The work of adaptation, reconstruction and rehearsals led to the presentation of the Soirée Jean-Pierre Perreault at the Agora de la danse on four evenings from December 16^th to 19^th, 2009. The work of reconstruction was an initiative of the Département de danse at UQAM and was undertaken on its own responsibility in collaboration with the Fondation Jean-Pierre Perreault. This was an exceptional opportunity for the Fondation to pursue its work of documenting Jean-Pierre Perreault’s repertoire in professional and educational contexts.

The final stage of the reconstruction, the performance, provided the students with rewarding practical experience. The following excerpts were selected from each of the three pieces performed on December 17^th 2009 by students enrolled in the course Spectacle chorégraphique dirigé II in the Département de danse at UQAM.

The first piece on the program, originally a trio for women, was adapted here for an ensemble of 22 dancers. This technically demanding piece lets us revisit Jean-Pierre Perreault beginnings in dance, when he was a young choreographer finding his way as part of the Groupe de la Place Royale. In this piece, Jean-Pierre Perreault achieves great sobriety in his use of the body as an architectural and temporal element. The musical score was created by Morton Feldman.

The complete choreography and the roles of the dancers are respected. The enlarged trio unfolds in the space of the stage and brings the choreographic material to life in a new form: the ensemble. Continental highlights the work of the female dancers in a way rarely seen in Perreault’s own work.

To situate this trio piece historically and distinguish it from its adaptation, a video screening of the 1973 version introduced the performance.

Choreography and costume design: Jean-Pierre Perreault
Adaptation: Ginelle Chagnon
Dance coach: Christine Charles
Assistant to the reconstruction of movements: Maya Ostrofsky
Music: Morton Feldman, Piece for Four Pianos (1957)
Lighting: Jean Gervais
Costume adaptation: Denis Lavoie, le Carré vert

Dancers (December 17^th 2009): Gabriela Asselin, Annie Bouthillette, Andréanne Breault, Geneviève Caron-Ferron, Annik Cormier, Meriem Dahmani, Alexe Desrosiers-Desgagné, Maude Filteau-Préville, Virginie Genest, Livia Girard, Karenne Gravel, Elisabeth Hould, Laurence Houle, Maude Lapointe, Christine Limoges, Catherine Lepage, Kaja Marika Maszewska, Laurence O. Gagnon, Valérie Philibert, Thakshila Rupasena, Myriam Tremblay and Julie Valois

Huit minutes (1982) (8 min.)

The solo piece Huit Minutes was created in 1982 for Daniel Soulières, one of the most frequent performers of Perreault’s work. Soulières graciously agreed to help restage this piece with young dancers. Because this solo uses improvisation based on specific directions, it poses an especially interesting challenge. For the needs of the project, the piece was danced by a man and a woman in turn.

Choreography and costume design: Jean-Pierre Perreault
Reconstruction: Daniel Soulières
Assistant and dance coach: Christine Charles
Music: Questa o quella by Giuseppe Verdi sung by Enrico Caruso and Mattinata by Francesco Paolo Tosti sung by Nellie Melba
Lighting: Jean Gervais
Costume reconstruction: Denis Lavoie, le Carré vert, and the Fondation Jean-Pierre Perreault

Dancer (December 17^th 2009) : Bruno Gagnon

Dernière Paille (1977) (23 min.)

This piece was most certainly the genesis of the ensemble pieces created by Jean-Pierre Perreault. It uses set design to sculpt the space in a simple manner: the released weight of the human body, the rhythmic sense, the rigour of the simplicity of the dancers’ movements, the notion of time and the sense of anonymity. All the specific qualities of Perreault’s signature style of the 1980s and 1990s can already be seen here. The version performed by the students is a complete choreographic reconstruction and an adaptation for thirteen female dancers and one male dancer.

Choreography, set design and costume design: Jean-Pierre Perreault
Reconstruction and adaptation: Ginelle Chagnon
Assistant to the reconstruction and dance coach: Christine Charles
Assistant to the reconstruction of movements: Maya Ostrofsky
Consultant to the reconstruction: Tassy Teekman
Lighting: Jean Gervais
Set construction: Set design studio, UQAM
Costume adaptation and production: Denis Lavoie, le Carré vert
Props: Nancy Bussières

Dancers (December 17^th 2009): Gabriela Asselin, Geneviève Caron-Ferron, Meriem Dahmani, Alexe Desrosiers-Desgagné, Maude Filteau-Préville, Bruno Gagnon, Virginie Genest, Livia Girard, Elisabeth Hould, Laurence O. Gagnon, Valérie Philibert, Mélanie St-Georges, Myriam Tremblay and Julie Valois

For the names of the original performers of each piece, please consult the detailed list of works.

Photographic Documents by Robert Etcheverry

The photographer Robert Etcheverry worked with Jean-Pierre Perreault on several occasions. Here he documents in photographs the rehearsal process that took place between November 11 and December 9, 2009. A longer version of this documentary was part of the exhibition held alongside the Soirée Jean-Pierre Perreault performance’s.