Artist Profile #4:
Louis Laberge-Côté – 2016 Creative Partnership Winner
D’arc will be performed Fri Jan 15th @ 8:00pm, Sat Jan 16th @ 3:40pm and Sun Jan 17th @ 3:10pm.
Acclaimed choreographer LOUIS LABERGE-CÔTÉ will create D’arc, an intimate, visceral, emotionally and physically charged 15-minute solo set on contemporary dancer Jordana Deveau, He will investigate the historical personage of Joan of Arc as a theme and archetype to underlie his work connecting through her story to several pertinent social issues such as women’s rights, rape culture, domestic violence, the legal system, war, religious fanaticism and mental illness. It also provides a lens through which to reflect on ourselves. He will take inspiration from this remarkable female figure, exploring what her story has to offer in a contemporary context.
Louis Laberge-Côté is a Toronto-based dancer, choreographer, teacher, and rehearsal director. An acclaimed performer, he has danced nationally and internationally with over 20 companies, and has been a full-time member of Toronto Dance Theatre (1999-2007) and the Kevin O’Day Ballett Nationaltheater Mannheim (2009-2011). He has created over 60 choreographic works, which have been presented and commissioned in Canada and abroad. His work has garnered him a Dora Mavor Moore Award for Outstanding Choreography, as well as six other nominations for Performance or Choreography. He has been nominated for the KM Hunter Award in 2014 and 2015. NOW Magazine named him “Dance Most Valuable Player” in 2006 and “Best Male Dancer” in 2014. A sought-after pedagogue, he has taught classes and workshops all across the country and is on faculty at Ryerson University. He currently shares the Vice-Presidency at the Canadian Dance Assembly and is the Chair of the Dance Committee at the Toronto Arts Council.