Marie Pons. Where does one set foot when coming to Parcours Danse? When being invited to cast a curious and critical eye on a specific dance scene it seems like a good warm-up to start with this kind of self-check. But here, this geographical and linguistic precision seems all the more necessary, because Parcours Danse questions from the outset where we stand, what our cultural references and imagination are made of and made into when we arrive here to watch dance.
The official welcome speeches on the first night begin with the acknowledgement of the territories — a gesture stating that the land on which we gather is unceded territory, a place which has long served as a site of meeting and exchange amongst First Nations. It is one way to work with the colonial past of Canada and to signal the need for systemic changes. Our references and imagination start to shift.
Then comes to my knowledge the existence of the Indian Act, first introduced in as a set of colonial laws aiming to crush First Nation cultures in favour of assimilation into Euro-Canadian society. Amongst these laws are a ban on traditional ceremonies, dances, songs and playing music. The ban heavily affected Indigenous communities until very late in the s.
While going from one theatre to the next, these different layers of history affect my perception and remain very much present. Nothing is ever neutral, but crossing an ocean to wander on a piece of land where dancing used to be a target of cultural oppression sure shakes up viewing habits. Parcours Danse takes the shape of a five-day dance hub, a dive into the dance scene from all over Quebec. About programmers gather for this edition, coming from 13 different countries to discover 50 works presented by dance artists in the official selection, and about 50 more in the OFF programme.
Annie-Claude Coutu-Geoffroy, director of Parcours Danse since spring , points out the high number of applications received this year due to post-covid recovery in the dance sector. Organised by La danse sur les routes du Quebec, a network of organisations for dance artists, agents, producers and programmers working together to improve the touring system in the country and beyond, Parcours Danse is a biennial event organised by the network since , and one of the rare platforms in North America that is entirely dedicated to dance.
