{"id":2343957,"date":"2026-03-24T19:14:23","date_gmt":"2026-03-24T19:14:23","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/celebrity.land\/en\/?p=2343957"},"modified":"2026-03-24T19:14:23","modified_gmt":"2026-03-24T19:14:23","slug":"ballets-jazz-montreal-presents-dance-me-the-music-of-leonard-cohen-at-the-vilar-in-beaver-creek","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/celebrity.land\/en\/ballets-jazz-montreal-presents-dance-me-the-music-of-leonard-cohen-at-the-vilar-in-beaver-creek\/","title":{"rendered":"Ballets Jazz Montr\u00e9al presents \u2018Dance Me: The Music of Leonard Cohen\u2019 at the Vilar in Beaver Creek"},"content":{"rendered":"<p><\/p>\n<div>\n<p>Ballets Jazz Montr\u00e9al presents an evening of dance inspired by the rich Montr\u00e9al-based poet, artist and songwriter, Leonard Cohen at the Vilar in Beaver Creek March 26.<\/p>\n<p>Cohen gave his blessing to the dance company regarding the production before he passed away in 2016. Three renowned choreographers, Andonis Foniadakis, Annabelle Lopez Ochoa and Ihsan Rustem, created the dances to 16 of Cohen\u2019s works that he wrote from 1967 to 2016. They include the poem \u201cA Thousand Kisses Deep\u201d and songs like \u201cHallelujah,\u201d \u201cDance Me to the End of Love\u201d and \u201cSuzanne.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>Backed by videography and the bold dramaturgy of Eric Jean, Ballets Jazz Montr\u00e9al\u2019s 14 artists perform an 80-minute show designed to appeal to not just dance lovers, but also those who appreciate music and theatrical displays.<\/p>\n<hr\/>\n<hr\/>\n<div class=\"p402_hide\">\n<figure class=\"wp-block-image size-large\">\n<div class=\"caption-container\"><figcaption class=\"wp-element-caption\">Ballets Jazz Montr\u00e9al performs \u2018Dance Me: The Music of Leonard Cohen\u2019 at the Vilar this week.<\/figcaption><figcaption>Thierry du Bois\/Courtesy photo<\/figcaption><\/div>\n<\/figure>\n<\/div>\n<p>Founded in 1972, the contemporary dance company commissions internationally-known choreographers to create exclusive repertoires, with an eye toward accessibility to all audiences.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cAll of Ballets Jazz\u2019s work brings an element of humanity, fearlessness and emotion in addition to the highly technical skill that each dance requires. Additionally, each piece is nuanced, multilayered and often multidisciplinary \u2014 combining other artistic disciplines such as theater, video and music. With accessibility and quality as key values, the company successfully integrates pleasure and humanity into their strong, expressive and demanding pieces,\u201d according to the program, adding that the company encourages discovery and stimulates the imagination.<\/p>\n<div class=\"row\">\n<div class=\"col\">\n<div class=\"d-none\">\n<div class=\"row vail-donation vail-donation-mobile p-0\" style=\"\">\n<div style=\"background:#1061ae\" class=\"col-xl-4 p-2\">\n<div style=\"background-image: url('https:\/\/swiftmedia.s3.amazonaws.com\/mountain.swiftcom.com\/images\/sites\/7\/2020\/03\/30232534\/VD-logo-white.png');background-size: contain;background-position: center;background-repeat: no-repeat;\" class=\"p-0 mt-2 mb-2 h-75 text-center\"><img decoding=\"async\" data-image-url=\"https:\/\/swiftmedia.s3.amazonaws.com\/mountain.swiftcom.com\/images\/sites\/7\/2020\/03\/30232534\/VD-logo-white.png\" src=\"https:\/\/swiftmedia.s3.amazonaws.com\/mountain.swiftcom.com\/images\/sites\/7\/2020\/03\/30232534\/VD-logo-white.png\" class=\"logo m-0 p-0 invisible\" style=\"z-index: 999; max-height: 40px;\"\/><\/div>\n<\/div>\n<p>&#13;<\/p>\n<h3 class=\"d-inline mr-3\" style=\"color: #fff; vertical-align: middle\">Support Local Journalism<\/h3>\n<p><button class=\"btn d-inline\" type=\"button\" onclick=\"handleDonationButtonClickMidArticle()\">Donate<\/button>&#13;\n\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/p>\n<\/p><\/div>\n<p><\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<hr\/>\n<hr\/>\n<p>The company is made up of diverse dancers, from body types to culture and training, the latter of which ranges from gymnastics to musical theater and classical ballet.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cSo much of the generosity and the sensuality and the artistry of the dancers make it a very unique company,\u201d said Artistic Director Alexandra Damiani.<\/p>\n<p>With such diversity comes some challenges, due to varying approaches to movement or cultural values. Yet, they come together through their love of physicality, curiosity and sensuality, she said.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cThe versatility is something that is across the board. I\u2019m always so impressed and inspired by dancers who can do so many different things,\u201d she said, talking about the span of pieces, from sensitive, elegant, technical partnering and \u201cextremely out there, in your face, extremely physical. \u2026 (It) has always been more about beautiful human beings \u2014 very rich \u2014 who dance super well, as opposed to just dancers. There is this full package that is very encouraged and nurtured in the studio and in the way of approaching the performance aspect. Each dancer is so unique. Like a mosaic, you have a glue that brings this all together and makes it stunning and unique, and that is the love for Ballets Jazz Montr\u00e9al.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>She doesn\u2019t seek out ballet dancers, but she does look for that technical training. Overall, she\u2019s captivated by something beyond classical abilities.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cA lot of dancers (have) those skills and talent, so what makes it for me is the personality, the creativity, the curiosity and the versatility. There is not really a mold, because it\u2019s a group of very eclectic dancers. They share a level of skills, but at some point, (I) say, \u2018Hey, who are the dancers who will complement this group?\u2019 Every time, I surprise myself. I like to go for different dancers depending on the group we have and what needs to be created as a whole,\u201d she said. \u201cThey need to complement each other, and each one has to bring a different flavor, a different style, while still sharing a common level of skills.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>While some companies would shy away from such differences in dancers, she embraces it and considers it the company\u2019s superpower, of sorts. Even when a dancer might showcase the opposite of his or her colleagues, she tries to incorporate those differences within the work. She views studio work as a creative lab in which the dancers can bring their ideas and take risks within the choreography.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cAs long as there is an integrity to the movement language of the choreographer, there is so much room for interpretation. For me, this is something extremely important, so it permeates the daily work and the way I work with each one of the dancers,\u201d she said, adding that she likes to feel the potential of dancers as full human beings. \u201cYou have to be at the service of someone\u2019s vision, and it is kind of dangerous, even in the energy, the way of performing it \u2026 it comes from the dancers to feel that voice, and that sound is not stuck somewhere in the body, in the chest, in the throat, that they breathe this breath, and this voice (into works).\u201d<\/p>\n<p>She refers to this as embodied freedom \u2014 something she highly values and weaves into the fabric of the company.<\/p>\n<div class=\"p402_hide\">\n<figure class=\"wp-block-image size-large\">\n<div class=\"caption-container\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"1024\" height=\"681\" data-image-url=\"https:\/\/swiftmedia.s3.amazonaws.com\/mountain.swiftcom.com\/images\/sites\/7\/2026\/03\/24130313\/BJM-LesBalletsJazzDeMontreal_DanceMe_0171_ph%C2%A9RolandoPaoloGuerzoni.jpg\" src=\"https:\/\/swiftmedia.s3.amazonaws.com\/mountain.swiftcom.com\/images\/sites\/7\/2026\/03\/24130313\/BJM-LesBalletsJazzDeMontreal_DanceMe_0171_ph%C2%A9RolandoPaoloGuerzoni-1024x681.jpg\" alt=\"\" class=\"wp-image-604035\" srcset=\"https:\/\/swiftmedia.s3.amazonaws.com\/mountain.swiftcom.com\/images\/sites\/7\/2026\/03\/24130313\/BJM-LesBalletsJazzDeMontreal_DanceMe_0171_ph%C2%A9RolandoPaoloGuerzoni-1024x681.jpg 1024w, https:\/\/swiftmedia.s3.amazonaws.com\/mountain.swiftcom.com\/images\/sites\/7\/2026\/03\/24130313\/BJM-LesBalletsJazzDeMontreal_DanceMe_0171_ph%C2%A9RolandoPaoloGuerzoni-300x200.jpg 300w, https:\/\/swiftmedia.s3.amazonaws.com\/mountain.swiftcom.com\/images\/sites\/7\/2026\/03\/24130313\/BJM-LesBalletsJazzDeMontreal_DanceMe_0171_ph%C2%A9RolandoPaoloGuerzoni-768x511.jpg 768w, https:\/\/swiftmedia.s3.amazonaws.com\/mountain.swiftcom.com\/images\/sites\/7\/2026\/03\/24130313\/BJM-LesBalletsJazzDeMontreal_DanceMe_0171_ph%C2%A9RolandoPaoloGuerzoni-1536x1022.jpg 1536w, https:\/\/swiftmedia.s3.amazonaws.com\/mountain.swiftcom.com\/images\/sites\/7\/2026\/03\/24130313\/BJM-LesBalletsJazzDeMontreal_DanceMe_0171_ph%C2%A9RolandoPaoloGuerzoni.jpg 1920w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 1024px) 100vw, 1024px\"\/><figcaption class=\"wp-element-caption\">Ballets Jazz Montr\u00e9al is known for fearless, energetic performances.<\/figcaption><figcaption>Rolando Paolo Guerzoni\/Courtesy photo<\/figcaption><\/div>\n<\/figure>\n<\/div>\n<p>\u201cIt becomes really embodied and not just talked about, and you see it so clearly on stage,\u201d she said. \u201cI still have these kind of goosebumps; I have a clearly physical reaction when I feel that there is so much generosity in a dancer. Yes, there is all this attention to technicality and integrity in the work, but there is a breath, there is an artistic (quality). There is a life that is totally flowing that is creating something quite electric and beautiful with the audience. And that\u2019s why I will fight for performing arts, living arts, as long as I\u2019m alive. Because I find this really transformative for everyone. This embodied freedom is extremely important because this feeling has this very deep way of communicating and reconnecting to our humanity. It bypasses the brain; it goes directly to the heart. I\u2019ve seen so many audience members in tears, not knowing why, or getting this reconnection with humanity not on a cerebral level, but on a very direct level.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>This reconnection begins in the classes, with the way she provides corrections but also offers dancers self-agency and an opportunity to create.<\/p>\n<p>Cohen\u2019s music and poetry is also imbued with a transformative quality \u2014\u00a0a key to the heart, she calls it. The idea to dance to Cohen\u2019s creations came from former artistic director Louis Robitaille, who left in 2020. It took a while to get rights to the music, so it premiered in 2017. To honor Cohen, the three choreographers took unique approaches.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cAndonis Foniadakis likes to go within the notes of the music \u2014\u00a0it\u2019s not literal. Part of this musicality is very strong physicality. It\u2019s very fast. It\u2019s impressive. It brings a way of listening to the music \u2014 it\u2019s almost like it goes through the cracks of the music. You know, Leonard Cohen said, \u2018You need to have a crack in oneself to let the light in.\u2019 And suddenly you hear the music,\u201d she said. \u201cAnd then Ihsan Rustem contrasts that \u2014 he\u2019s very much about the origin of the song. It\u2019s very much about storytelling.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>For instance, he did a duet where the woman never touches the floor, generating this floating, ethereal kind of relationship in which the couple never consumes the attraction to one another.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cAnnabelle Lopez Ochoa does a beautiful duet at the end, and it\u2019s very human \u2014 doing a bit to cleanse the palate, in a way, after seeing so much and listening so much to music,\u201d she said. \u201cAnnabelle is also bringing a different facet, a very rich body of work.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>Montreal-based stage director Jean integrates these contrasting styles and makes them seamless in his way of putting different movement languages together.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cThe audience can expect a most fantastic journey, taking a stroll with Leonard Cohen, from the earlier songs to his latest album. So, it goes through the seasons \u2014 expect to take a stroll through the snow and the rain and the sun and also with the more sexy and full of possibilities and also with loss and death,\u201d she said. \u201cThe elegance of this show is that it gives an opportunity, an inner space and quiet moment, where each one of us can project ourselves and our own memories and our own nostalgia or our own hopes, or our own relationship with that music \u2014 that there is enough space for us to participate with the audience. I expect the audience to feel much better after the show about the world, about the possibilities of maybe making this world a better place. It\u2019s so healing.\u201d<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<p><script type=\"text\/javascript\">\n  document.addEventListener('DOMContentLoaded', function() {\n    !function(f,b,e,v,n,t,s)\n    {if(f.fbq)return;n=f.fbq=function(){n.callMethod?\n      n.callMethod.apply(n,arguments):n.queue.push(arguments)};\n      if(!f._fbq)f._fbq=n;n.push=n;n.loaded=!0;n.version='2.0';\n      n.queue=[];t=b.createElement(e);t.async=!0;\n      t.src=v;s=b.getElementsByTagName(e)[0];\n      s.parentNode.insertBefore(t,s)}(window, document,'script',\n      'https:\/\/connect.facebook.net\/en_US\/fbevents.js');\n      fbq('init', '664946818073934');\n      fbq('track', 'PageView');\n  });\n<\/script><script type=\"text\/javascript\">\n    !function(f,b,e,v,n,t,s)\n    {if(f.fbq)return;n=f.fbq=function(){n.callMethod?\n    n.callMethod.apply(n,arguments):n.queue.push(arguments)};\n    if(!f._fbq)f._fbq=n;n.push=n;n.loaded=!0;n.version='2.0';\n    n.queue=[];t=b.createElement(e);t.async=!0;\n    t.src=v;s=b.getElementsByTagName(e)[0];\n    s.parentNode.insertBefore(t,s)}(window, document,'script',\n    'https:\/\/connect.facebook.net\/en_US\/fbevents.js');\n    fbq('init', '882545006648732');\n    fbq('track', 'PageView');\n    <\/script><script>\n\t\t\t!function(f,b,e,v,n,t,s){if(f.fbq)return;n=f.fbq=function(){n.callMethod?\n\t\t\tn.callMethod.apply(n,arguments):n.queue.push(arguments)};if(!f._fbq)f._fbq=n;\n\t\t\tn.push=n;n.loaded=!0;n.version='2.0';n.queue=[];t=b.createElement(e);t.async=!0;\n\t\t\tt.src=v;s=b.getElementsByTagName(e)[0];s.parentNode.insertBefore(t,s)}(window,\n\t\t\tdocument,'script','https:\/\/connect.facebook.net\/en_US\/fbevents.js');\n\t\t\t\/\/ Insert Your Facebook Pixel ID below.\n\t\t\tfbq('init', '356889104458573');\n\t\t\tfbq('track', 'PageView');\n\t\t\t<\/script><script>(function(d, s, id) {\n\t\t\t  var js, fjs = d.getElementsByTagName(s)[0];\n\t\t\t  if (d.getElementById(id)) return;\n\t\t\t  js = d.createElement(s); js.id = id;\n\t\t\t  js.src=\"https:\/\/connect.facebook.net\/en_US\/sdk.js#xfbml=1&version=v3.2&appId=306532666136106&autoLogAppEvents=1\";\n\t\t\t  fjs.parentNode.insertBefore(js, fjs);\n\t\t\t}(document, 'script', 'facebook-jssdk'));\n\t\t\t<\/script><\/p>\n<p><em> \u2018 The preceding article may include information circulated by third parties \u2019 <\/em><\/p>\n<p><em> \u2018 Some details of this article were extracted from the following source www.vaildaily.com \u2019 <\/em><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Ballets Jazz Montr\u00e9al presents an evening of dance inspired by the rich Montr\u00e9al-based poet, artist and songwriter, Leonard Cohen at the Vilar in Beaver Creek March 26. Cohen gave his blessing to the dance company regarding the production before he passed away in 2016. Three renowned choreographers, Andonis Foniadakis, Annabelle Lopez Ochoa and Ihsan Rustem, [&hellip;]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":2343958,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"om_disable_all_campaigns":false,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"jnews-multi-image_gallery":[],"jnews_single_post":[],"jnews_primary_category":[],"jnews_social_meta":[],"footnotes":""},"categories":[25172],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-2343957","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-entertainment"],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"https:\/\/celebrity.land\/en\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/03\/Ballets-Jazz-Montreal-presents-\u2018Dance-Me-The-Music-of-Leonard.jpg","jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/celebrity.land\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2343957","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/celebrity.land\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/celebrity.land\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/celebrity.land\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/celebrity.land\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=2343957"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/celebrity.land\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2343957\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":2343959,"href":"https:\/\/celebrity.land\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2343957\/revisions\/2343959"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/celebrity.land\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/2343958"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/celebrity.land\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=2343957"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/celebrity.land\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=2343957"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/celebrity.land\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=2343957"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}