Ballets Jazz Montréal
Secret gardens
Ballets Jazz Montréal shines once again with a captivating new work by Jo Strømgren, a prolific figure in the international performing arts. Boundless creativity!
Eloquent and laced with humour, Jo Strømgren’s dance is full of charm. Choreographer in residence with the Norwegian National Ballet as well as a playwright and theatre director, this versatile artist collaborates extensively with prestigious companies. Buoyed by the vibrant energy of Ballets Jazz Montréal’s extraordinary performers, La revue finale unveils the beauty of those simple, fleeting moments beneath the apparent banality of existence, while probing the mysteries of untold stories. A character experiencing their final moments revisits fragments of their life. With a dramatic composition inspired by the cinema and interspersed with touches of humour and great choreographic verve, the work immerses us in a dynamic reflection on memory, buried secrets and the paradoxes of the human condition. Pleasure and emotion guaranteed!
Co-produced by Festival des Arts de Saint-Sauveur.
Artist(s)
Jo Strømgren was born in Norway. He is a choreographer, but also works as a director, scriptwriter, stage designer, lighting and costume designer. In the 1980s he began by dancing jazz ballet, before studying classical ballet and choreography at the Oslo National Academy of Ballet. He worked for some years for the Carte Blanche dance company in Bergen, both as choreographer and dancer.
Company
Founded in 1972 by Geneviève Salbaing, Eva Von Genscy, and Eddy Toussaint, Ballets Jazz Montréal is a contemporary dance repertory company which, under the artistic direction of Alexandra Damiani, creates, produces, and presents on local, national, and international stages. The company collaborates with internationally renowned choreographers who develop their own research to generate a repertoire that reflects BJM's identity and is accessible to all audiences.
Credits
Artistic direction Alexandra Damiani.
Choreographer and director Jo Strømgren.
Costume design Philippe Dubuc.
Lighting design Chantal Labonté.
Music composition To be announced.
Props design and fabrication Alain Jenkins.
Artistic supervisor Andrew Mikhaiel.
Rehearsal director Stéphanie Dalphond.
Technical director Marco Vargas Navarro.
Technical coordinator Louis Morriset.
Technical team Maxime Lambert, Claude Plante, and Daniel Ranger.
Video recording and editing Louis-Martin Charest.
Photographer Raphaël Ouellet.
Graphic design Gris-Gris design graphique.
Performers Gustavo Barros, Millie Brinck-Dubuc*, Yosmell Calderon Mejias, Abby Castora, Marcel Cavaliere, Astrid Dangeard, Kyle Davis, Shanna Irwin Calderon, Miu Kato, DaMond Lemonte Garner, Zack Preece, Madelaine Salhany, Silje Vereide.
Intern Troy Atamanuk.
JOIE DE VIVRE is a co-production of the Festival des Arts de Saint-Sauveur, premiering at FASS 2025.
Created in Montreal by Ballets Jazz Montréal in 2025.
Administrative and support team
Executive director Stéphane Labbé.
Financial and administrative director Maximilien Cossette.
Marketing and communications manager Tony Bougiouris.
Strategic development, philanthropy, and partnerships Frédérick Dufour.
Touring production Delta Dance, CAPAS • Label de danse, and SELBY/ARTISTS MGMT.
Pianists Lucie Cauchon and Karine Bétournay.
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An artistic summit inspired by Hamlet, between choreographer and principal dancer Guillaume Côté and theatre maker and director Robert Lepage. An exceptional evening!