Credit: Michael Slobodian

RUBBERBANDance Group

Choreographer and dancer Victor Quijada, founded RUBBERBANDance Group (RBDG) to create an exploratory base where he could mix his several influences to create a new concept of : a contemporary style that would blend the spontaneity and exuberance of hip hop with the refinement of classical dance.

The mandate of the company, also led by artistic co- director Anne Plamondon, consists in creating, producing and disseminating Victor Quijada’s choreographic work on the national and international levels, in performances, films, and special events.

RBDG’s work, while groundbreaking in a new movement aesthetic – the fusion of contemporary and break – is also rich in its exploration of human relationships, concentrating primarily on psychological constructs, behavioural patterns, and emotional conflicts. Beating with the fresh pulse of street demeanour and an acute understanding of theatrical staging, Quijada’s choreographies harness the ardour of violence, tenderness, comedy, and tragedy – along with a great deal of honesty and courage – to narrow in on the larger goal of revealing a truth about the human condition; a truth that might somehow make a difference to someone in the audience. Credit: Samuel Rigaux In RBDG’s view, there should be many diverse and sometimes even unexpected ways and means to reach audiences. Quijada, carrying within him the sensibility of a street dancer, often explores ways to bring the immediacy of hip hop circles to the frame of compositional display. He has tested alternative venues, carried out impromptu performances, and broken the performer/audience barrier on several occasions in countless ways. All in order to shatter the habitual presentational format, in hopes that the public can experience dance as a participatory event, and not as a passive activity.

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Company History

RBDG literally exploded onto the Montreal scene in 2002. Presenting a unique artistic blend of ballet, and , the company surprised audiences and critics with three creations presented by Espace Tangente over two seasons, and several smaller works being premiered around the city in mixed programs or self produced evenings. Tender Loving Care and Hasta La Próxima shared a place in Le Devoir’s Top 5 in Dance for 2002, while Elastic Perspective started a 100 performance streak in 2003 by winning the RIDEAU Prize at Vue sur la relève Festival. In the 2003-2004 season, RUBBERBANDance Group was granted a residency at Usine C for the creation of Slicing Static, named the best dance production of 2004 by the Montreal cultural event weekly, Hour.

In 2007, RBDG received the support of a major partnership with the Cinquième Salle of Place des Arts, through which it was granted a four-year artistic residency. The three works that have emerged from this partnership to date are AV Input/Output, Punto Ciego, presented at the Cinquième Salle in a sold-out three- week run in March 2009, and Gravity of Center in April 2011.

Credit: Michael Slobodian

Now in the forefront of Montreal’s contemporary dance community and recognized internationally for its new and unique vision of contemporary dance theatre, RBDG has created and presented to date nine dance works, five short films – including Hasta La Próxima, finalist in the short film category at the American Awards – and has taken part in a large number of events in collaboration with other artists (galas, special events, video clips, demos, etc.). The group has been presented throughout Canada, and has represented Canadian artistic innovation in the United States, Belgium, UK, Belarus, Germany, Holland, Finland, Sweden, Hungary, Mexico and Japan.

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Victor Quijada The remarkable path of choreographer Victor Quijada began in Los Angeles, where from a young age, he was deeply influenced by hip hop culture. His introduction to formal dance and theater at L.A. County High School for the Arts was a small awakening that brought questions concerning the possibilities and potential of the hip hop art form. A protégé of Judson Church pioneer Rudy Perez, Quijada adapted postmodernism to his hip hop ideals. During three years of working with dance icon Twyla Tharp, he applied choreographic know-how to those ideals. Strongly attracted to the classical ballet technique, he worked with Eliot Feld and later joined Les Grands Canadiens de Montreal, experiences that further influenced and re-shaped his long-standing relationship with hip hop.

In 2002, after years of exploring dance and theater from urban, classical and contemporary angles he formed RUBBERBANDance Group. His work with the company examines humanity and human relationships through a unique fusion of these dance and theater aesthetics. In 2003, Quijada received both the Bonnie Bird North American Award and the Peter Darrell Choreography Award (UK). In 2010, he also received a Choreography Fellowship from the Princess Grace Foundation-USA. He has created work for Pacific Northwest Ballet, Ballet Met, Jeune Ballet du Québec, Peter Boal & Company (NYC), Transitions Dance Company (London), Chamber Dance Project, and notably Self Observation Without Judgement for Scottish Dance Theater, which won the 2004 National Credit: Jocelyn Michel Dance Award for Best Modern Repertory.

A finalist in the 2004 American Choreography Awards for the short film adaptation of Hasta La Próxima, Quijada also earned a Choreography in Media Honors Award for the sequence he staged in the K-OS music video Man I Used to Be (2005 Much Music Video Award for Best Rap Video). Quijada has directed two short films Small Explosions That Are Yours to Keep (2006 – under the mentorship of director Micah Meisner) and Secret Service (2007). He also collaborated with director René-Pierre Bélanger on both the 2006 Radio-Canada production of La Symphonie éclatée, featuring Kent Nagano conducting the Orchestre symphonique de Montréal, and on the Gemini Award nominated Canada Day 2004 broadcast for CBC television. 4

Anne Plamondon

After her classical training at the National Ballet School of Canada, Banff Center for the Arts and graduation from l’École Supérieure de Danse du Quebec, Plamondon joined Les Grands Ballets Canadiens in 1994. From 1998 to 2000, she danced with Nederlands Dans Theater 2 (Holland), and Gulbenkian Ballet (Portugal).

She has performed and created roles in the works of over 30 choreographers such as Jiři Kylián, Ohad Naharin, Paul Lightfoot, Angelin Preljocaj, Johan Inger, Stijn Celis, and Itzik Galili.

Since her return to Montreal, she has also collaborated with choreographer Jean Grand-Maître, Estelle Clareton and James Kudelka. It was Plamondon’s luminosity and versatility that convinced Crystal Pite to collaborate with her for the creation of the lead roles in Lost Action (2005) and Fault (2008).

Plamondon also danced in several films and videos with film directors such as René-Pierre Bélanger, Micah Meisner, Raymond St-Jean and Victor Quijada. Plamondon joined RUBBERBANDance Group in 2002 and became co-artistic director in 2005.

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Gravity of Center

Credit: Michael Slobodian

Each being is both at the centre of the world and orbiting around others. Interdependence is obvious and struggles are inevitable. In a space out of time, RUBBERBANDance Group’s raw movement expresses all the weight of this adversarial relationship. The five dancers – a family, a nomadic tribe or an entire people - interweave, fight, crave and hustle in an astonishing fluidity of action. All of this, only to survive.

With Gravity of Center, Victor Quijada succeeds to contain the ferocity of hip hop in a perfectly refined choreographic language. Between dynamic rhythms and physical prowess, the company’s unique vocabulary is the epicenter of this ninth creation.

Quijada collaborates on this production with creators dear to RUBBERBANDance Group. Yan Lee Chan sculpts the space with its lighting as Jasper Gahunia, DJ Lil’ Jaz, creates an atmosphere with music that is the true link to RBDG’S visual aesthetic.

Gravity of Center premiered in April 2011 at Cinquième Salle of Place des Arts in Montréal.

Year of creation : 2011 Choreography : Victor Quijada Duration: 75 minutes Dancers : 5 Technicians: 3

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Punto Ciego

Punto Ciego is a full evening work inspired by the non-linear approaches of writers Kundera and Tarantino, and is comprised of several situations that bring six personalities together to examine, defend, and possibly accept varying perspectives on a collective reality. This tragic comedy uses the audience’s own subjective validation to give the dense physicality of this work a double edge. The first phase of the work – the duo of Quijada and Plamondon – breaks the fourth wall and introduces characters that speak to the audience while slipping between present reality and past memories. The second phase introduces a quartet that allows us to follow an individual from one situation to the next – appreciating the perspective of one character as the focus changes to the perspective of another.

This work is the continuing development of a vocabulary that intermixes contemporary dance with the techniques and textures of various forms. Refined over the last decade, this movement style coils tight and strong in the solar plexus, as arms and legs move freely through space. The three- dimensional surfaces of the body push and carve through the space – taking the body out of the upright position and into horizontal and inverted planes. The use of video, audio recording, audience interaction, and set design are all aspects that have been successfully explored before. Using the acquired knowledge to perfecting the use of these tools, Punto Ciego is RBDG’s most remarkable work to date. Credit: Michael Slobodian

Collaborations include Yan Lee Chan for the lighting design, Chan who in this creation for Quijada has devised an elaborate never-ending landscape in which the scenario unravels. Composition is by Jasper Gahunia (DJ Lil’ Jaz) who through this creation has unleashed an unbelievably rich palette of sound and emotion for the audience to discover.

Year of creation : 2008 Choreography : Victor Quijada Duration: 90 minutes Dancers : 6 Technicians: 3

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Loan Sharking

Since 2002, Victor Quijada has created works for special events and by commission for other dance companies. Loan Sharking is based on the idea of retrieving and appropriating these choreographies to create a new repertory program that offers a wide perspective on the many lyrical and physical possibilities of the particular vocabulary developed by RBDG.

ACT 1 / Approximate duration: 20 minutes

Dr Ib Erif Created in 2008 for RBDG as part of a televised event in collaboration with the OSM (Orchestre symphonique de Montréal).

Soft Watching the First Implosion Created in 2005 for Peter Boal & Company, featuring dancers from New York City Ballet.

Attempt #2 at Reinventing the Hip Hop Routine Created in 2002 for RBDG, premiered at New York Central Park Summerstage Festival.

Credit: Michael Slobodian

ACT 2 / Approximate duration: 30 minutes

Punto Ciego Abreviado The original ninety minutes production Punto Ciego has been reduced and condensed in this abbreviated touring version.

Year of creation : 2008 Choreography : Victor Quijada Dancers : 6 Technicians: 3

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AV Input/Output

AV Input/Output further blurs the line between fiction and reality, continuing with the company’s usual procedure, and features the hybrid work of choreographer Victor Quijada.

Quijada has probed, since 2002, the power and distinctive qualities of each genre to create a language of his own and has found in Anne Plamondon, co-artistic director of RBDG, a committed partner and brilliant, multifaceted performer.

In AV Input/Output the two codirectors, both as themselves and as characters based on themselves, lead us into a universe where intimacy – real or fictional? – is magnified by the camera of director René-Pierre Bélanger. To complete a stage environment judiciously devoid of the company’s usual collaborators, he is accompanied by Yan Lee Chan on lighting, Stéphane Longpré on sets, Anne-Marie Veevaete on costumes, Radwan Moumneh and Mitchell Akiyama on sound, with additional music by DJ Lil’ Jaz.

On a bare stage, virtuosos Quijada and Plamondon become two contorted puppets, two lovers, two children, two strangers. Their captivating, moving and complex solos and duets oscillate between strength and disequilibrium, transporting us to a place where the real and virtual converge. With AV Input/Output, a reality- dance event combining pure motion and theatrical performance, RUBBERBANDance Group exceeds audience expectations yet again. Credit: Samuel Rigaux

Year of creation : 2008 Choreography : Victor Quijada Duration : 60 minutes Dancers : 2 Technicians: 3

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Elastic Perspective

World class dancers from contemporary and break dance backgrounds unite to investigate human relationships through an innovative mix of hip hop dynamics and contemporary classicism. After two years of continuous creation, this program of selected works shows the range of this extraordinary group and the perfect marriage between explosive hip hop physicality and the subtle profoundness of contemporary storytelling.

Elastic Perspective is a selection of works created within the first two years of the founding of RUBBERBANDance Group. The evening is presented in two parts; the first is comprised by six short pieces created through commission by hip hop and contemporary dance festivals. The latter is the 25-minute quartet Hasta La Próxima created for Urban Dance Series at Espace Tangente.

Elastic Perspective is the result of a contemporary choreographic research that breaks the established conventions of hip hop. Victor Quijada creates here a work that scrambles the aesthetic identity of hip hop, fusing it with theories that evolved in him due to his experiences in various dance forms. He has given rise to a hybrid style that emerges between the worlds of break and contemporary dance. Credit: Chris Randle

Year of creation : 2003 Choreography : Victor Quijada Duration : 75 minutes Dancers : 6 Technicians : 3

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Slicing Static

Within a conventional dance or theatre presentation, there is a stage, a fixed area where the performance will take place. The stage, usually defined by the proscenium, similar to the outline of a television screen, dictates, to the audience, the perimeters of the action and/or events that unfold throughout the presentation. These perimeters give the audience and performer a sense of security as well as a knowing of where and when the action will begin and end.

Slicing Static is a 60-minute site-specific dance presentation that brings a truer experience of life into the theatre space. As there are no boundaries to the events that shape our lives, the boundaries that usually define the performance space, rules, and etiquette will be distorted and adjusted. Aspects of these elements will change in many ways throughout the presentation. Events, situations, actions and movement will develop and unfold all around the individuals watching the show.

Credit: Nathalie Galazka

Year of creation : 2004 Duration : 60 minutes Choreography : Victor Quijada Dancers : 5 Technicians : 2

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Performances and Distinctions

2012

Gravity of Center Annenberg Center for the Performing Arts, Philadelphia (US) Fort Wayne Performing Arts Center, Fort Wayne (US) Teatro de la Ciudad, Hermosillo (Mexico) Pablo de Villavicencio, Culiacàn (Mexico) Sala de Espectaculos CECUT, Tijuana (Mexico) Foro Experimental de Cearte, Ensenada (Mexico) Teatro Universitario, Mexicali (Mexico) Teatro de la Danza, México (Mexico)

2011 Loan Sharking Cinquième Salle, Place des Arts, Montreal (CAN) Purdue University, West Lafayette (US) Mousonturm, Francfort (Germany) Schrittmacher Festival, Aachen (Germany) Cultuurcentrum Brugge, Bruges (Belgium) TPAM, Yokohama (Japan) Cultuurcentrum De Spil, Roulers (Belgium) Trafó, House of Contemporary Arts, Budapest (Hungaria) Special Events Post Hip-Hop Project 2 Inauguration de la Place des Arts, Montreal (CAN) Festival TransAtlantique, Montreal (CAN) Nuit Blanche, Montreal (CAN) ISPA, Toronto (CAN) Gravity of Center 2010 Ringling International Arts Festival, Sarasota (US) AV Input/Output Cornell University, Ithaca (US) Luckman Fine Arts Complex, Los Angeles (US) World Music/CRASHarts, Boston (US) Flynn Center for the Performing Arts, Burlington (US) Loan Sharking DanceWorks, Toronto (CAN) Festival DansEncorps, Moncton (CAN) The Grand Theatre, Kingston (CAN) Festival DansEncore, Trois-Rivières (CAN) Center for the Arts/Brock Univ., St-Catharines (CAN) American Dance Festival, Durham (US) * Princess Grace Award - Choreography fellowship Post Hip-Hop Project PS/21, Chatham (US) Pavillon de l’île, Châteauguay (CAN) Tanzmesse, Dusseldorf (Germany)

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2009

Loan Sharking Salle Jean-Marc-Dion, Sept-Îles (CAN) Salle Desjardins, New Richmond (CAN) Théâtre Lionel-Groulx, Ste-Thérèse (CAN) The Egg, Albany (US) Théâtre Hector-Charland, L’Assomption (CAN) St-Mary’s Episcopal School, Memphis (US) Maison de la culture de Trois-Rivières, Trois-Rivières Maui Arts & Cultural Center, Kahului (US) (CAN) Kahilu Theatre, Kamuela (US) Jacob’s Pillow, Becket (US) Kauai Concert Association, Lihue (US) * OQAJ-RIDEAU Prize (CAN) Leeward Community College Theatre, Pearl City (US) Wesleyan University, Middletown (US) Cinquième Salle, Place des Arts, Montreal (CAN) Punto Ciego Johnson County Community College, Overland Park La Rotonde, Quebec (CAN) (US) Théâtre de la Ville, Longueuil (CAN) Centre National des Arts, Ottawa (CAN) Spect’art, Rimouski (CAN) University Music Society, Ann Arbour (US) Centre culturel de Drummondville, Drummondville (CAN) Elastic Perspective Salle Pauline-Julien, Ste-Geneviève (CAN) University Music Society, Ann Arbour (US) Théatre du cuivre, Rouyn-Noranda (CAN) Théâtre de Baie-Comeau, Baie-Comeau (QC)

2008

Punto Ciego Brian Webb Dance Company, Edmonton (CAN) Dance Afiliates, Philadelphie (US) Vancouver Est Cultural Centre, Vancouver (CAN) Redfern Art Center, Keene (US) New Works, Vancouver (CAN) Théâtre Centennial, Lennoxville (CAN) Yukon Arts Center, Whitehorse (CAN) Dance Victoria Society, Victoria (CAN) AV Input/Output Cultuurcentrum Brugge, Brugge (Belgium) Cinquième Salle, Place des Arts, Montreal (CAN) DanceXchange, Birmingham (England) UCSB Arts & Lecture, Santa Barbara (US) Elastic Perspective University of California, San Diego (US) Kravis Center, West Palm Beach (US) David S. Howes Theatre, St-Catharines (CAN) Iowa Cities Tour, Iowa (US) The Oakville Centre, Oakville (CAN) Irvine Barclay Theater, Irvine (US) River Run Centre, Guelph (CAN) Luckman Theatre, Los Angeles (US) The Rose Theatre, Brampton (CAN) Dancer’s Studio West, Calgary (CAN) Capitol Centre, North Bay (CAN)

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2007

Elastic Perspective Spoleto Festival, Charleston (US) Festival La Bâtie, Genova (Switzerland) Tour of Maisons de la culture, Montreal (CAN) Festival Danse Canada, Ottawa (CAN) Salle Pauline-Julien, Ste-Geneviève (CAN) Bates Dance Festival, Lewiston (US) Théâtre du Vieux-Terrebonne (CAN) Festival des arts de St-Sauveur, St-Sauveur (CAN) Annenberg Center, Philadelphia (US) Ravinia Festival, Chicago (US) DanceWorks, Toronto (CAN)

2006

Elastic Perspective The Center of Contemporary Arts, St-Louis (US) Flynn Center for the Performing Arts, Burlington (US) Tour of Maisons de la culture, Montreal (CAN) Hip Hop Theater Festival, Chicago (US) Salle Pauline-Julien, Ste-Geneviève (CAN) Festival Danse Canada, Ottawa (CAN) Théâtre du Vieux-Terrebonne (CAN) Jacob’s Pillow Festival, Beckett (US) Annenberg Center, Philadelphie (US) Bumbershoot Festival, Seattle (US) Danceworks, Harbourfront Centre, Toronto (CAN) Opening of the Center for the Arts, Madison (US)

2005

Ship Shop Shapeshifting The Traviattle Festival des Arts de St-Sauveur (CAN) EXPO 2005, Aichi (Japon) Hip Hop Theater Festival, San Francisco (US)

2004

Elastic Perspective Slicing Static ACT 2004 Festival Rotterdamse, Schouwburg Coproduction with Usine C, Montreal (CAN) (Netherlands) * Best Dance Production in 2004 Quebec cities tour (Pointe-aux-Trembles / Valleyfield/ Hour, Montreal (Philip Szporer) Mont-Laurier / Rimouski / Baie-Comeau) Adidas Fashion Launch Event, Montreal (CAN) Mi Verano Fall For Dance Festival, City Center, New York (US) Dusk Outdoor Festival URB Festival, Helsinki (Finland) 10 year Retrospective, Toronto (CAN) Breakin’ Convention, Sadler’s Wells, London (England) Reflection on Movement Particles CanDance Festival Tour (Vancouver/Guelph/Montreal)

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2003

Reflection on Movement Particles Mi Verano Résidence, Festival Danse En Vol, Bruxelles (Belgium) Dusk Dances Outdoor Festival, Toronto (CAN)

Elastic Perspective Hasta la Próxima ACT 2003 Festival Rotterdamse Schouwburg Short film directed by Mark Adam (BravoFACT!) (Netherlands) Alucine Arts Festival - Latin Film Gala, Toronto (CAN) Millennium Scholarship Fund Gala, Ottawa (CAN) Central Park Summerstage, New York (US) Tender Loving Care Just for Laugh Festival, Montreal (CAN) Printemps de la danse, Montreal (CAN) Hip Hop Theater Festival, Washington (US) Hip Hop Theater Festival, P.S.122, New York (US) Metabolism Festival Vue sur la Relève, Montreal (CAN) The Performance Mix Festival, New York (US) * Coup de Pouce distinction Bowery Poetry Club, New York (US) Rush the Vote/Peace Concert - JUNO Weekend, Ottawa DNA Série Danse Urbain - Espace Tangente, Montreal (CAN) (CAN) Society of Arts and Technology, Montreal (CAN)

2002

Out of the Shadows Tender Loving Care Society of Arts and Technology, Montreal (CAN) Dancenow NYC Festival, John Jay Hall, New York (US) FlynnSpace Center for the Arts, Burlington (US) Hasta la Próxima Just for Laugh Festival, Montreal (CAN) Urban dances series, Tangente, Montreal (CAN) Central Park Summerstage New York (US) * Best Dance Production in 2002 Latin dances serie, Tangente, Montreal (CAN) La Presse (Apostolska and Brody) * Best Dance Performance in 2002 Dovercourt House, Toronto (CAN) La Presse (Apostolska et Brody)

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Contacts

Co-Artistic Director and Choreographer Victor Quijada [email protected]

Co-Artistic Director Anne Plamondon [email protected]

Administrative Director Fannie Bellefeuille [email protected]

Communications [email protected]

Credit : Michael Slobodian

Agent for U.S.A. Agent for Canada, Europe, Harold Norris, II Asia and South America H-Art Management Paul Tanguay 481, 8th Avenue, Suite 834 Tanguay Impresario New York NY 10001 10, rue de la Baie, Saint-Alphonse-Rodriguez (Quebec) USA CANADA Phone : (212) 868-2134 J0K 1W0 Fax : (212) 504-3229 Phone : (450) 883-3570 [email protected] [email protected] www.h-artmanagement.com

RUBBERBANDance Group 940, Sainte-Marguerite Street, Montréal (Québec) H4C 2X8 Phone : (514) 725-7868 | Fax : (514) 725-3508 www.rubberbandance.com

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