Le Grand Continental
A Sylvain Émard Danse and Festival TransAmériques co-production.
Already festive, it became more ambitious, for the cast of Le Grand Continental™ presented in 2009 doubled in size in 2010. Renamed Le Très Grand Continental for the occasion, this fantastic adventure involved over 120 amateur dancers plus a number of professional dancers, of all ages and backgrounds. In this spectacle, Sylvain Émard shattered the distinctions between line dancing and contemporary dance, creating a extremely colourful and contagious event. As a child he discovered the pure pleasure of movement through line dancing, and with this captivating presentation pays tribute to this popular art form. To the rhythms of disco, cha-cha-cha, country and techno music, Le Très Grand Continental unfolded at place Émilie-Gamelin in June 2010, to the delight of all Montrealers. In 2011, the concept further expanded by featuring 200 non-professional dancers in a whole new piece: Le Continental XL.
This piece can also travel beyond our borders, involving in each host city local amateur dancers. Recently, a Mexican version of this outdoor show was presented at the Festival de México. Inspired by Latin social dancing, El Gran Continental featured over 100 Mexican amateur dancers performing in the historic centre of Mexico City.
CHOREOGRAPHY Sylvain Émard
PROFESSIONAL DANCERS Nathalie Blanchet, Audrée Juteau, Nicolas Labelle, Jean-François Légaré, Pierre-Marc Ouellette, Catherine Viau
MUSIC Martin Tétreault
LIVE MUSIC Diane Labrosse
LIGHTING DESIGN Lucie Bazzo
PRODUCTION DIRECTOR Marie-Andrée Lemire
REVIEW EXCERPTS
"[...] magical [...] The words playful, festive and public event take on their true meaning here [...] a little splendour [...] the spectators roared with joy [...]" Georges Nicholson, Je l'ai vu à la radio, Première Chaîne, Radio-Canada, Montréal, Canada, June 5, 2010
“An outdoor presentation by the Festival TransAmériques (FTA), [...] Sylvain Émard's Le Grand Continental, met with great public and critical acclaim.” 2009 year-end review, Voir, Montréal, Canada, January 2010
“[...] It was as though an entire village had assembled to tread the ground with infectious rhythms. This Continental combines styles (disco, rock, waltz) in a festive and lively blend. [...] The pleasure of movement spreads into the crowd of onlookers and throughout the urban surroundings. [...] an experience not only of the joy of dance and movement, but a social experience as well.” Jeu, January 2010
“An enormous wave of pleasure flows from Sylvain Émard's Le Grand Continental. [...]a true declaration for dance at the very heart of the pleasure that it attains, both traditional and festive. ” Danser, Paris, France, October 2009
“It was a fun performance, rigorously choreographed with intricate arm and upper body phrases, and the dancers were extremely committed to their expression. The crowd loved it [...] ” thedancecurrent.com, Toronto, Canada, July 20, 2009
“Turning Émery St. into an open air dance space for Sylvain Émard's line-dancing demo, Le Grand Continental, was a stroke of genius that should be repeated.” The Gazette, Montréal, Canada, June 6 2009
“[...] the formula is a unifying and indeed energizing force. We immediately identify with the dancers, with the way they respond to the music and the rhythm, either on their own or with their partners.” Le Devoir, Montreal, Canada, 29 May 2009
CALENDAR
April, 2011 – El Gran Continental, Centro Cultural del Bosque, Instituto Nacional de Bellas Artes, International Dance Day, Mexico City, Mexico
March, 2011 – El Gran Continental, Plaza de las Tres Culturas, Festival de México, Mexico City, Mexico
March, 2011 – El Gran Continental, Explanada del Palacio de Bellas Artes, Festival de México, Mexico City, Mexico
November 2010 – 20th Anniversary Benefit Event – Le Grand Continental™, Circuit-Est centre chorégraphique, Montréal, Canada
June, 2010 – Le Très Grand Continental, place Émilie-Gamelin, Festival TransAmériques, Montréal, Canada
May, 2009 – Le Grand Continental™, rue Émery, Festival TransAmériques, Montréal, Canada
