“Beyond a doubt, Montreal choreographer Sylvain Émard's Rumeurs is a major work. With it, Émard affirms not only his choreographic and esthetic personality, but takes his place among the country's outstanding artists of the human body. Shifting constantly between dream and reality, the human being, his thoughts and his memories, Rumeurs stands as one of those multiform works in which ambivalence itself becomes strength. As beautiful as it is touching, the imaginary and even the kinesthetic meld together in the cause of expressiveness (...). A work of generosity and authenticity, to be seen more than once.”
Andrée Martin, Le Devoir, Montreal, Canada, October 1996

“Sylvain Émard’s Rumeurs is a troubling work. Troubling, dark, and as captivating as a requiem. A requiem for a departed friend who has left behind his memories in the bodies of the five dancers who interpret the choreographer's latest creation. (...) Rumeurs earned an ovation at last June’s Canada Dance Festival. After this week's production at the Agora, the betting is that its career has just begun.”
Manon Richard, La Presse, Montreal, Canada, October 1996

“If you've ever wondered what Québécois dance is all about or why it has achieved such an outstanding international reputation, Sylvain Émard’s Rumeurs is a good place to find out. (...) Every gesture counts in an Émard work. All those lurchings and leapings are powerful and purposeful. There isn't a second when a dancer can take a breather or prepare for the next step. Émard's style is rigorous, visceral, gathering emotional thunder with every asymmetrical twist, every angle of head and hand.”
Linde Howe-Beck, The Gazette, Montreal, Canada, October 1996

“Beautifully wrought, lit like a Caravaggio and danced to a score by Bertrand Chénier as full of order and poetry as a piece by Stravinsky, Rumeurs is a gorgeous dance, enthusiastically received by its opening-night audience.”
Michael Scott, The Vancouver Sun, Vancouver, Canada, June 1996