April 15, 2004 -

OTTAWA -- The National Arts Centre Dance department mounts a special month-long multi-media Homage to Jean-Pierre Perreault, honouring the life and work of one of Canada’s most beloved and influential artists. Homage to Jean-Pierre Perreault includes dance performances, film, and video in various Ottawa locations, as well as Jean-Pierre Perreault – Chorégraphe de l’espace, a remarkable exhibition (curated by NAC archivist Gerry Grace, with grateful thanks to the Fondation Jean-Pierre Perreault) comprising photographs, posters, watercolours, sketches and other works on paper, diaries, notebooks, maquettes, and set pieces designed by Perreault. These works will be exhibited in the National Arts Centre Theatre and Southam Hall lobbies, and admission is free.

“For me, choreography is the expression of space, as dance is the expression of the body.

There is a place (a setting), a room (with walls and objects), light (the hour and the atmosphere), and the human beings that give it life.”

Cathy Levy, Producer of Dance Programming at the National Arts Centre, explains Perreault’s enduring appeal: “Jean-Pierre Perreault left behind a fascinating legacy. As a choreographer, visual artist and designer, Perreault created a body of work that has touched countless viewers and performers throughout Canada and around the world. His passion for contemporary dance and his dedication to the artistic milieu had a profound influence on choreographers, dancers and related artists, as well as on national artistic policy and the general public. As he conceived and developed his unique movement style, Perreault literally changed the way we look at dance. Original, articulate, sensitive, determined, wilful and witty, Perreault believed that the universal language of dance could carry deep and moving messages of the soul. The National Arts Centre Dance department is thrilled to be mounting a special month-long homage in memory of this extraordinary artist.”

“Perreault tries to give each element -- the movement, the sets, the sound, the lighting of the figures and the stage -- its own moment of focus, when it can be isolated and have its individual effect on the spectator.”

A complete list of Homage to Jean-Pierre Perreault activities follows:

• May 15, 2004: Jean-Pierre Perreault’s seminal dance masterpiece, Joe, will be performed as part of its 20^th anniversary tour ~ NAC Southam Hall, 20:00, tickets from $25
• May 15, 2004: launch of Alternate Visions, the English-language version of Regard Pluriel, a lavishly illustrated book about Jean-Pierre Perreault, edited by Michèle Febvre (published by Les heures bleues in association with the National Arts Centre, $40). Copies of both the English- and French-language versions of the book will be available throughout the month-long exhibition
• June 2, 2004: celebrating the 35^th anniversary of the National Arts Centre, excerpts from a selection of duets choreographed by Jean-Pierre Perreault will be performed ~ NAC Studio, 17:00 and 18:00, free admission
• June 5, 2004: there will be a performance of Les Ombres dans ta tête presented by the Canada Dance Festival; this is part of an evening of mixed repertoire marking the 2004 Festival’s Opening Night ~ NAC Theatre, 20:30, tickets from $30
• June 6, 2004: there will be an avant-premiere of The Body Architect (working title) a French-language documentary film (52 minutes, subtitled) about Jean-Pierre Perreault, directed by Paule Baillargeon, produced by Amérimage-Spectra/Office national du film. The event includes a post-show discussion and reception with dancers who have interpreted Perreault’s choreography over the years. Presented by the NAC in association with the 2004 Canada Dance Festival ~ Auditorium of the National Gallery of Canada, 14:00, tickets $10
• May 15-June 12, 2004: Jean-Pierre Perreault – Chorégraphe de l’espace, a multi-media exhibition honouring the life and work of Perreault, including videos, photographs, posters, documentary material, watercolours, sketches and other works on paper, diaries, notebooks, maquettes, and set pieces ~ NAC Southam Hall and Theatre lobbies (the exhibition is closed on May 22); free admission

 RELATED EVENTS

• April 7, 2004: Les petites sociétés, choreographed by Jean-Pierre Perreault ~ Maison de la culture de Gatineau, 20:00, tickets $22
• June 4-12, 2004: Le Groupe Dance Lab Exposed. Curated by Lab designer Normand Vandal, this collection of photos from videos of over 65 choreographers and related artists traces the development of the Lab from its beginning to now. Sponsored by Greg & Nathalie Best of Bank Street Framing ~ Le Groupe Dance Lab, 2 Daly Avenue. Free admission

Information:
Gerald Morris
Marketing and Media Relations, NAC Dance Department
(613) 947-7000, ext. 249
gmorris@nac-cna.ca

Jean-Pierre Perreault

One of the most respected creative forces in Canadian dance, the late Jean-Pierre Perreault (1947-2002) remains influential thanks to the numerous activities of the company which he established in 1984, the Fondation Jean-Pierre Perreault. His work is characterized by an interdisciplinary approach to creation, visually and structurally imposing sets, and the investigation of the relationship between sound and the body, interpreted by dancers of great artistic maturity.

In works ranging from conventional dance performances to choreographic installations, Mr. Perreault explored a wide range of forms of expression. Acclaimed at prestigious international dance festivals around the world, the Fondation Jean-Pierre Perreault is also familiar to thousands of television viewers thanks to the screen adaptation of Joe, which remains a veritable cult classic of the contemporary dance repertoire and one of the most widely performed of the 50-odd works Mr. Perreault created in a career spanning more than three decades.

Born in Montreal on February 16, 1947, Jean-Pierre Perreault began his career as a dancer with Le Groupe de la Place Royale, where he made his choreographic debut in 1971; that same year he was appointed Co-Artistic Director, with Peter Boneham. During this period, he choreographed over 20 works for the company, several of which toured across Canada and in the United States, Mexico and Europe. In 1981, he left Le Groupe to pursue a freelance career as a choreographer and guest teacher in Canada and Europe. He returned to Montreal in 1984 and joined the faculty of the Dance department of the Université du Québec à Montréal, where he taught until 1991. Over the next few years, while continuing to create new works for his own company and for Sweden’s Cullberg Ballet and the National Ballet of Canada, Mr. Perreault dedicated himself to the fulfilment of a long-held dream, which became reality in March 2001 -- the inauguration of the Fondation Jean-Pierre Perreault’s Espace chorégraphique. With the opening of this centre for creation and production, the Fondation became the first dance company in Quebec to have its own dedicated workspace.

An accomplished artist and designer, Mr. Perreault visualized and designed the sets, costumes and lighting (and occasionally composes the music) for his works before adding the human/choreographic element. His drawings have been shown in solo exhibitions in Montreal, Quebec City, Toronto, New York, Antwerp (Belgium), Glasgow, Edinburgh and Stockholm.

Two books have been written about Mr. Perreault and his work: Jean-Pierre Perreault, Chorégraphe/Choreographer, published in French and English (Montreal: Les Herbes Rouges, 1991); and Jean-Pierre Perreault: Regard Pluriel (Montreal: Les heures bleues, 2001). Awards and honours include the Montreal Urban Community Arts Council’s Grand Prize for Artistic Excellence (1999, for L’Exil-L’Oubli) and Grand Acknowledgment Prize in Dance (1991 and 1993); the Jean A. Chalmers Award for Lifetime Achievement in Choreography (1996); and the Jean A. Chalmers Award for Choreography (1990). In November 2002, Jean-Pierre Perreault received a prestigious Governor General’s Performing Arts Award for lifetime achievement in the arts.