BJM Coming to Sony Centre, Today

The Sony Centre for the Performing Arts presents BJM - Les Ballets Jazz de Montréal (BJM) in a diverse and exciting program featuring three Toronto premieres.

Under the artistic direction of Louis Robitaille since 1998, the troupe returns to Toronto for the first time in a decade to perform a mixed bill of contemporary works from three gifted choreographers: France's Benjamin Millepied (Closer), Greece-born Andonis Foniadakis (Kosmos) and Israel-based Barak Marshall (Harry). This evening of superb dance runs one night only - Saturday, May 23, 2015 at 8pm - at the Sony Centre. Tickets are on sale NOW, available by calling 1-855-872-SONY (7669), by visiting www.sonycentre.ca or in person at the Sony Centre Box Office.

Each choreographer brings a distinctive vocabulary to the program, showcasing the extreme physicality and depth of emotion evoked by the exquisite BJM dancers and combining the aesthetics of classical ballet with many other styles of dance (see short promo video: https://vimeo.com/123127950

CLOSER by Benjamin Millepied
Set to composer Philip Glass's Mad Rush, the duet Closer has been performed and acclaimed on several world stages. The piece is a voluptuous and vibrant exchange imbued with an intense yet simple sensuality - that of the tension between two bodies. Millepied is Director of Dance of the Paris Opera, and he choreographed and starred in the film Black Swan along with Oscar-winner Natalie Portman (who soon after became his wife).

"A magnificent declaration transported by two hypnotic performers, Ce_line Cassone and Alexander Hille (...) A dream of organic and indeed idyllic partnership that conveys a certain idea of romanticism, the couple as two equals, all in gradations of mellow light." (Le Monde, 2014)

KOSMOS by Andonis Foniadakis
In this new work for BJM, Foniadakis draws inspiration from the frenetic pace of everyday urban life - the movements of crowds, moments of agitation and the hustle and bustle of the city. Searching to bring beauty to the fore and people together in a joyous, liberating fashion, the piece features a mingling clan of dancers coming to terms with the presence of others. Foniadakis is Artistic Director of Apotosoma in Lyon, France - a company he began in 2003.

"Set to a pounding, lyrical score by Julien Tarride, [Kosmos] could as easily be titled 'Zombies in Outer Space,' since the 11 dancers do things no human body should be able to." (The Boston Globe, 2014)

HARRY by Barak Marshall
For this new creation for BJM, Marshall was inspired by the inner battles we all wage. "Life is a constant struggle," he says, "in which we are continually faced with conflicts with regard to culture, gender, species." Set to a score combining jazz, Israeli folksongs and traditional music, this new opus is imbued with hope and humour, alternating group sequences, trios and duets in a fabulous extravaganza of dance. L.A.-born Barak Marshall, former house choreographer of the Batsheva Dance Company, was appointed this past fall Artistic Director of the Inbal Dance Theatre Company and World Arts Centre in Tel Aviv, Israel's first and oldest modern dance company.

"Harry, by the Israeli-American choreographer Barak Marshall, hints at that jazz past, with bits of Yiddish jazz ('Bei Mir Bist du Schön') next to Balkan tracks. And Mr. Marshall's ensemble movement, low to the ground with rhythmically mimed gesture, has an eccentricity this company can use." (The New York Times, 2013)
The dancers of BJM who perform in Toronto are Daniel Alwell, Céline Cassone, Mark Francis Caserta, Christian Denice, Kiera Hill, Kennedy Henry, Alexander Hille, Morgane Le Tiec, Guillaume Michaud, Marcio Vinicius Paulino Silveira, Ashley Werhun and intern Saskya Pauzé-Bégin.

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