Festival international de nouvelle danse (FIND)

Festival international de nouvelle danse (FIND)

Festival international de nouvelle danse (FIND) was established in 1982, on the initiative of Chantal Pontbriand, Diane Boucher and Dena Davida. This biennial event had multiple goals: to attest to the vitality of dance throughout the world, to introduce the most important Québec and Canadian artists to the international scene, and to allow Canadian audiences to discover the planet's most visible choreographers in modern dance.

FIND's real kick-off, also designed to make Montréal a world hub for contemporary dance, took place in 1985. The initial programming was attractive, uniting some of the greatest world figures in modern dance, including the German Pina Bausch, Americans Merce Cunningham and Trisha Brown, and Québecer Édouard LOCK. This first event, one of the most dazzling to date, was followed by nine others. Particularly memorable was the 1987 festival, with the audience favourite Mammame Montréal by the French choreographer Jean-Claude Gallotta and his Groupe Émile Dubois; and the 1989 version, with the Montréal premier of the Japanese company Karas, directed by Saburo Teshigawara. This troupe would win FIND'S prix du public (audience prize) three times. The 1992 festival was dedicated to the 350th anniversary celebration of the city of Montréal. A large number of Québec's most famous companies and artists of the 1990s appeared, including La La La Human Steps, O Vertigo, Marie CHOUINARD, Jocelyne MONTPETIT, William Douglas, and Lynda GAUDREAU.

Similar to the first festival, the 1995 version remains among the most sensational with the renowned Ballett Frankfurt, directed by William Forsythe, visiting Québec for the first time. Their presentation of Eidos: Telos, an enigmatic, deep work of nearly three hours, was both a discovery and a shock to Montréal audiences. To this significant participation were added La La La Human Steps, avec 2 and Karas, with Noiject. That same year FIND won the grand prize from the Conseil des arts de la Communauté urbaine de Montréal (CACUM), for its excellent programming.

After honouring one country per festival - France in 1987, Japan in 1989, Belgium in 1991, etc. - FIND decided in 1989 to concentrate on themes. For the millennium, the three organizers chose Afrique - Aller/retour, a symbol of the intersection between tradition and modernity and the artistic crossbreeding common in the 20th century. On this occasion, the festival also organized an international conference, uniting some of the greatest thinkers in modern dance. Known as one of the major manifestations of its kind in the world, the Festival international de nouvelle danse held more than 350 performances for some 300 000 viewers, and constantly garnered media attention. As such, two documentaries were produced by the CANADIAN BROADCASTING CORPORATION: Une heure très danse in 1989 and Danse, Dance, Dans, Tanz, Dansu in 1995.

The final edition of Festival international de nouvelle danse was in autumn 2003.