Compagnie de la Citadelle
Jean-Pierre Perreault
In the shadows
Created two years after his famous Joe, Nuit is one of Jean-Pierre Perreault’s landmark works. Admirably danced by an outstanding cast, this impetuous piece opens a window on the choreographer’s immense legacy.
The late choreographer Jean-Pierre Perreault (1947–2002) said, “Human beings are sensitive to two things: other people, and the space they occupy and that contains them.” The same impulse inspired Perreault to create the design, choreography, lighting and sound of all his works himself. His pictorial explorations led him to imagine large-scale “dance spaces”. In the half-light, nine “Perreauesque” figures pound the floor to the point of intoxication, to the point of exhaustion. Struggling with the vagaries of everyday life, they dance their loneliness, confrontation and fragility. Various tensions arise between materials, masses, volumes and configurations. Remounted in its original form on the initiative of Laurence Lemieux (who danced it in 2002) and her Compagnie de la Citadelle, Nuit conveys a vulnerability that is as disturbing as it is subterranean. A rare work of overwhelming beauty.
A Word from Danse Danse
Good evening everyone,
What a great joy it is to welcome you this week to witness a piece from Jean-Pierre Perreault’s repertoire come back to life on this stage.
I had the privilege of working alongside Jean-Pierre Perreault as Executive Director at a time when Joe and Nuit were actively touring. It is an immense honor to bring Nuit back to the Montreal audience, danced nearly 40 years later by the artists of La Compagnie de la Citadelle.
It is thanks to the initiative of Laurence Lemieux —who danced under Jean-Pierre Perreault’s direction herself— that we have the opportunity to rediscover this work today. Her dedication to keeping the choreographer’s legacy alive is matched by the outstanding work of Ginelle Chagnon, who ensures its meticulous transmission as rehearsal director.
For me, seeing a work by Jean-Pierre Perreault on stage will always be a powerful moment. Nuit is a stunning example: an experience where dance and sound become one, a performance in which the dancers themselves sculpt the soundscape. Perreault's finest!
Enjoy the show!
Pierre Des Marais — Artistic and Executive Director, Danse Danse.
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Territorial Acknowledgement
Danse Danse acknowledges that we are gathered on the traditional and unceded territory of the Kanien’keha:ka Nation. We honour the continued presence of Indigenous peoples on the Tiohtiá:ke (Montreal) territory, which has long served as a meeting place for exchanges between nations. With respect for the links to the past, present and future, we thank the Indigenous peoples for reminding us of the importance of living in harmony with ourselves, with each other and with nature, and we are grateful for the opportunity to present works of living art at Tiohtiá:ke.
A word from the Artistic Director
The years in which I danced for Jean-Pierre Perreault had a profound influence on my choreographic inspirations and later my artistic direction. Since returning to Toronto in 2007 it has been my long-held desire to bring Perreault’s work to audiences across Canada.
Perreault’s 80 min. masterwork Nuit, has touched many lives, resonating deeply with audiences, artists and presenters alike. A work that among many things explores the individual among the collective, Nuit is a piece that can sustain the passing of time. In its remount it offers a new generation of artists the opportunity to bring their experiences, stories and artistry to the embodiment of the material and allows audiences to feel its impact in a new context and time.
I would like to pay tribute to the dancers who participated to the creation of Nuit in 1986: Louise Bédard, Hélène Blackburn, Pierre-André Côté, Annie Dréau, Claude Godbout, Pierre-Paul Savoie, Daniel Soulières and Tassy Teekman.
Laurence Lemieux – Artistic Director, Compagnie de la Citadelle.
Artists
It was his encounter during the late 1960s with Jeanne Renaud, just as she was about to establish Le Groupe de la Place Royale, that led Jean-Pierre Perreault to dance. From there, things moved quickly as he acquired basic technical training at the school of Le Groupe de la Place Royale, joining the company in 1967 at the age of twenty. In 1971, he became co-artistic director of the company with Peter Boneham, and began what would prove to be a prolific career as a choreographer.
Company
Credits
NUIT
Choreography Jean-Pierre Perreault.
Dancers Morgyn Aronyk-Schell, Valerie Calam, Tyler Gledhill, Sully Malaeb Proulx, Connor Mitton, Natasha Poon Woo, Heidi Strauss, Brodie Stevenson, Jarrett Siddall.
Set Design, Costumes and Music Jean-Pierre Perreault.
Original Lighting Design Jean Gervais.
Lighting and Set Design Adaptation Simon Rossiter
Sound Engineer John Gzowski.
Artistic Director of the project and rehearsals Ginelle Chagnon, with the permission of Espace Perreault Transmissions chorégraphiques.
Rehearsal Assistant Johanna Bergfelt.
Costume Coordination Valerie Calam and Marianna Rosato
Stage Manager Marianna Rosato.
Technical Director and Production manager Simon Rossiter.
Understudy Steph Harkness.
Technicians Eliajah Stefura, Hervé Holdrinet.
Head Carpenter Sandy Middleton, The National Ballet of Canada.
Assistant Head Carpenter James Fulton, The National Ballet of Canada.
Second Assistant Carpenter Chuck Thiel, The National Ballet of Canada.
Head Scenic Kelly Palmer, The National Ballet of Canada.
Assistant Scenic Will Leskevich, The National Ballet of Canada.
Scenery constructed at The Gretchen Ross Production Centre, The National Ballet of Canada by members of I.A.T.S.E Local 822, 828 and 58.
Performers
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