Canada is one of the world’s great centres of contemporary dance. Montréal’s companies — La La La Human Steps, Compagnie Marie Chouinard, O Vertigo and many more — are known for physical daring; Toronto Dance Theatre pioneered modern dance in English Canada; and Vancouver’s Crystal Pite (Kidd Pivot) creates works for the world’s leading ballet and theatre stages.
Modern dance took root in Canada after the Second World War. Winnipeg’s Contemporary Dancers was founded by Rachel Browne in 1964, and Toronto Dance Theatre in 1968 by Patricia Beatty, David Earle and Peter Randazzo, all trained in the Martha Graham technique. In Québec, the 1948 ‘Refus global’ manifesto, co-signed by dancers Françoise Sullivan and Jeanne Renaud, opened the way for experimental art. From the 1980s Montréal became a global hub: Édouard Lock’s La La La Human Steps (1980), with the extraordinary Louise Lecavalier — who toured with David Bowie — astonished audiences with speed and risk; Marie Chouinard, Ginette Laurin and Margie Gillis built distinct personal languages; and the Festival TransAmériques (FTA) brings international work every spring. In Vancouver, Crystal Pite founded Kidd Pivot in 2002 and has won Olivier Awards for works made with Jonathon Young and for the Royal Ballet. Schools such as Dance Arts Institute in Toronto and the École de danse contemporaine de Montréal train new generations.
