El Gran Continental at Plaza de las Tres Culturas

On Saturday, March 19 the 110 dancers of El Gran Continental poured their hearts into the two performances presented at Plaza de las Tres Culturas. Located in a working-class neighbourhood, this vast public square has a storied past and has at times been witness to tragic events. It was here that the Spanish completed their conquest of the city, and the ruins of ancient temples still stand along the edge of the Plaza. It was also here where dozens of students were killed by the police during a peaceful march in 1968. More recently, during the 1985 earthquake several buildings collapsed and hundreds of people died. For both the dancers and the audience, El Gran Continental took on special importance as it offered a joyous, refreshing break from that bleak past. Once the dance began its magical spell took hold, and the emotion was palpable. As usual, after the Grand Continental performances the public was invited to dance with the participants, and a party atmosphere soon prevailed. For our two performances the following Saturday, we took the centre of the city by storm as we performed on the esplanade of the Palacio de Bellas Artes, a magnificent site of white marble in the historic centre of Mexico City.

Hasta la proxima!

Sylvain Émard

For a glimpse of El Gran Continental’s premiere

El Gran Continental in front of the Church of Santiago and one of the apartment building that surrounds the dance space

Centro Cultural Universitario Tlatelolco adorned with a luminous and temporary installation by visual artist Thomas Glassford

Commemorative photos of students killed during the 1968 massacre in Tlatelolco

The ruins of the Tlatelolco Aztec temples and the colonial Church of Santiago

AMATEUR DANCERS WANTED

In the context of the show Le Continental XL, co-produced by the Festival TransAmériques and co-presented by the Quartier des spectacles, the company Sylvain Émard Danse is looking for:

- Line dancing dancers
- Non professional dancers

After the success of Le Grand Continental (2009) and Le Très Grand Continental (2010) at the Festival TransAmériques (FTA, choreographer Sylvain Émard brings us Le Continental XL. More ambitious than its two previous editions, this new work — a bold mix of line dancing and contemporary dance — will feature 200 amateur dancers of all walks of life at the place des Festivals, as part of the FTA 2011. You are invited to join the cast of this spectacular and infectious show!

For a glimpse of this project

Information and recruiting sessions

Date: Tuesday, February 22 or Wednesday, February 23 2011 at 7 pm
Place:
Circuit-Est centre chorégraphique
2022, rue Sherbrooke Est (corner de Lorimier), Montréal

Information and registration: 514 598-1733 or communication@sylvainemard.com

Rehearsal and performances dates*

The dancers will be divided in two groups for the first month of rehearsals.

Rehearsals:
Group A: March 28-30, April 4-6-11-13-18-20, 7pm to 9pm
Group B: March 29-31, April 5-7-12-14-19-21, 7pm to 9pm
All the dancers: April 26 to May 24, Tuesdays and Thursdays, 7pm to 9pm / April 30, 1pm to 4pm / May 23, 7pm to 9pm

Dress rehearsal: May 25, 7pm to 9:30pm

Performances: May 26, 27 and 28 at 10pm/ May 29 at 4pm

* The participants must be available at these dates.