On the Move

It’s one of the aspects that strikes every visitor of Canada’s second biggest city first: People are jogging along the streets all day long, even uphill and on top of Mount Royal, the hill that gave Montreal its name. Bikes seem just as popular. They do keep fit, the people of Montreal. And yet, no one seems at a haste. Montreal is a relaxed city. In summer time, when long harsh winter seems far away, people enjoy outside activities the more. With Montreal being an amazingly green place, it’s a pleasure to be outside, even in the greatest heat. 

Around Place des Arts, the cultural heart and core of Montreal, between Boulevard De Maisonneuve and Rue Sainte-Catherine, the city goes to quite some lenghts to attract people and make them stay around. Free ping-pong (at a long, curved table), basketball or musical bikes that play a tune when cranked. Outdoor chess, water dispensers and endless comfy spots to sit and rest in the shadow. That’s what makes it worthwile. 

And amidst, just off Esplanade Tranquille or at Jardins Gamelin, close to Berry metro station, dance is being presented to the public, at free admission. Those shows are part of Festival Quartiers Danses, founded by Egyptian born with Lebanese origins Rafik Hubbert Sabbagh. The founder, executive and artistic director has been the soul oft he festival for 25 years now. It started under the name Transatlantique Montréal before it got its current name in 2009. 

Rafik is constantly on the lookout for new places around town to present contemporay dance by Canadian and Montreal artists, including indigenous ones, and international. One of these spots is Marché Atwater, a fabulous market place close to Canal de Lachine in the southwest of Montreal. Since this market with its art deco bell tower and vast variety of fresh food is one of the places to see anyway, watching a show there means killing two birds with one stone.

And some variety it is, artistically, conceptwise, in terms of expression. It’s Rafik’s focus, his emphasis on cultural diversity in his programme, that makes the mix. In the quiet garden, behind his home, he takes time to chat about his mission with the festival, democratization of dance and the accessibility to it for all, his experiences. Being a former dancer himself, he is impressively well-connected. On a global scale, mind you. He is full of anecdotes and stories, enjoys swaying from one to the next, like threading daisies on a chain. In the shade, on the grass, Mademoiselle Juliette rests her 17 year old bones. Rafik‘s three coloured cat ist just one of the marvellous things in his home. In one of the rooms, 15 old photographs hang on the wall, in golden frames: Ballets Russes, the original. Back in the 80’s he got them in New York, for a couple of bucks. I'm lost for words.

Just as incredible as some of the highlights of this year’s edition of Festival Quartiers Danses. My favourite? That just has to be Andrew Skeels, no doubt about that. A canadian artist who’s only work in Germany so far has been on the programme of Bayerische Staatsoper in Munich. He’s definitely a name to keep in mind. His dramaturgic skills, his approach to innovative expression is jaw dropping as it is simply thrilling. 

In his short piece „Thoughts and Prayers“ he uses light in such a strange way, for quite some time it seems somehow off and false. Only after a couple of minutes into it does it all fall into places. What a piece! In a more than just contemporaneous manner and most convincingly he manages to pry their most individual expression out of his dancers and yet make them stay down to earth. They exude an inexplicable innate power that hovers somewhere between ecstasy and mournfulness. Intricate, wicked sounds seem to involve even throat singing.

It’s those short pieces Rafik relies on with his festival, with a couple of longer pieces on the side, if you will. This approach allows him to invite young and upcoming artists as well as established ones, turning the festival into some sort of an offering of canapés. Solos, duos and raw pieces in the making. 

Just as impressive as Skeels‘ work is the quick „Vif“ by Étienne Delorme of Grands Ballets Canadiens. No more than lean eight minutes, but it’s got all it takes, to prove that contemporary ballet en pointe is just as current and has the audience right at the edge of the seat as the gobsmacking usage of waacking Kevin Table mesmerises everyone with (Next Zone / Lene Boel from Denmark), a clear fan favourite.  

It's the delicate selection in terms of who, when and where, that keeps the festival audience on their feet. When it comes to my feet, they hurt after two days already. A constant uphill, downhill, uphill stride, because I found accommodation right at the "foot" of Mount Royal. Uphill it also means for me to find the venue for the performance by Charles-Alexis Desagnés. I've got no roaming data left on my phone, my offline-map doesn't know all the places. And if there's one thing I loathe, it's being late. So I'm just about to lose my temper, because I don't seem to be able to find the venue. Here it is, the correct adress. But it's nothing but a decrepit sort of industrial building. Not a sign of the festival. And since I'm too late already: not a single familiar face. Then, out of the blue, a volunteer in the yellow version of the festival shirt vanishes right into that building. Indeed it feels like the white rabbit down the hole.

I hasten to catch up, and he turns out not to know his ways around inside. Then, close to a narrow staircase, a tiny version of the festival poster. So we climb up the stairs. Finally, in a long hall way, it's Caroline sitting at a desk. She's part of the amazing team running the festival. Just as I'm about to start a wild mix of apologies for being late and complaints about the lack of information, she calmly asks me to take of my shoes. What the heck?!

The next thing I know is I went through a door to my right. I'm standing in a huge hall, some estimated 70 square metres or even more. One big window along the opposite wall, made of numerous small panes. There are about 50 people, sitting on chairs around a massive dining table. Next to it, a complete kitchen, further down a sofa, crowded with people. They lean against the wall. Over by the window, closer to the daylight, a rack with plants, more plants and even more. A big mirror in the corner. The floor really is covered in white marley floor. To good to be true, but it is. Anyway, before long, Charles-Alexis is squatting on the fridge. And I think to myself: What a wonderful world. Actually, I made that up. I don't remember, what I thought. But I instantly knew, that this was a moment to remember. Because we were standing right in his home. This place is where he lives and works. 

Above our heads, some sort of gallery, huddled into it a generous bed. He gets up there, performes along a thick pipe. He gets down back on the floor, crawls over the sofa and leans against the wall, upside down. It's not about what he does. Maybe it's about how he does it. It's definitely about where he does it. And why.

Different tunes, different rhythms he plays from his laptop. One is a clean, a capella version of the spiritual "Please prepare me". I add it to my play list the following day. Ever since it has been haunting me. It's my Montreal-tune now.

Besides a well-curated selection of short dance films from Montreal and abroad the festival also features a Francophonie Day, blending dance with spoken word / reading of poetry. So dance is here and there, and it stays, right in the middle of a city, where cracked pavements and vast shopping malls speak of really cold winters. Festival Quartiers Danses, however, celebrates sun and a mentality dance brings along, just as it does everywhere else.