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Press Kit
THE SHOW
THE CICADA AND THE AND
For family audiences (4-12 years old)
**CALQ WORK OF THE YEAR AWARD FOR THE EASTERN TOWNSHIPS**
The Cicada and the Ant is a choreographic work for young and old that
casts a glance at the world of art and of agriculture. Freely inspired by
CHOREOGRAPHY
the renowned fable by Jean de La Fontaine, and largely influenced
by Francine Châteauvert’s rural roots and upbringing, this work
transports us to the heart of life, into the difficult and the beautiful of the
ordinary.
Francine Châteauvert
DANCERS
Stéphanie Brochard
Amandine Garrido Gonzalez
The soil, a field, an empty space where anything is possible, where gradually
humans settle, build, sow, work, sing and harvest. From the sowing of the
seed to the harvest, the production paints a down to eart, poetic vision of
the world of the artist and of the small farmer.
Jasmine Inns
Geneviève Lauzon
Keven Lee
Elise Legrand
Xavier Malo
MUSIC: Michel G. Côté
SET DESIGN: Simon Vincent
COSTUMES: Dominique Thériault
LIGHTING: Armando Gomez Rubio
www.sursaut.ca
THE SURSAUT DANCE COMPANY
The Sursaut Dance Company is dedicated to the creation,
production, and dissemination of dance works for young and
family audiences. Joyful, poetic and touching, the company’s
productions witness to the maturity of a progressive and
evolutionary artistic vision, aimed at young audiences since 30
years. Conscious of the intelligence, the openness, the great
capacity to listen and see and the demanding nature of young
audiences, the company works with seriousness, authenticity,
and with the greatest respect for this audience. Presented from
coast to coast in Canada as well as internationally, Sursaut’s
productions inspire and charm young and old alike, everywhere
they are presented.
The Sursaut Dance Company is a pioneering figure in the field of contemporary dance for young and
family audiences in Canada, and contributes to the development of professional dance outside major
urban centres. Firmly convinced of the importance of art for young audiences, the company pursues its
mandate and works to make dance accessible to all.
Since December 2007, the company has been resident at the Centre des arts de la scène Jean-Besré, and thanks
to the support of the City of Sherbrooke, benefits from this unique space conceived and built for the creation
and production of dance and theatre works. The Sursaut Dance Company is funded by the Conseil des arts et des
lettres du Québec, the Canada Council for the Arts and the City of Sherbrooke.
Artistic Director
A self-taught artist, Francine Châteauvert made her first forays into the
art of movement in artistic gymnastics before plunging into the world of
dance. Her background also includes work in theatre and circus arts.
Decidedly contemporary, her creations are imprinted with authenticity
and freshness, offering performances imbued with a poetic realism in
a highly physical choreographic style. Her artistic approach is heavily
influenced by her rural lifestyle and upbringing, by a profound sense
of belonging to the earth, to nature and its cycles and by her childhood memories. The depth, beauty
and happiness, great and small, that are found in the simplest things and in the seemingly innocuous
moments of everyday life are transmitted through her works.
Her work is characterized by a finely tuned choreographic language; a fusion of abstraction, symbolism,
and theatricality of movement. Francine Châteauvert has created more than 30 works for the Sursaut
Dance Company, namely The Cicada and the Ant (2013), Boo! (2009) and At nightfall (2005).
In November 2014, Francine Châteauvert received the Conseil des arts et des lettres du Québec (CALQ)
work of the year award for the Eastern Townships for The Cicada and the Ant. In 2006, she received the Prize
for artistic creation in dance for the Eastern Townships from the CALQ. The daily newspaper La Tribune
also awarded her the Mérite estrien « Personnalité de Chez Nous » in 1996 for the quality of her work and
for her contribution to the region. She has received the Prix d’excellence from the City of Sherbrooke in
1992 for the professional quality of her production, the mastery of her art, and the boldness of her artistic
approach.
www.sursaut.ca
2016-2017 SEASON
The Cicada and The Ant
tour in China
July 16-17, 2016
Tianjin Grand Theatre
August 9, 2016
Hohhot Poly Theatre
July 23, 2016
Harbin Grand Theatre
August 12, 2016
Shanxi Poly Grand Theatre
(Taiyuan)
July 28, 2016
Wuhan Qintai Grand Theatre
August 16-17, 2016
Beijing Comedy Theatre, Beijing
July 29, 2016
Huanggang Grand Theatre
August 18 août, 2016
Weifang Poly Grand Theatre
July 31, 2016
Chongqing Poly Theatre
August 19, 2016
Shandong Grand Theatre
(Jinan)
August 4, 2016
Dongguan Yulan Theatre
August 21, 2016
Dalian Poly Theatre, Dalian, China
August 7, 2016
Nanjing Poly Grand Theatre
tour in Canada
October 11-12, 2016
Yukon Arts Centre
Whitehorse, Yukon
February 2, 2017
Meadowvale Theatre
Mississauga, Ontario
October 15, 2016
Northern Arts and Cultural Centre
Yellowknife, Northwest Territories
February 7, 2017
Rose Theatre
Brampton, Ontario
October 23, 2016
University Centre Farquhar Auditorium
Victoria, British Columbia
February 8, 2017
First Ontario Performing Arts Centre
St. Catharines, Ontario
December 6, 2016
Centre culturel of the University of Sherbrooke
Sherbrooke, Quebec
March 14, 2017
Théâtre Lionel-Groulx
Sainte-Thérèse, Quebec
January 25-26, 2017
Flato Markham Theatre
Markham, Ontario
March 15-16, 2017
Espace Théâtre Muni-Spec
Mont-Laurier, Quebec
www.sursaut.ca
PRESS CLIPPINGS
Me squared
The show is well-built, well thought-out, well danced. (…) Dancers Amandine Garrido Gonzalez, Jasmine Inns et Xavier Malo,
occupy and play with each parcel of the set, climbing the walls and executing feats of physical daring flawlessly. Shadow play
and subtle lighting effects serve to highlight the whole. Visually impeccable….
- La Tribune, Sherbrooke
The Cicada and the Ant
Sursaut presents a high-caliber new creation.
Francine Châteauvert succeeded in dusting off de La Fontaine’s poem by setting it beautifully in movement.
Choreographically, there is nothing more to add: it was ingenious and brilliantly executed. The seven dancers deliver flawless
performances, at once athletic and poetic.
The set elements of the stage setting present a rustic world that is rich and evocative.
Sursaut’s version of The Cicada and the Ant was a gamble that paid off.
- La Tribune, Sherbrooke
Boo!
Boo! rekindles the urge to pirouette, to mime, to play at puppets with ones feet.
Maturity through childlike movements.
The choreographies participate in the pleasure of using ones body like a toy […] We return to the very roots of childhood play.
Quite an achievement.
- La Tribune, Sherbrooke
At nightfall
Sursaut serves kids real dance with At nightfall, a piece that refuses to condescend to its audience.
- The Georgia Straight, Vancouver
A unique dance production by a national touring company.
- The Guardian, Charlottetown
Sursaut Dance Company enchants children and adults alike with At nightfall.
- Yellowknifer, Yellowknife
At nightfall is bold in its depth and its sobriety.
- The Record, Sherbrooke
www.sursaut.ca
TOURING 1985-2015
CHINA //
2nd China Children’s Theatre Festival; Beijing | Shanghai City Theatre; Shanghai | Xuzhou Concert
Hall; Xuzhou | Nanjing Cultural Centre; Nanjing | Baotou Grand Theatre; Inner Mongolia | Int’l Conference
Centre; Dalian | Qingdao Grand Theatre; Qingdao | Weihai Conference Centre; Weihai | Henan Arts Centre;
Henan | Wuhan Qintai Grand Theatre; Wuhan | Wenzhou Grand Theatre; Wenzhou | Ningbo Grand Theatre; Ningbo |
Wuxi Grand Theatre; Wuxi | Daguan Theatre; Shanghai | Jinan Grand Theatre; Jinan | Beijing Poly Theatre; Beijing
MEXICO //
Feria de San Marcos, Teatro Morelos; Aguascalientes | Instituto Zacatecano de Cultura Ramon
Lopez Velarde; Zacatecas | Teatro Centenario; Mexico City | Festival del Desierto, Teatro El Pilar; San Luis Potosi
| Festival cultural de Mayo, Teatro Degollado; Guadelajara | Teatro Nazas; Torreon
UNITED STATES //
Capitol Center For the Arts; Concord, New Hampshire | Flynn Center for the Performing Arts; Burlington, Vermont |
Reg
Lenna
Center
Columbus, Ohio
For
The
Arts;
SPAIN //
Jamestown,
New
York
|
Wexner
Centre
Sant Andreu Teatre, Liber 2008; Barcelona
for
the
Arts;
CANADA //
British Columbia - Cultural Olympiad Vancouver 2010; Vancouver | Centennial Theatre; North
Vancouver | Surrey Arts Centre; Surrey | Vancouver East Cultural Centre (The Cultch); Vancouver |
Clarke Theatre; Mission | Port Theatre; Nanaimo | Max Cameron Theatre; Powell River | Evergreen
Northwest Territories Yukon - Yukon Arts Centre; Whitehorse
Alberta -
Cultural Centre; Coquitlam | North Peace Cultural Centre; Fort St. John
Northern Arts and Cultural Centre; Yellowknife
Keyano Theatre; Fort McMurray | Horizon Stage; Spruce Grove | Calgary International Children’s Festival;
Calgary | Northern Alberta International Children’s Festival; St. Albert
Ontario - Ottawa International
Children’s Festival; Ottawa | Centre for the Arts Brock University; St. Catharine’s | River Run Centre; Guelph
| Oakville Centre for the Performing Arts; Oakville | Rose Theatre; Brampton | Markham Theatre; Markham |
Sanderson Centre; Brantford | Burlington Centre for the Arts; Burlington | Grand Theatre; Kingston
Newfoundland and Labrador - Arts and Culture Centre; St. John’s | Arts and Culture Centre; Corner Brook |
Arts and Culture Centre; Stephenville | Joseph R Smallwood Arts & Culture Centre; Gander | Arts and Culture
Prince Edward Island - Harbourfront Theatre; Summerside | Confederation
Centre of the Arts; Charlottetown New Brunswick - Imperial Theatre; St. John | Capitol Theatre; Moncton
| Riverview Arts Centre; Riverview | The Playhouse; Fredericton
Quebec - Salle de spectacle de la BaieCentre; Grand Falls/Windsor
des-Chaleurs; New Richmond | Salle Desjardins-Telus; Rimouski | Salle Alphonse Desjardins; Rivière du Loup |
Théâtre Baie Comeau; Baie Comeau | Salle Jean Marc Dion; Sept Îles | Place des Arts; Montreal | Salle Maurice O’Bready;
Sherbrooke | Centennial Theatre; Lennoxville | Auditorium Mont-Laurier; Mont Laurier | Salle Pauline Julien; St. Genevieve
| St. Sauveur Arts Festival; St. Sauveur | Mirella and Lino Saputo Theatre; Montreal | Montreal North Community and Arts
Centre; Montreal | Salle Jean Eudes; Montreal | Outremont Theatre; Montreal | Maison de la culture Mercier; Montreal |
Maison de la culture de Maisonneuve; Montreal | Maison de la culture Rosemont; Montreal | L’Anglicane; Levis | Théâtre
Lionel Groulx; St. Thérese | Eeyou School; Chisasibi | Salle Albert Dumouchel; Salaberry de Valleyfield | Théâtre Hector
Charland; L’Assomption | Théâtre du Cuivre; Rouyn Noranda | Théâtre des Eskers; Amos | Théâtre du Vieux Terrebonne;
Terrebonne | Théâtre Le Palace; Granby | Centre culturel de Drummondville, Drummondville | Théâtre des Muses; Laval
| Salle André-Prévost; St. Jérôme | Salle Désilets; Montréal-Nord | Salle Émilie-Legault; Montreal | Maison de la culture de
Gatineau; Gatineau | Auditorium Massey-Vanier; Cowansville | Auditorium Polyvalente Horizon-Blanc; Fermont
www.sursaut.ca
PRODUCTIONS
2015
Me2
2015
Chemins de travers
2013
The Cicada and the Ant
2012
In situ : A Dance Happening
2010
Les meilleurs moments/The Best of Sursaut
2009 Boo!
2008 Le jardin caché
2005
At nightfall
2004
L’Échappée
2001 Family Portrait
1998
Les excentriques
1996
Les promenades d’Olivier
1994
The Nutcracker and the King of the Rats
1993
Le bal sans fin
1992
Fou de vivre
1990 Le minuscule quotidien
Risques d’orages
1989 Collisions
Danselieu
1988
Les états d’Anne
J’ai la bougeotte et toi?
www.sursaut.ca