Soirée des Étoiles

Les Ballets Jazz de Montréal is an internationally renowned repertory company that has evolved with spirited energy ever since its birth in 1972. Under the artistic direction of Louis Robitaille since 1998, and boasting a troupe of world-class dancers, BJM now works with some of the most prestigious figures in the world of dance and contemporary ballet, without ever losing sight of its true essence. Since its inception, the company has performed more than 2,500 shows in 68 countries for nearly 2.8 million spectators.

Cuban born Adiarys Almeida joined the Ballet Nacional de Cuba after receiving her formal dance training at the reputed Ballet’s school. After graduating in 2001, she joined the company under the direction of Alicia Alonso where she danced for two years, before joining the Cincinnati Ballet as a Principal Dancer. She went on to dance for the Corella Ballet as a Principal Dancer and the Boston Ballet as a First Soloist. As an international principal guest artist Ms. Almeida has performed with several renowned companies and graced some of the most important stages around the world.

Born and raised in Cuba, Taras Domitro received his formal training at the school of the Ballet Nacional de Cuba, before joining the reputed company, where he was named Principal Dancer at the age of 20. Known for his versatile repertoire, he joined the San Francisco Ballet as as Principal Dancer in 2008. As an international principal guest artist, he has performed throughout the years for some of the most reputed dance companies around the world.

Liudmila graduated from Moscow’s Bolshoi Ballet Academy and joined the Russian State Ballet in 2002 where she was appointed First Soloist two years later. In 2007, she joined the Staatsballett Berlin and was appointed Soloist in 2009. She joined the Wiener Staatsballett in 2011, where, a year later, she had the honor of being named First Soloist. She has performed as a guest dancer in many well-known companies around the world.

Born in Moldavia, Dinu Tamazlakaru trained at the National Ballet School in Chisinau and graduated in 2002 from the Vienna Ballet Conservatory. In 2000, he joined the Unter den Linden Theatre in Berlin before being accepted at the Staatsballet Berlin four years later. His repertory includes principal roles in classical and contemporary ballets, namely Swan Lake, Don Quixote, Onegin, The Nutcracker, Coppelia, La Sylphide, Herman Schmerman, among many others. Dinu Tamazlakaru is a guest principal with various renowned companies around the world.

Sérénade by George Balanchine, Paquita by Joseph Mazilier & Paul Foucher, Blushing by Peter Quanz, Quatre saisons by Mauro Bigonzetti, Vessel by Andrew Skeels, Dove La Luna by Jean-Christophe Maillot, La Esmeralda by Marius Petipa, Flammes de Paris by Vassili Vainonen, Le Corsaire by Joseph Mazilier, Soul by Andonis Foniadakis, Beethoven's Symphony no.5, excerpt from Garrett Smith.

The first ballet created by Balanchine in America for the School of American Ballet, which he founded, before becoming part of the repertoire of the renowned New York City Ballet, Sérénade is a work emblematic of the celebrated choreographer’s typical neoclassicism.

A flagship work of classical ballet created by Joseph Mazilier, Paquita takes place in the picturesque Spain of the 19th century. Intrigues, an abduction and family secrets provide the tempo for a hectic large-scale work where character dancing and pantomime mesh with demanding technique.

After the success of Rodin/Claudel created for Les Grands Ballets in 2011, choreographer Peter Quanz is back with Blushing, a pas de deux with all the elated energy of burgeoning love.

Created for Les Grands Ballets in May 2007 and the first ballet by Bigonzetti for a Canadian troupe, Four Seasons is a meditation on the internal seasons of man, his states of mind and his changes of heart. The excerpt presented will also mark the last performance on stage by Hervé Courtain, first soloist with Les Grands Ballets, who is retiring after 15 years spent with the company.

A new creation by adoptive Montrealer Andrew Skeels to choral music by Tchaikovsky, Vessel is intended as a hymn to compassion and to the hope found in each and every one of us.

This piece by famous choreographer Marcia Haydée will be interpreted by dancers Myriam Simon and Alessio Scognamiglio and set to Glazunov's music.

Hailed as one of famed choreographer Marius Petipa’s masterpieces, La Bayadère, is a hallmark of classical ballet. Following the classical genre's tradition, it tells a story of love, jealousy, intrigues and revenge.

A sensuous pas de deux, Soul progresses to the powerful notes of “Ball and Chain,” the vibrant Big Mama Thornton song that was popularized by Janis Joplin. A creation by choreographer Andonis Foniadakis for Les Ballets Jazz de Montréal, Soul is a work in which the performers’ strength and fluidity echo the power of the iconic song.

Based on the mythic novel The Hunchback of Notre-Dame, Esmeralda is an original work by Jean Coralli that has enjoyed numerous adaptations over the years. Presented for the Soirée des Étoiles in the version by renowned choreographer Marius Petipa, the ballet relates the famous story of the dancing Gypsy who captures hearts in the Paris of Victor Hugo.

A solemn mass for seven dancers, Dov’è la Luna plumbs shadow and light in search of the bodies hidden there. This monochrome piece, all in chiaroscuro, shakes up classical-dance vocabulary and technique, which the choreographer takes to their very limits.

Premiered in 1856 at the Paris Opera in a choreography by Joseph Mazilier, Le Corsaire is inspired by a poem of Lord Byron’s that fired the imagination of more than one artist when it first appeared. Its pas de deux is one of the best-known classical-ballet excerpts and one of the most frequently danced around the world.

Choreographer Garrett Smith takes up the challenge of creating a work set to a true monument, Beethoven’s Symphony No. 5, one of the world’s most important and most widely recognized symphonies. Drawing inspiration from the difference and the uniqueness of each of us, this pieces celebrates the power that results from accepting our individuality, and the excitement that stems from the discovery of our uniqueness; an ode to the freedom rediscovered when the masks fall