WHITE BIRD LAUNCHES 2010-11 SEASON WITH PORTLAND DEBUT OF
CANADA’S RENOWNED LES BALLETS JAZZ DE MONTRÉAL

EXCITING PROGRAM WILL FEATURE MUSIC BY ROSSINI, VIVALDI AND
PHILIP GLASS AND THRILLING WORK BY ACCLAIMED CHOREOGRAPHERS  
ASZURE BARTON, MAURO BIGONZETTI AND CAYETANO SOTO

Who: Les Ballets Jazz de Montréal (BJM Danse Montréal)
Presented by: White Bird
When: Thursday,  September 23 – Saturday,  September 25, 2010, 7:30pm-- 3 SHOWS
Where: Newmark Theatre, 1111 SW Broadway, Portland
Sponsor: The Oregonian
Tickets: From $20.  PCPA Box Office and Ticketmaster outlets, 1-800-745-3000 or www.ticketmaster.com.  
Visit www.whitebird.org for the latest information.

White Bird is delighted to launch its 13th season with the internationally renowned Les Ballets Jazz de Montréal at the Newmark Theatre from September 23-25, 2010.  Since 1972 Les Ballets Jazz de Montréal (BJM Danse Montréal) has been one of Canada’s most radiant and energetic companies, and under the dynamic direction of Louis Robitaille, the company is collaborating with some of the most prestigious choreographers on the contemporary dance scene.  Les Ballets Jazz de Montréal will make its Portland debut with a program that features three of the most in-demand choreographers today, Aszure Barton from Canada (now based in New York City), Mauro Bigonzetti from Italy, and Cayetano Soto from Spain, whose work “Zero In On” will have its North American premiere in Portland. BJM’s program will overflow with an astounding range of music, from Rossini and Vivaldi, to Philip Glass, to klezmer.

In creating Les Chambres des Jacques (2006), Aszure Barton investigates the human being lurking inside the dancer.  Inspired by the dancers’ strong personalities, Barton reveals a private process of personal exploration and artistic experiences in a series of portraits where disarticulated body movements are flirting around with the trivial details of daily life.  In its eccentricity and touching simplicity, Les Chambres des Jacques also celebrates life through a rich score of world music, drawing upon the classicism of Vivaldi, Québécois folk songs, as well as klezmer. The Edmonton Journal has described this work as “a beautiful mad and intriguing romp… sexy and vaudevillian.”

Mauro Bigonzetti’s Rossini Cards (2009) pays tribute to both the composer’ Gioachino Rossini’s musical genius and epicurean tastes.  The creator of masterpieces such as The Barber of Seville and William Tell was also known for being a gourmand, and Rossini Cards features sumptuous choreography amidst a feast-like setting.  Expressing the rhythm, geometry and precision of Rossini’s music, the piece does not follow a traditional plot but instead reveals scenes of parallel lives in a series of often comic and joyful situations.  

Rounding out the musical program is a North American premiere by Cayetano Soto, Zero In On, a duet set to a Philip Glass score. Soto is well-known to Portland audiences for his thrilling work “Fugaz” that Aspen Santa Fe Ballet performed in the White Bird season opener a year ago (October 7, 2009) and his “Last But Not Least” for the Northwest Dance Project in 2008.

Louis Robitaille, BJM Artistic Director, joined la Compagnie de danse Eddy at age 16 where he studied and danced, becoming a Québécois icon with his partner Anik Bissonnette.  They took the gold medal at the Helsinki International Festival in 1984 and performed in Europe, the US and Australia, making guest appearances at the Spoletto Festival in Italy and France's Toulouse Ballet.  Robitaille joined Les Grands Ballets Canadiens as a principal dancer in 1989, and between 1990 and his departure in 1996 he added 35 roles to his repertoire in works by choreographers such as Limon, Balanchine, Tudor, Fokine, Dolin, Duato, Kylian and Forsythe.  During the 90s he founded both a small chamber ballet group, Bande à Part, and, with Bissonnette, Danse-Théâtre de Montréal.  In 1994 Robitaille became artistic director of the Jeune Ballet du Québec and was appointed artistic director of Les Ballets Jazz de Montréal in 1998.

An internationally renowned repertory company, Les Ballets de Jazz de Montréal has continued to grow with all the energy and spirit of exploration for which it has been known since its birth in 1972. Thanks to the enduring faith of Geneviève Salbaing and co-founders Eva Von Gencsy and Eddy Toussaint, this vitality has made its mark through the years. Since Louis Robitaille became Artistic Director in 1998, BJM is now, more than ever, focused on performing the work of today’s most exciting choreographers.  Apart from Aszure Barton, Mauro Bigonzetti and Cayetano Soto, these include two choreographers well known to White Bird audiences, Vancouver-based Crystal Pite, and Brazilian Rodrigo Perderneiras, whose company Grupo Corpo will return to White Bird on February 9, 2011.

A graduate of the National Ballet School in Toronto, Aszure Barton has performed alongside many internationally renowned artists including Mikhail Baryshnikov and toured with celebrated dance companies including The National Ballet of Canada, Les Ballets Jazz de Montréal, and her own, Aszure Barton & Artists.  She has choreographed new works for American Ballet Theatre, Sydney Dance Company, Martha Graham Dance Company and Hubbard Street Dance Chicago among others.  Previously the Resident Choreographer for Les Ballets Jazz de Montréal from 2005-2008 and an artist in residence at both The Banff Centre and The Baryshnikov Arts Center, Barton was recently proclaimed the official Ambassador of Contemporary Choreography in Edmonton, Alberta.

Born in Rome, Mauro Bigonzetti graduated from the Rome Opera School and entered directly into its company.  In the 1982-83 season, after four years dancing at the Rome Opera House, he joined Aterballetto, under the artistic direction of Amedeo Amodio, and during the next decade performed all the company’s repertoire, collaborating with Alvin Ailey, Glen Tetley, William Forsythe and Jennifer Muller.  In the 1992-93 season he moved to Florence and began an intense collaboration with the Balletto di Toscana as well as working with other companies including English National Ballet, Stuttgarter Ballett, New York City Ballet and Royal Swedish Ballet. In 1997, he returned to Aterballetto where he became Artistic Director until 2008, building a new repertoire and a new company.  He continues there today as Principal Choreographer.


White Bird’s 13th season (2010-2011) is supported by the Regional Arts & Culture Council and Work for Art, M.J. Murdock Charitable Trust,  James F. and Marion L. Miller Foundation,  Paul G. Allen Family Foundation, Oregon Arts Commission, National Endowment for the Arts, Oregon Cultural Trust, and  Western States Arts Federation (WESTAF).