Les Ballets Jazz de Montréal Comes to Boston

World Music/CRASHarts presents BJM / Les Ballets Jazz de Montr�al on Saturday, November 1, 8 p.m. and Sunday, November 2, 3 p.m. at Cutler Majestic Theatre at Emerson College, 219 Tremont St., Boston. Tickets are $40-$69. For tickets and information call World Music/CRASHarts at (617) 876-4275 or buy online at www.WorldMusic.org.

Part ballet, part modern, part street dance, Les Ballets Jazz de Montr�al defies categories with its blend of hip, funky moves infused with infectious energy, humor, and imagination. The internationally renowned repertory company, also known as BJM, continues to evolve with all the vitality and spirit of exploration for which it has been known since its inception in 1972.

Led by Artistic Director Louis Robitaille since 1998, BJM presents the Boston premiere of "Closer," choreographed by Benjamin Millepied, "Kosmos" by Andonis Foniadakis, and "Rouge" by Rodrigo Pederneiras from Grupo Corpo.

"Closer," an intense and sensual duet set to composer Philip Glass's "Mad Rush," was created by choreographer Benjamin Millepied in 2006 for C�line Cassone and S�bastien Marcovici (principal dancer with the New York City Ballet) and presented at the Maison de la Danse in Lyon, France.

For BJM, the 20-minute duet will be performed by the magnetic C�line Cassone and Alexander Hille. Performed and acclaimed on several world stages, "Closer" is a voluptuous and vibrant exchange, imbued with an intense yet simple sensuality, that of the tension between two bodies. Benjamin Millepied made his choreographic debut in 2001 with Passages, created for the Lyon Conservatoire National Conservatoire of Musique and Danse.

The following year, his "Triple Duet" for Danses Concertantes was performed at Sadler's Wells by principal dancers of the New York City Ballet. In 2005, he created "28 Variations on a Theme" by Paganini for SAB and an original version of "Casse-Noisette" for the Grand Th��tre de Gen�ve with set designs and costumes by artist Paul Cox.

In "Kosmos," choreographer Andonis Foniadakis creates a new work for BJM inspired by the frenetic pace of everyday urban life. His observations were the trigger for creating choreography inspired by the movements of crowds, moments of agitation, and the hustle and bustle of the city. Andonis Foniadakis searches for a counterbalance, bringing beauty to the fore and turning frenetic movement into a dance that brings people together in a joyous, liberating fashion. This is a dance based on clear movement, where a mingling clan of dancers must come to terms with the presence of others.

Unlike the restrictions imposed by modern life, it is a moment for reconnecting, for releasing tensions, for coming together, and letting go. Once again, this work bears the distinctive BJM signature characterized by pure, festive energy, a celebration of humanity � its beauty and its creative force. Born in Crete, Andonis Foniadakis studied classical and contemporary dance at the National School of Dance in Athens and continued his training at the Rudra B�jart School in Lausanne, Switzerland. He has danced in many pieces by Maurice B�jart as well as joined the Ballet de l'Op�ra national in Lyon, directed by Yourgos Loukos, where he danced for Saburo Teshigawara / Karas Co. In parallel with his career as a dance, he also established a reputation as a fine choreographer.

In 1994, he choreographed "In Between" for the B�jart Ballet in Lausanne, which was followed two years later by "Court m�trage." And in 1999 he presented "Fila Filon" at the Cannes Dance Festival and Lava Nama at the Op�ra de Lyon. In 2012, he received the Danza e Danza Award for the "Best Choreographer 2012" in Italy, for the creation "Les Noces" in Maggio Danza. He also participated in NOAH, the 2014 film by Darren Aronofsky.

"Rouge," a new piece for BJM by Rodrigo Pederneiras, is an ode to resilience, a discreet tribute to Native peoples and their musical and cultural legacy. Always guided by the music, Pederneiras choreographs in a completely Brazilian way, with intensity, without straying into exoticism, stereotypes, or pretentiousness.

Based on original music by the brothers Grand, with a nod and a wink to traditional Amerindian music, "Rouge" finds underlying themes of confrontation, the clash of cultures, power struggles, and what it means to belong to a community. Direct, genuine and raw, the dance is performed vigorously, at full throttle. Gathering momentum as they are carried away by the implacable rhythm of the music, the dancers convey drama and strength, a sense of urgency, of pain and separation, surging relentlessly toward a point of crisis until the excess of impulse and tension is exorcised, reaching at last a state of grace.

Rodrigo Pederneiras' work has won international recognition. In Brazil, he created the choreography for the Ballet do Theatro Municipal do Rio de Janeiro, the Ballet do Teatro Gua�ra, the Ballet da Cidade de S�o Paulo, and the Companhia de Dan�a de Minas Gerais. He has also created works for the Deutsche Oper Berlin Company (Germany), for the Gulbenkian (Portugal), for the Stadttheater of Saint Gallen (Switzerland), for the Op�ra du Rhin (France), and for Les Ballets Jazz de Montr�al.