In 1990, the soloist and choreographer Marie Chouinard founded her own company, Compagnie Marie Chouinard. Ever since then, it has benefited from an international reputation, performing all over the world and co-producing its creations with renowned partners such as the Venice Biennale, the ImPulsTanz International Dance Festival (Vienna), the Théâtre de la Ville (Paris), the Fondazione Musica Per Roma (Rome), Place des Arts (Montreal), Festival TransAmériques (Montreal) and the National Arts Centre (Ottawa).
For Marie Chouinard, each creation is an odyssey through the history of humanity that evades the linearity of a narrative. The intimate intelligence of the body, the inexhaustible complexity of its articulations and mutations command constructions that are achieved through form. Hailed for their technique, versatility, and performance skills, the ten permanent dancers of the company, trained in different somatic approaches, bring Marie Chouinard’s iconic works to the stage.
The company has a vast repertoire of works, most still performed internationally: The Rite of Spring, Prelude to the Afternoon of a Faun, 24 Preludes by Chopin, Le Cri du monde, Étude no 1, bODY_rEMIX/les_vARIATIONS_gOLDBERG, HENRI MICHAUX : MOUVEMENTS, Soft virtuosity, still humid, on the edge and HIERONYMUS BOSCH: THE GARDEN OF EARTHLY DELIGHTS.
A true cultural ambassador for Quebec, Marie Chouinard has received several awards and distinctions in recognition of her contribution to the arts, including the Bessie Award (New York, 2000), the Grand Prix du Conseil des arts de Montréal (2006), the title of Officer of the Order of Canada (2007), the title of Chevalier of the Ordre des Arts et des Lettres (France, 2009), the Denise Pelletier Award (Quebec, 2010), the Conseil des arts et des lettres du Québec Award (2012), the Samuel de Champlain Award (France, 2014), the title of Companion of the Ordre national des arts et des lettres du Québec (2015), the title of Chevalier of the Ordre national du Québec (2015), and the Governor General’s Performing Arts Award for Lifetime Artistic Achievement (Canada, 2016), among others.