Gauthier Dance

Good evening, everyone,

We’re delighted to welcome Gauthier Dance // Dance Company Theaterhaus Stuttgart back to Montréal. Direct from Germany, this company is as dynamic and captivating as its artistic director, Éric Gauthier, a Montréal native who shares his deep love of Quebec with us each time he visits. An outstanding ambassador for dance, he is a wonderful communicator of his passion for movement, both through his words and through the powerful works he presents.

Tonight’s triple bill celebrates three creators at the peak of their art, three choreographers who are in demand around the world for their unique and exhilarating vision of dance. They are Marie Chouinard and Hofesh Shechter, two artists with long-standing relationships with Danse Danse; and Ohad Naharin, who completes the triptych with his acclaimed Minus 16, a classic that transports us to a festive universe and invites the audience to join in the dance.

What a wonderful way to close our 2023/2024 season, together with you and the generous team and artists of Gauthier Dance! We hope you enjoy this evening to the full, in a spirit of joy and excitement. Because dance is first and foremost a precious opportunity to savor the present moment, a bubble of lightness, sharing and happiness in the midst of the agitation and challenges of our times.

Enjoy the show. We look forward to seeing you again in the fall when we open our next season!

Pierre Des Marais — Artistic and Executive Director. 

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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.

Especially for our Canadian tour, I’ve come up with a new combination of pieces, which is also a premiere in another respect: believe it or not, it’s our first programme featuring three works! Together, they form an evening of powerful dancing, choreographed by three world-class creators. We can’t wait to share it with Canadian audiences – especially as the first part of the evening is a homecoming of sorts for a true Canadian artist: Marie Chouinard’s LE CHANT DU CYGNE: LE LAC. It’s a spectacular piece for the company’s eight women dancers, who turn from oppressed swans into vocal rebels.

Hofesh Shechter has been our artist in residence for three years now. SWAN CAKE was his first world premiere created especially for Gauthier Dance. A laid-back, tongue-in-cheek group piece, set to an immersive score of his own making.

After the interval, the second part of the evening belongs to a masterwork by Ohad Naharin. All 16 company members unite for his iconic Minus 16. With its eclectic, rapidly changing episodes and moods, it gives the dancers every opportunity to shine, culminating in a celebration of togetherness and good spirits.

Éric Gauthier — Artistic Director of Gauthier Dance.

Anyone can dance – and dancing simply makes you happy!

Get moving with Éric Gauthier, artistic director of one of Germany's most thriving dance companies.

Saturday, May 4, 2024
1:00 pm to 2:15 pm
Théâtre Maisonneuve, Place des Arts

Workshop in French and English.
No experience required.
Ages 14 and up.
45 participants maximum.

LE CHANT DU CYGNE: LE LAC

Choreographer and Set, Costume, Lighting and Video Designer Marie Chouinard.
Composer Louis Dufort.
Rehearsal Director Lucie Vigneault.
Assistant to the Lighting Director Chantal Labonté.
Production Manager Jérémie Boucher.
The work includes Un violador en tu camino by and with the courtesy of Colectivo LASTESIS.

SWAN CAKE

Choreography & Composition Hofesh Shechter.
Lighting Design Mario Daszenies & Hofesh Shechter.
Costume Design Gudrun Schretzmeier & Hofesh Shechter.
Assistant Kim Kohlman.

MINUS 16

Choreography Ohad Naharin.
Costume Design Ohad Naharin.
Lighting Design Avi Yona “Bambi” Bueno.
Music Soundtrack from Cha-Cha de Amor, Popular song arranged by Dick Dale, Traditional song arranged and performed by the Tractor’s Revenge and Ohad Naharin, Nisi Dominus by Vivaldi, Song by Arlen Harold arranged by Marusha, Frédéric Chopin u.a.
Staging & Assistant to the choreographer Matan David.

Gauthier Dance//Dance Company Theaterhaus Stuttgart

Artistic Director Gauthier Dance Eric Gauthier.
Company Coach Egon Madsen.
Ballet masters Cesar Locsin, Luis Eduardo Sayago.
Company Management Inga Kunz.
Artistic management Susanne Wildermuth,Daria Mosunova.
Technical production management Holger Reuker.
Artistic coordination set and costumes Gudrun Schretzmeier.
Press relations Nicola Steller.
Tour management ecotopia dance productions, www.ecotopiadance.com.
Costume manufacturing Kerry Rees (Ltg.),Christine Lange, Katharina Ruprecht, Katja Strauss, Anne Sorvat, Maria Kley.
Wardrobe Heidi Dávila García.
Photos Jeanette Bak.

Dancers Bruna Andrade, Andrew Cummings, Anneleen Dedroog, Karlijn Dedroog, Barbara Melo Freire, Shai Ottolenghi, Luca Pannacci, Garazi Perez Oloriz, Rina Pinsky, Arnau Redorta Ortiz, Izabela Szylinska, Sidney Elizabeth Turtschi, Locke Egidio Venturato, Giovanni Visone, Shawn Wu, Shori Yamamoto.

Gauthier Dance//Dance Company Theaterhaus Stuttgart thank our sponsors STIHL, Fashion- und Lifestylehaus Breuninger in Stuttgart and Law Firm CMS Germany as well as our supporters Kästner GmbH & Co. KG, the First Friends and Friends of Gauthier Dance, the Gerhard and Paul-Hermann Bauder Foundation, the Foundation Herbert  Metzger und Anneliese Metzger-Nord and the Dr. Roland & Brigitte Schmid Foundation.

Theaterhaus Stuttgart is sponsored by Mercedes-Benz Bank, the City of Stuttgart and the State of Baden-Württemberg.