The Sursaut Dance Company is dedicated to the creation, production, and dissemination of dance works for young and family audiences. Joyful, poetic and touching, the company’s productions are witness to the maturity of a progressive and evolutionary artistic vision, aimed at young audiences since more than 30 years. Conscious of the intelligence, the openness, the great capacity to listen and see and the demanding nature of young audiences, the company works with seriousness, authenticity, and with the greatest respect for this audience. Presented from coast to coast in Canada as well as internationally, Sursaut’s productions inspire and charm young and old alike, everywhere they are presented.

The Sursaut Dance Company is a pioneering figure in the field of contemporary dance for young and family audiences in Canada, and contributes to the development of professional dance outside major urban centres. Firmly convinced of the importance of art for young audiences, the company pursues its mandate and works to make dance accessible to all.

The Sursaut Dance Company was founded in 1985. Since 1987, Francine Châteauvert has been artistic director and choreographer for the company. Through her creations, she has succeeded in giving Sursaut an identity. From the beginning, she has collaborated closely with Adam Dymburt, and together they have worked with passion and a seemingly endless energy to develop the company as we know it today.

For over 30 years, the Sursaut Dance Company has been creating, producing and disseminating dance works for both a general audience and for young audiences aged from 4 to 12 and their families. In 1998, the artistic director decided to officially concentrate on creations for young and family audiences.

In 1989, Sursaut began presenting its productions on tour in Quebec. In the early 2000’s, the dissemination of the company’s works spread to other parts of Canada as well as internationally. The company’s production At nightfall was presented at the 2010 Vancouver Cultural Olympiad, the Calgary International Children’s Festival, the Northern Alberta International Children’s Festival, the Festival des arts de St-Sauveur, and the Ottawa International Children’s Festival. In August 2012, At nightfall was presented on tour in 4 cities China, notably at the Second China Children’s Festival in Beijing. In 2014, the company once again toured in China with a major six-week tour that included 16 shows in 12 cities.A third tour in China (13 cities, 17 performances) took place in 2016 with the production The Cicada and the Ant. In addition, two productions have been presented in Mexico, At nightfall in 2014 and The Cicada and the Ant in 2015 and 2017.

In tandem with the creation, production, and dissemination of its works, the company offers workshops for elementary and high school students. Since 2005, the company holds a summer day camp specialized in dance for youth from 6 to 16 years of age.

Since December 2007, the company has been resident at the Centre des arts de la scène Jean-Besré, and thanks to the support of the City of Sherbrooke, benefits from this unique space conceived and built for the creation and production of dance and theatre works.

In 2009, the Sursaut Dance Company associates itself with the Théâtre du Double signe and Le Petit Théâtre de Sherbrooke to found Coté Scène, an organization working towards the construction of a new venue specialized in the presentation of dance and theatre works for children and their families.

Through its notoriety and artistic activities, the company contributes to the development of a community of professional performing artists in the Sherbrooke region, and its presence continues to be crucial to the maintenance and growth of this community.

The Sursaut Dance Company holds an important place on the Canadian dance scene, and is an important ambassador for the region both nationally and internationally.

AT NIGHTFALL

2005

Auguste is a shoemaker who knows nothing of holidays. He knows little about life outside his work; away from his workshop, he is worried and afraid.

Auguste discovers the water forest. A tiny people occupy this territory where shade and light intermingle. Crazy, tender, tipsy or delicate, their nocturnal dances include rituals in which the creatures turn, jump and frolic in total abandon. The elusive beauty, the casualness and the antic character of the tiny people exercise an undeniable charm on passersby who venture into their world.

Choreography:

Francine Châteauvert

Dancers:

Stéphanie Brochard, Simon Durocher-Gosselin, Adam Dymburt, Amandine Garrido Gonzalez, Jasmine Inns, Geneviève Lauzon, Nancy Letendre, Mélanie Lebrun, Xavier Malo (dancers of 2014), Megan Moore, Alice Dymburt (dancers of 2006)

Music:

Michel G.Côté

Costumes:

Sylvie Baillargeon

Sets and lighting:

Bernard Langlois

Photos:

François Lafrance