José Navas
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José Navas is a contemporary choreographer and dancer born in Venezuela in 1965, and based 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 ...
, Quebec.


Biography

José Navas began his training at the Taller de Danza in
Caracas Caracas ( , ), officially Santiago de León de Caracas (CCS), is the capital and largest city of Venezuela, and the center of the Metropolitan Region of Caracas (or Greater Caracas). Caracas is located along the Guaire River in the northern p ...
before moving to New York and studying at the
Merce Cunningham Mercier Philip "Merce" Cunningham (April 16, 1919 â€“ July 26, 2009) was an American dancer and choreographer who was at the forefront of American modern dance for more than 50 years. He frequently collaborated with artists of other discipl ...
Studio. There, he collaborated with Stephen Petronio, Michael Clark,
Lucinda Childs Lucinda Childs (born June 26, 1940) is an American postmodern dancer and choreographer. Her compositions are known for their minimalistic movements yet complex transitions. Childs is most famous for being able to turn the slightest movements into ...
and various other independent choreographers. In 1991 he moved to Canada and began to choreograph. He founded Compagnie FlakCompagnie Flak : official website
/ref> in 1995. José Navas was first known for his talents as a soloist on the European and North American stages. He quickly established himself as a choreographer proposing bold and unusual works. In 1998, he established his reputation in Canada with ''One Night Only 3/3'', a daring and provocative trio. Crowned "Best young foreign choreographer" by the German magazine ''Ballet Tanz Aktuell International'' in 1999, he appeared the following year among the "100 people who move Quebec" in the French magazine ''
L'Express (, stylized in all caps) is a French weekly news magazine headquartered in Paris. The weekly stands at the political centre-right in the French media landscape, and has a lifestyle supplement, ''L'Express Styles'', and a job supplement, ''RÃ ...
''. José Navas is the recipient of several awards. Among others, he shares a
Bessie Award The New York Dance and Performance Awards, also known as the Bessie Awards, are awarded annually for exceptional achievement by independent dance artists presenting their work in New York City. The broad categories of the awards are: choreography, ...
with choreographer William Douglas for the solo ''While Waiting'' and won the award for "Best Choreography for the Camera" at the Moving Picture Festival in Toronto for the celebrated art film ''Lodela'', directed by Philippe Baylaucq. In 2008, after seven years creating group pieces, the choreographer returned to his passion for the solo form by presenting ''Miniatures,'' warmly welcomed by press and the audience. Since that time, he has performed essentially as a solo artist, exploiting his maturity's resources and creating more personal, sensitive works with transcendent musicality. Next followed the successes of ''Personæ'' (2012), the Chosen One in the ''Rite of Spring'' (2013), and ''Rites'', which will continue its tour in Quebec and Europe in 2017–2018. His next creation, ''Winterreise'' (in progress), will unfold around Franz Schubert's famous song cycle. José Navas is also renowned for the unique and innovative way he looks at contemporary ballet. Between classical and contemporary aesthetics, he finds new avenues of artistic expression, his lyricism unfolding subtly behind the purity of classic lines. As guest choreographer for prestigious ballet companies, he created an iconoclastic version of ''Giselle'' (2013) for Ballet BC, ''Watershed'' (2013) for The National Ballet of Canada, and ''Dénouement/Auflösung'' (2015) for the German company tanzmainz. With a beautiful visual aesthetic, group creations such as ''Portable Dances'', ''Anatomies'', ''S'' and ''Diptych'' reflect his architectural sense of composition, while solos such as ''Miniatures'', ''Personae,'' and the ''Rite of Spring'' bring visceral emotions. An Associate Dance Artist of the National Arts Centre, José Navas has presented his work in 30 countries in the Americas, Europe and Asia.


Choreographies

* 2022: ''AVES'' * 2020: ''Winterreise'' * 2018: ''Le Sacre du printemps'' / NEM * 2017: ''On'' * 2015: ''Rites'' * 2015: Choreographic commission / ''Dénouement/Auflösung'' / Tanzmainz (Germany) * 2013: Choreographic commission / ''Watershed'' / Ballet National du Canada * 2013: Choreographic commission / ''Giselle'', Ballet BC * 2013: ''Le Sacre du printemps'' / Brussels Philharmonic * 2012: Choreographic commission / ''Bliss'', Ballet BC * 2011: ''Personæ'' * 2011: ''Diptych'' * 2008: ''S'' * 2008: ''Miniatures'' (solos) * 2006: ''Anatomies'' * 2006: ''Límpido Amor'' (solo on pointe for
Anik Bissonnette Anik Bissonnette (born February 9, 1962) is a Canadian ballet dancer. She began her professional ballet career with the Ballet de Montreal Eddy Toussaint in the 1980s and became a principal dancer with Les Grands Ballets Canadiens in 1990. C ...
– Montréal) * 2006: ''Calm Abiding'' (solo for Nova Bhattacharya – Toronto) * 2005: ''Portable Dances'' * 2004: ''Le Ciel, brûlant des heures'' (duet for the company Montréal Dansecf. itinerary of the compan
Montréal Danse
/ref> – Montréal ) * 2001: ''Solo with Cello'' (solo originally entitled ''Haman/Navas Project'') * 2003: ''Adela, mi amor'' * 2000: ''Perfume de Gardenias'' * 1999: ''Côté cœur, côté jardin'' (solo Isabelle Poulin
La scène où le prince est Navas
''
Le Devoir (, ) is a French-language newspaper published in Montreal and distributed in Quebec and throughout Canada. It was founded by journalist and politician Henri Bourassa in 1910. is one of few independent large-circulation newspapers in Quebec ...
'', Montréal, 8 June 2002.
for company Danse-Cité – Montréal) * 1998: ''One Night Only 3/3'' * 1998: ''Abstraction'' (solo) * 1998: ''Enter: Last'' (group piece for the company Montréal Danse – Montréal) * 1997: ''Bosquejo'' (solo for the Springdance FestivalArchives o
Springdance Festival
– Utrecht) * 1997: ''One Night Only 2/3'' (group piece for the company
Benoît Lachambre Benoît () is a French male given name. It is less frequently spelled Benoist. The name comes from the Latin word , which means "blessed", equivalent in meaning to Bénédicte or the English name Benedict. A female derivative of the name is Beno ...
/ by b.l.eux) * 1997: ''One Night Only 1/3'' (solo for Princess Productions – Toronto) * 1996: ''Sterile Fields'' (solo) * 1996: ''Luna Llena'' * 1996: ''Deep Down'' * 1994: ''Postdata'' (solo solo performed by José Navas, commissioned by Culturgest – Lisbon) * 1992: ''Flak'' * 1992: ''Celestiales'' * 1991: ''When We Dreamed the Other Heaven''


Performances as a dancer, other than for Compagnie Flak

* 1997: ''Sonata and...'' (
Bill T. Jones William Tass Jones, known as Bill T. Jones (born February 15, 1952), is an American Choreography, choreographer, director, author and dancer. He is the co-founder of the Bill T. Jones/Arnie Zane Dance Company. The company's home in Manhattan. J ...
) * 1995: ''While waiting'' (William Douglas)


Cinema and theatre

* 2011: ''ORA'' (Production ONF, Directed by Philippe Baylaucq) * 2005: Choreographer for ''Adéla''''Adéla'' movie Technical sheet
(Telefilm Canada) directed b

(Jocelyn Barnabé) * 2002: Choreographer and dancer in ''Perpetual Motion'' (
Laura Taler Laura Taler is a Romanian-born Canadian artist. Beginning her career as a contemporary dance choreographer, she now works in a range of media, including performance, film, sound, sculpture, and installations. Taler's films ''The Village Trilogy ...
Laura Taler's profile
ICI Berlin, 2008
) * 2002: Director of ''Les Fleuves profonds'' (
José María Arguedas José María Arguedas Altamirano (18 January 1911 – 2 December 1969) was a Peruvian novelist, poet, and anthropologist. Arguedas was an author of mestizo descent who was fluent in the Quechua language. That fluency was gained by Arguedas’ ...
, adaptation:
Wajdi Mouawad Wajdi Mouawad, OC, (; born 1968) is a Lebanese-Canadian writer, actor, and director. He is known in Canadian and French theatre for politically engaged works such as the acclaimed play ''Incendies'' (2003). His works often revolve around famil ...
) * 1997: Choreographer and dancer in ''The Golden City'' (
Moze Mossanen Moze Mossanen is a Canadian independent writer, director and producer who has created a body of critically acclaimed film and TV work blending drama, music, performance and documentary. Most recently, he wrote and directed the documentary featu ...
) * 1996: Dancer in ''The Village Trilogy'' (
Laura Taler Laura Taler is a Romanian-born Canadian artist. Beginning her career as a contemporary dance choreographer, she now works in a range of media, including performance, film, sound, sculpture, and installations. Taler's films ''The Village Trilogy ...
) * 1995: Choreographer and dancer in ''
Lodela ''Lodela'' is a 1996 dance film directed by Philippe Baylaucq, and produced in Montreal by the National Film Board of Canada. The film received eight awards, including Best Short Documentary at the Hot Docs Canadian International Documentary Festi ...
'' (Philip Baylaucq) * 2011: Choreographer for '' Ora'' (Philip Baylaucq)


Notes and references

{{DEFAULTSORT:Navas, Jose 1965 births Living people Canadian contemporary dancers Canadian choreographers Contemporary dance choreographers Film choreographers