Dance in Quebec includes

dance Dance is an The arts, art form, consisting of sequences of body movements with aesthetic and often Symbol, symbolic value, either improvised or purposefully selected. Dance can be categorized and described by its choreography, by its repertoir ...

s that are specific to the province of

Quebec Quebec is Canada's List of Canadian provinces and territories by area, largest province by area. Located in Central Canada, the province shares borders with the provinces of Ontario to the west, Newfoundland and Labrador to the northeast, ...

, Canada, it comprises traditional group, couple, and solo dance as well as contemporary jazz, ballet, and modern dance. There are a number of

dance companies This is a list of notable Dance troupe, dance and Ballet company, ballet companies. Notes References See also

*List of folk dance performance groups *List of ballet companies in the United States *List of dancers {{Dance Dance compa ...

and dance schools. Quebec's most renowned organizations are Les Ballets Jazz de Montréal, Les Grands Ballets Canadiens de Montréal as well as the contemporary dance crew La La La Human Steps, directed by the choreographer Édouard Lock and his emblematic dancer Louise Lecavalier.

Traditional

In the late 17th century, English country dances, contredances,

cotillion The cotillion (also cotillon or French country dance) is a social dance, popular in 18th-century Europe and North America. Originally for four couples in square formation, it was a courtly version of an English country dance, the forerunner ...

s, and

minuet A minuet (; also spelled menuet) is a social dance of French origin for two people, usually written in time. The English word was adapted from the Italian ''minuetto'' and the French ''menuet''. The term also describes the musical form tha ...

s were popular. The most known dance was the bastringue. In the 18th century, reels and jigs were introduced to Quebec from the British Isles and British colonies in America.

Quadrille The quadrille is a dance that was fashionable in late 18th- and 19th-century Europe and its colonies. The quadrille consists of a chain of four to six ''Contra dance, contredanses''. Latterly the quadrille was frequently danced to a medley of ope ...

s and the

waltz The waltz ( , meaning "to roll or revolve") is a ballroom dance, ballroom and folk dance, in triple (3/4 time, time), performed primarily in closed position. Along with the ländler and allemande, the waltz was sometimes referred to by the ...

started appearing in the 19th century, along with step-dancing (called ''la gigue'' in Quebec) and

polka Polka is a dance style and genre of dance music in originating in nineteenth-century Bohemia, now part of the Czech Republic. Though generally associated with Czech and Central European culture, polka is popular throughout Europe and the ...

. They also create a funny move called . The tradition included

galop In dance, the galop, named after the fastest running gait of a horse (see Gallop), a shortened version of the original term galoppade, is a lively country dance, introduced in the late 1820s to Parisian society by the Duchesse de Berry and popu ...

s. Dancing had traditionally been monitored by the Catholic clergy of the province of Quebec, which often used its social and moral influence to ban dancing altogether in many villages and towns.

Classical ballet

The very first

classical ballet Classical ballet is any of the traditional, formal styles of ballet that exclusively employ classical ballet technique. It is known for its aesthetics and rigorous technique (such as en pointe, pointe work, turnout (ballet), turnout of the legs, ...

studios in the province of Quebec started appearing in 1945. In 1952, in

Montreal Montreal is the List of towns in Quebec, largest city in the Provinces and territories of Canada, province of Quebec, the List of the largest municipalities in Canada by population, second-largest in Canada, and the List of North American cit ...

, Ludmilla Chiriaeff established the ''Ballets Chiriaeff'', which became Les Grands Ballets Canadiens in 1957. She then founded, in 1966, the Académie des Grands Ballets Canadiens, nowadays known as the École supérieure de ballet du Québec. More recently, in 1989, Christiane Bélanger founded the ''Christiane Bélanger-Danse'' dance school in

Quebec City Quebec City is the capital city of the Provinces and territories of Canada, Canadian province of Quebec. As of July 2021, the city had a population of 549,459, and the Census Metropolitan Area (including surrounding communities) had a populati ...

. She also established the ''Compagnie Christiane Bélanger'' (2001), which would become the Ballet de Québec in 2005, the school thus being renamed École du Ballet de Québec in 2013, when she also started a college program in classical ballet at Cégep Garneau. ''Le Centre Uriel'' was also the first showcase specialized in classical Ballet in

. The ''Société de Ballet du Québec'' (2012) is dedicated to the promotion and development of internationally recognized professional classical Ballet in

. Christiane Bélanger co-founded, along with Jacques Marsa from the

Opéra de Paris The Paris Opera ( ) is the primary opera and ballet company of France. It was founded in 1669 by Louis XIV as the , and shortly thereafter was placed under the leadership of Jean-Baptiste Lully and officially renamed the , but continued to be kn ...

, the Competition Internationale de Ballet, Concours International PETIPA (May 2015), which was the first francophone international Ballet competition held in America. She dissociated herself from its co-founder in November 2012 and created the Compétition internationale de Ballet du Canada – volet Québec. She also created the École de mécanique corporelle du Québec to help elite athletes improve their performances.

Contemporary

Marie Chouinard, Benoît Lachambre, Ginette Laurin and the companies they created in Quebec, O Vertigo, D and PPS Danse are celebrated names in contemporary dance whose productions have spread internationally. founded the first dance company in Quebec City after the DansePartout company, founded by Chantal Bellhumeur and subsequently taken over by Luc Tremblay. The ''Compagnie Christiane Bélanger'' was established in 2001 and turned a corner to become exclusively dedicated to classical Ballet in 2005 ; it is now known as the Ballet de Québec. Christiane Bélanger was awarded the Prix François-Samson pour le Développement culturel in 2007 by the Conseil de la culture des régions de Québec-Chaudières Appalaches. Her style, which was referred to as neoclassical, was an extreme form of dance composed of a combination of martial arts, theatre and bold classical Ballet techniques from her classical Ballet experience. There are many auditoriums promoting contemporary dance in the

Province of Quebec Quebec is Canada's largest province by area. Located in Central Canada, the province shares borders with the provinces of Ontario to the west, Newfoundland and Labrador to the northeast, New Brunswick to the southeast and a coastal border ...

. In

Montréal Montreal is the List of towns in Quebec, largest city in the Provinces and territories of Canada, province of Quebec, the List of the largest municipalities in Canada by population, second-largest in Canada, and the List of North American cit ...

, there are Agora de la danse, Danse-Cité, Tangente, the Maisons de la culture, Montréal art interculturel, Studio 303, Théâtre Lachapelle, Théâtre Gésu, Usine C, the Pierre-Mercure hall, Théâtre Maisonneuve and many others, while

hosts La Rotonde and the Méduse facility.

Traditional

Classical ballet

Contemporary

See also

Further reading

Notes