Martine Époque (April 30, 1942 – January 18, 2018) was a French-born Canadian dance educator and choreographer living in

Quebec Quebec ( ; )According to the Canadian government, ''Québec'' (with the acute accent) is the official name in Canadian French and ''Quebec'' (without the accent) is the province's official name in Canadian English is one of the thirtee ...

. She was born in

Six-Fours-les-Plages Six-Fours-les-Plages (; oc, Sièis Forns lei Plaias, Sièis Four in provençal), is a commune in the Var department in the Provence-Alpes-Côte d'Azur region in southeastern France. Inhabitants of Six-Fours-les-Plages refer to themselves as "S ...

and studied music and dance at the , the

Schola Cantorum de Paris The Schola Cantorum de Paris is a private conservatory in Paris. It was founded in 1894 by Charles Bordes, Alexandre Guilmant and Vincent d'Indy as a counterbalance to the Paris Conservatoire's emphasis on opera. History La Schola was founded ...

and the in

Geneva , neighboring_municipalities= Carouge, Chêne-Bougeries, Cologny, Lancy, Grand-Saconnex, Pregny-Chambésy, Vernier, Veyrier , website = https://www.geneve.ch/ Geneva ( ; french: Genève ) frp, Genèva ; german: link=no, Genf ; it, Ginevr ...

. She was recruited by the

Université de Montréal The Université de Montréal (UdeM; ; translates to University of Montreal) is a French-language public research university in Montreal, Quebec, Canada. The university's main campus is located in the Côte-des-Neiges neighborhood of Côte- ...

to develop a dance course for the physical education program and came to Canada in 1967. Époque founded the contemporary dance company Le Groupe Nouvelle Aire and served as its artistic director from 1968 to 1982. In 1999, she published a memoir ''Le Groupe Nouvelle Aire en Mémoires, 1968-1982''. Choreographers and educators who grew out of that company included

Édouard Lock Édouard Lock (born March 3, 1954 in Morocco) is a Canadian dance choreographer and the founder of the Canadian dance group, La La La Human Steps. Career La La La Human Steps Founder, Artistic Director and Choreographer Édouard Lock began hi ...

Louise Lecavalier Louise Lecavalier OC (born October 3, 1958) is a Canadian dancer known as one of the icons of Canadian contemporary dance. Biography Lecavalier was born and raised in Montreal, Quebec, Canada. She began her professional dance career at the age o ...

, Ginette Laurin, Paul-André Fortier, Daniel Léveillé and Louise Bédard. She also started the company Danse Actuelle Martine Époque, which operated from 1981 to 1988. She helped establish the dance program at the

Université du Québec à Montréal The Université du Québec à Montréal (English: University of Quebec in Montreal), also known as UQAM, is a French-language public university based in Montreal, Quebec, Canada. It is the largest constituent element of the Université du Qué ...

and played an important role in the creation of the dance department in 1985 and the development of a master's program in dance in 1993. She helped establish the Agora de la danse, a creative space for contemporary dance in Montreal, and Passerelle 840, a laboratory ans showcase for experiments in choreography. She received the in 1983. In 1994, she was awarded the Prix Denise-Pelletier. Her short film ''Coda: the Finale for The Rite of Spring'', co-directed with Denis Poulin, was presented at the 2014

Toronto International Film Festival The Toronto International Film Festival (TIFF, often stylized as tiff) is one of the largest publicly attended film festivals in the world, attracting over 480,000 people annually. Since its founding in 1976, TIFF has grown to become a perman ...

References

External links

* * {{DEFAULTSORT:Epoque, Martine 1942 births 2018 deaths Academic staff of the Université du Québec à Montréal Canadian choreographers Prix Denise-Pelletier winners French emigrants to Quebec Canadian women choreographers People from Var (department)