks at unexpected doors. Montreal choreographer Helen Simard heard the knocking last March when the COVID-19 pandemic abruptly closed all theatres as well as the rehearsals of her new trio, Papillon, for the company she co-founded and co-directs with musician Roger White, We All Fall Down. Simard
By Victor Swoboda A few months after his 70th birthday in February 2020, Daniel Soulières stepped down from Danse-Cité, the Montreal contemporary-dance production house that he founded in 1982. Some 400 people sent congratulatory messages reflecting admiration for Soulières as a driving force in staging contemporary dance, as a dancer and as a teacher. Undoubtedly