Because of the COVID-19 pandemic, the first edition of the Montreal International Dance Festival will be presented online and will be free of charge from November 18 to 22, 2020. Besides what are described as “ephemeral” dances, there will be stage encounters between singers, musicians and dancers recorded at Montreal’s main concert venue, Place des Arts. There will also be virtual conferences involving a choreographer of international renown, a short documentary featuring Latin dances, and a video presentation on the influences on the black community on the world of dance that will be projected on a wall in Montreal’s arts district.
- Among the performers is Bachateros, a Latin dance troupe specializing in Bachata, music that originated in the Dominican Republic in the first half of the 20th century.
More than 60 artists will be featured including both amateurs and professionals. Among those involved will be choreographer Luther Brown, Indigenous artist Barbara Diabo, performers from the contemporary dance company Tangente and Les Grands Ballets, singer Kim Richardson, Team White and tap dancer Travis Knights.
‘An absolute gift to be included’
“It was an absolute gift to be included as part of FidMtl (Montreal International Dance Festival). It gave me the opportunity to share the obscured truth about a form and a practice that has given my life a strong sense of purpose, tap dance,” said Travis Knights in a statement.
The festival is presented by InfiniD, a non profit organization founded in February 2019 by designer and choreographer Steve Bolton and agent and director Guy Levesque. Their goal is to promote dance through events of all kinds and to make it accessible to all ages for both the participants and the public. The festival has received funding from the government of the province of Quebec.
Having to deal with a pandemic for the first Montreal International Dance Festival called for creative solutions, said co-founder Steve Bolton. (Béatrice Munn)
Pandemic was ‘a blow’ for organizers
Because of the pandemic, organizers had to radically change the plan for the festival. “Obviously it was a blow, a real shock,” said Bolton in a phone interview. “We had a choice. We could throw in the towel or roll up our sleeves and become creative.” One of the creative moves was the idea of projecting a performance on a wall where thousands of passersby would see it. Another was to create the short documentary on African American dance. Bolton is pleased with the innovations and says many of them will be kept for future festivals.
While the performances were prerecorded to assure the safety of the dancers, interviews will be live.
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