Coleman Lemieux presents world premiere in new Citadel dance centre

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Coleman Lemieux & Compagnie presents the world premiere of

Les cheminements de l’influence

(Pathways of Influence)

Choreographed and performed by Laurence Lemieux

Music by Gordon Monahan

Toronto, December 13, 2011 – The acclaimed Coleman Lemieux & Compagnie (CLC) presents the world premiere of Les cheminements de l’influence (Pathways of Influence), a striking solo dance work created and performed by CLC co-Artistic Director Laurence Lemieux as a tribute to her father, eminent political scientist and sociologist Vincent Lemieux. With original music by Gordon Monahan, this new work runs February 15 – 25, 2012, the first official work to be presented at CLC’s new home, the Citadel, a new centre for contemporary dance.

Vincent Lemieux is Quebec’s foremost political scientist and sociologist, a visionary who unifies the practical and theoretical. According to The National Post, “some regard Mr. Lemieux as Quebec’s Nostradamus.” His daughter, Laurence Lemieux, is one of Canada’s most acclaimed dancers and a creator whose choreography – frequently danced by her husband (and CLC Co-Artistic Director) Bill Coleman and, most recently, their two children – is deeply personal yet beloved by audiences, and is often selected for “Top 10” lists by publications such as The Globe & Mail and Toronto’s NOW Magazine.

Her new piece is a graceful tribute to her father. Jumping from page to stage, she embodies his groundbreaking work with daring physicality and passion, contrasting the immediateness of the dancer’s body with a grand visual scale.

“I hope,” Lemieux says, “to retrace in dance some of the pathways he has travelled in his wide-ranging studies, to capture something of the spirit of his methodology – its scientific precision as well as its remarkable artistry. He researches ‘the Quebec people;’ my research takes me into the memories and passions of this one, particular Quebecois person.”

Laurence Lemieux joined Toronto Dance Theatre in 1986, and has danced for such choreographers as David Earle, Peter Randazzo, Patricia Beatty, James Kudelka, Tere O’Connor, ¬Margie Gillis, William Douglas and Jean-Pierre Perreault. A Dora Mavor Moore Award winner for Outstanding Performance, since 1983 she has presented more than 25 of her own works in Canada, Russia, the US and Scotland – dances that are as emotionally moving as they are formally sophisticated and technically accomplished, often inspired by her Quebec childhood.

Some Responses to the Work of Laurence Lemieux:

“Insightful and passionate, Laurence Lemieux embodies not only a substantial dance repertoire but also a deep respect for her art form.”

The Dance Current

Varenka, Varenka! is a masterful piece of choreography. Lemieux has translated Dostoevsky’s novel into a dance anyone can easily understand.”

– Susan Walker, The Toronto Star

“Extremely evocative in terms of character, place, atmosphere and theme, La Nuit de la Saint-Jean is a seamlessly structured dance drama that balances finely chiselled and technically polished dancing with impressionistic lighting.”

– Deirdre Kelly, The Globe and Mail

“Laurence Lemieux réussit a faire une chorégraphie originale, feutrée, intimiste, dé_chirante, ou la gestuelle réussit a traduire les élans et les désespoirs des deux personnages du roman [de Dostoievski].”

– Aline Apostolska, La Presse

“Š wondrously strong dancing gives Lemieux the emphasis of a Picasso woman”

Anna Kisselgoff, The New York Times

Coleman Lemieux & Compagnie, founded in 2000 by Bill Coleman and Laurence Lemieux, creates both intimate, small-scale performances and spectacular stage shows featuring some of Canada’s greatest dancers, as well as now-legendary site-specific events in both urban and rural settings. The company works out of its newly-opened, newly-renovated building, the Citadel, in Toronto’s Regent Park neighbourhood.                                                                                                     

Coleman Lemieux & Compagnie presents

Les cheminements de l’influence (Pathways of Influence)

Choreographed and performed by Laurence Lemieux

Music by Gordon Monahan

February 15 – 25, 2012 at the Citadel, 304 Parliament Street

Performances: Wednesday-Saturday at 8pm

Tickets: $25. Box Office: 416-364-8011 or online at http://colemanlemieux.com

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