Dancers mix classical technique with contemporary styles

By Carol Egan
Special to The Advertiser

Les Ballets jazz de Montréal offers two performances this weekend — today at the Maui Arts & Cultural Center and Saturday at the Leeward Community College Theatre on O'ahu.

The 46-year-old ex-dancer and his company members are looking forward to this visit to paradise, coming as it does on the heels of a month-long European tour followed by engagements in Laramie, Wyo., and Denver. An additional six-week Mainland tour follows, ending in Florida next month.

Formed in the early 1970s, Les Ballets jazz de Montréal is dedicated to the creation and performance of new works that combine classical technique with a variety of contemporary dance styles. Its 14 dancers are trained in classical, jazz and modern dance.

Robitaille began his dance career in 1973, when he won a fellowship to study at the Ballets Jazz de Montréal academy. After his studies, he eventually joined Les Grands Ballets Canadiens, where he danced the leading roles in classical ballets and worked with contemporary choreographers such as Jiri Kylian and William Forsythe.

Robitaille also was involved in several projects, including the creation of a group dedicated to showcasing the work of new choreographers.

•	Les Ballets jazz de Montréal 8 p.m. Saturday Leeward Community College Theatre $27 general, $18 students, seniors, military; reserved seating available for additional $5 455-0385 Also: 7:30 p.m. today at the Castle Theater of the Maui Arts & Cultural Center. $10, $18, $26, half-price for kids 12 and younger. (808) 242-7469

"The body was screaming too much, and it was time to either stop dancing or devote myself to it completely. I thought of joining NDT 3 (Netherlands Dance Theatre 3, a company of dancers all over the age of 40), but then I was offered the job here," he said.

Robitaille joined Les Ballets jazz de Montréal as artistic director in 1998, returning to the company where he had begun his career 25 years earlier.

Things have been going well for the company ever since.

"Right now I'm very happy with what I'm doing. I would say the activity has doubled since I arrived in '98. This season we're doing 100 shows," Robitaille said.

Unlike American dance companies struggling to survive, Robitaille said "Canada is still good for the artistic community. We get about one third of our revenue from the government (city of Montreal, province of Quebec, and the Canadian government)." But, like their U.S. counterparts, the artists are finding it necessary to seek private financing.

Asked about the repertory the company will bring to Honolulu, Robitaille proudly described the works of the four choreographers that range from "a very short break dance" to the company's resident choreographer Crystal Pite's "Twenty-four Short Works."

As an alumna of the Frankfurt Ballet, under the direction of William Forsythe, Pite has developed a highly theatrical style. "This ballet is about how to go beyond the limits of the body," said Robitaille. "It's probably the most contemporary dance of the evening."

Other works are by American choreographers Tray McIntyre, formerly with the Houston Ballet, and Mia Michaels, who created the dance numbers for Celine Dion's Las Vegas show.