Harbourfront Centre presents the Ontario premiere of Compagnie Virginie Brunelle’s striking union between contemporary dance and classical music with Les corps avalés, February 24 and 25, 2023, at 7:30pm at Fleck Dance Theatre, as part of the international contemporary dance series, Torque. Choreographed by Virginie Brunelle, the work showcases Brunelle’s signature expressiveness and vigorous physicality to portray both the intensity and vulnerability of humanity. The work is further heightened by the Molinari Quartet, whose classical repertoire, performed live, permeates the work and helps animate and amplify the dancers’ movement, resulting in a seamless fusion of gesture and sound.

“We are thrilled to present Les corps avalés to Toronto audiences for the first time,” says Nathalie Bonjour, Director, Performing Arts at Harbourfront Centre. “An award-winning choreographer, Brunelle is renowned for her highly detailed work and great musicality – all of which is widely on display in this mesmerizing performance. She deftly combines rhythm and individual notes with intricate choreography to showcase every nuance of the dancers’ movements.”

Les corps avalés features seven dancers and four musicians on the same stage, resulting in an immersive visual and auditory experience. The dancers capture loss, separation, resilience and hope through a fiery movement vocabulary: sharp throws and challenging suspensions portray the precariousness of our collective struggle to connect with the world and the drama of relationships and interactions. Hailed as a work of “great beauty, which touches the heart” (La Presse), the performance uses intense physicality and athleticism to communicate a complicated relationship with our physical world. The Molinari Quartet furthur energizes the steps and movements of each dancer for a poignant performance of healing and deep reflection.

Les corps avalés made its premiere at the Théâtre Maisonneuve de la Place des Arts (Danse Danse) in Montreal in January 2020 to audience and critical success. The work was supported by the Conseil des Arts du Canada, the Conseil des arts et des lettres du Québec and the Conseil des arts de Montréal.

Since its inception in 2009, the choreographic company Compagnie Virginie Brunelle has been under the artistic direction and management of choreographer Virginie Brunelle. Its repertoire includes award-winning contemporary dance works, which have been presented in Quebec and on international stages. Brunelle won the 2009 Bourse RIDEAU at the Vue sur la Relève festival for her work Les cuisses à l’écart du cœur, which led to the founding of her eponymous company in 2009. In 2011, Brunelle opened La Chapelle’s fall season with Complexe des genres, which received second prize at Denmark’s prestigious Aarhus International Choreography Competition. Brunelle’s works have toured Europe and Canada, culminating in an invitation in 2018 to create a production for the Gauthier Dance Theaterhaus Stuttgart company. Her most recent work, Fables, was presented in May 2022 at the Lugano Danza Festival in Switzerland, and in Montreal by Danse Danse in November 2022.

As part of their contemporary dance series Torque, Harbourfront Centre will host a Torque Q&A immediately following the performance on February 25, 2023.

For tickets and further information, please visit: harbourfrontcentre.com

About Harbourfront Centre 

Harbourfront Centre is a leading international centre for contemporary arts, culture and ideas, and a registered, charitable not-for-profit cultural organization operating a 10-acre campus on Toronto’s central waterfront. Harbourfront Centre provides year-round programming 52 weeks a year, seven days a week, supporting a wide range of artists and communities. We inspire audiences and visitors with a breadth of bold, ambitious and engaging experiences. We champion contemporary Canadian artists throughout their careers, presenting them alongside international artists and fostering national and international artistic exchange between disciplines and cultures.

Harbourfront Centre presents 

Compagnie Virginie Brunelle’s Les corps avalés

Dates: February 24 and 25, 2023, 7:30pm

Price: From $29–$69

Address: Fleck Dance Theatre

Queen’s Quay Terminal, 3rd Floor 207 Queen’s Quay West

Box Office: harbourfrontcentre.com.

Photo: Scene from Les corps avalés. © 2022 Raphaël Oullet.