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Click here to watch the Flash Mob video!

Les Grands Ballets are taking dance to the métro!

During Québec Danse week, the National Dance Week, and on the morning after World Book Day, Les Grands Ballets Canadiens de Montréal organized a flash mob combining the two art forms. The inspiration for the event, entitled In the Name of the Rose, stems from the romantic tradition of offering a rose in exchange for a book. Yesterday, April 24,  at 8 a.m., some sixty dancers handed out roses to the public at Square-Victoria métro. Freely adapted from The Little Prince by Saint-Exupéry, the company’s latest production, the choreography was created specially for the occasion.

Wearing Little Prince t-shirts, rose in hand, the participants performed a sequence created by choreographer Didy Veldman, set to J.S. Bach’s Piano Concerto No. 5. At the end, the dancers handed out roses. “It is the time you have wasted on your rose that makes it so important,” says the Fox in The Little Prince. “You are responsible for your rose.” In the name of the rose, in the name of dance! 

“It is only with the heart that one can see rightly; what is essential is invisible to the eye.” – Antoine de Saint-Exupéry 

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Based on the story by Saint-Exupéry, Didy Veldman’s The Little Prince, the latest production of Les Grands Ballets Canadiens de Montréal, will run from May 3 to 12 at the Théâtre Maisonneuve of Place des Arts.

Regular hours will resume on Tuesday, April 10

Les Grands Ballets Canadiens de Montréal has joined forces with Voir.ca to document the creation of this ambitious dance project on the pages of Voir's recently created blog section. Follow the evolution of an exciting contemporary ballet through the experience of the choreographer, the dancers and other participants --- and post your own comments on the new incarnation of the "prince."

Click here to visit the blog*.

* Only available in French.

Opening the evening is Anima, a brand new pas-de-trois, set to the music of Frederic Chopin's Nocturne No. 13 in C Minor, Op. 48 No. 1, and Domenico Scarlatti's SonataK 87 in B Minor, and created especially for the company. The program continues with Noces and Sacre, Celis' interpretation of two monumental scores that have inspired numerous choreographers. Created originally for the Ballets Russes, both are arrestinging crititiques of a society shackled by repressive tradition.

Three works of immense vitality, not to be missed on March 22,23, 24, 29, 30 and 31, 2012 at the Théâtre Maisonneuve of Place des Arts. 

Photo:  Anima in rehearsal; choreographer - Stijn Celis; dancers  - Karell Williams, Bryna Catherine Pascoe, Jérémy Galdeano; photograph by Jean-Laurent Ratel.

To open the season, Les Grands Ballets is summoning an ancient Japanese tale, as well as the timeless mysteries of the night skies, with Kaguyahime-The Moon Princess, a majestic narrative ballet by Czech master Jiří Kylián that has just been added to Les Grands Ballets' repertoire. And to close the season ─ Dream Away, a mysterious new creation by  German choreographer Stephan Thoss. In between: Fernand Nault's The Nutcracker will adorn the festive season for a 49th year, the National Ballet of China will present its shimmering production of Raise the Red Lantern, the Alberta Ballet will celebrate pop culture with the provocative Love Lies Bleeding, and choreographers Ohad Naharin, Israeli, and Didy Veldman, Dutch, will present an electrifying evening with Danz & TooT.

OCTOBER - TWILIGHT EMOTIONS with Kaguyahime-The Moon Princess. East meets West in the first full-scale narrative ballet by Czech choreographer Jiří Kylián. This adaptation of a Japanese folk tale fuses contemporary dance with the reinvented art of traditional Japanese drumming. By turns languorous and frenetic, it tells the story of a princess who descends from the sky and whose beauty provokes rivalry and war in the Land of the Rising Sun. Music by the great Japanese composer Maki Ishii is performed by the drum ensemble Kodo and Ggagaku repertory musicians.  First performed by the Nederlands Dans Theater in 1988 and later restaged by the Paris Opera Ballet,  it will now get its first performance by a North American company-and its Canadian premiere-with the dancers of Les Grands Ballets. October 11, 12, 13, 18, 19, 20, 25, 26 and 27 at the Salle Wilfrid-Pelletier of Place des Arts.

DECEMBER - WINTER SOLSTICE AND THE GLITTERING MAGIC of The Nutcracker. An unforgettable experience enjoyed by generations of children, this two-act ballet based on E.T.A. Hoffman's classic tale is set to the music of Tchaikovsky and brings together over one hundred dancers.  The choreography by Fernand Nault is ranked among the finest versions of a ballet that has been adapted countless times.  The enchantment that Nault created for Les Grands Ballets in 1964 will be revived from December 13 to 30, 2012 at the Salle Wilfrid-Pelletier of Place des Arts with the Orchestre des Grands Ballets Canadiens de Montréal, under the baton of Allan Lewis.

FEBRUARY - SHADOWPLAY in China of the 1920s with Raise the Red Lantern. The National Ballet of China has been invited by Les Grands Ballets Canadiens de Montréal to present Raise the Red Lantern, a brilliant adaptation of the acclaimed movie of the same name, directed by Zhang Yimou, who also wrote the libretto, designed the lighting and signed the stage direction of the ballet. Raise the Red Lantern will now be seen in Canada for the first time as part of a historic tour of the National Ballet of China, presented by the Title Sponsor, Teck. February 21, 22, 23 and 24, 2013 at the Salle Wilfrid-Pelletier of Place des Arts.

MARCH - A MOSAIC OF LIGHTS with Danz and TooT. Choreographers Ohad Naharin (Israel) and Didy Veldman (The Netherlands) are sharing the bill, each making full use of the technical versatility and interpretive powers of the dancers of Les Grands Ballets Canadiens de Montréal. Ohad Naharin's Danz opens the evening with a collage of excerpts drawn from works created between 1999 and 2007, offering a panoramic view of the choreographer's oeuvre.  Next up is TooT, a theatrical piece created in 2005 by Didy Veldman-who is currently preparing an adaptation of The Little Prince for the company. An energizing cocktail on March 13, 14, 15, 20, 21 and 22, 2013 at the Théâtre Maisonneuve of Place des Arts.

APRIL - SEX, SEQUINS AND SPOTLIGHTS in Love, Lies, Bleeding. At the invitation of Les Grands Ballets Canadiens de Montréal, the Alberta Ballet is presenting an electrifying work based on the songs of Elton John. Comparable to the boldest Broadway production, the ballet has already been acclaimed by the public and critics alike, from Vancouver to Toronto. Quebec choreographer Jean Grand-Maître, Alberta Ballet's Artistic Director since 2002, combines various choreographic styles in his depiction of a musical superstar's rise to fame. A provocative theatrical extravaganza that bridges ballet and popular music, this production is Alberta Ballet's greatest success. At the Salle Wilfrid-Pelletier of Place des Arts on April 10, 11, 12, 13 and 14, 2013.

MAY - CARTE BLANCHE with Dream Away by German choreographer Stephan Thoss. After the success of Thoss' Searching for Home, which the Montreal Gazette named Best Dance Show of 2011, Gradimir Pankov, the Artistic Director of Les Grands Ballets, gave this talented artist carte blanche for a made-to-measure ballet for the company's dancers. In search of a new physicality, Stephan Thoss' latest work is an exhilarating quest for fresh images and sensations. With over 80 choreographies to his credit, including revisited classics and contemporary creations, Thoss also designs the sets and costumes for his productions. Since 2007, he has been the Artistic Director of the Wiesbaden Opera Ballet. An accomplished artist who will bring out the best in Les Grands Ballets' dancers and help close the season in style. On May 16, 17, 18, 23, 24 and 25, 2013 at the Théâtre Maisonneuve of Place des Arts.










       

The iconoclastic Celis will work with the GBCM dancers to remount his vivid interpretations of two monumental pieces from the modern repertoire of the Ballets Russes. View a clip here. 

Also on the program - a brand new pas-de-trois, set to music by Chopin.

Annointed and Cry have been dropped from the program - and will be replaced by Streams and Takademe.

Streams, created by Alvin Ailey in 1979, is an abstract piece set to music by Miloslav Kabelac; and Takedeme was created in 1999 by Robert Battle, who recently stepped into the position of Artistic Director with the company.

The evening will now begin with Streams and In/Side.  A first intermission will followed by Takademe and The Hunt and a second intermission, and the evening will conclude with the company's signature piece Revelations.

Click here for more information and to buy tickets.

On Monday, January 23, she gets down to work on her latest collaboration with Les Grands Ballets - The Little Prince, a new ballet loosely inspired by the Saint-Exupéry novel.

Born in The Netherlands, Didy Veldman has created some thirty works for such companies as Cedar Lake Ballet in New York, the Gulbenkian Ballet, Cullberg Ballet and New Zealand Ballet. In 1999, she created a "hard-core" version of Carmen, which she later restaged for Les Grands Ballets Canadiens. She went on to collaborate with Les Grands Ballets on the inventive and theatrical TooT and electric Tender Hooks.

The Little Prince gets its world premiere on May 3, at the Théâtre Maisonneuve at Place des Arts.