artistic team | season 2025-2026

DESIGNERS

marilène bastien | costume designer

Marilène Bastien works as a set and costume designer. Highly active in the contemporary dance milieu, she collaborates with numerous renowned choreographers, including Louise Bédard, Virginie Brunelle, Sylvain Émard, Catherine Gaudet, Lucie Grégoire, Hélène Langevin, Alan Lake, Ginette Laurin, Louise Lecavalier, Ismaël Mouaraki, Anne Plamondon, Jacques Poulin-Denis, and Manuel Roque.

She designed the costumes for Faust by Gounod for Opéra de Québec (directed by Jean-Romain Vespirini). In opera, she also created the set and costumes for Aliénor (music and libretto by Alain Voirpy, staging and libretto by Kristian Frédric, Opéra de Limoges, France, 2021), as well as the costumes for Fando et Lis (music by Benoît Menut after Fernando Arrabal, libretto and staging by Kristian Frédric, Opéra de Saint-Étienne, France).

Her circus costume designs include Benoît Landry’s Après la nuit and three Cirque du Soleil productions (Bôcca, directed by Pierre Lapointe; Le monde est fou and Tout écartillé, directed by Jean-Guy Legault). With Cirque Éloize, she designed costumes for the opening ceremony of the CCG Games in Zahra, Kuwait (directed by Susan Gaudreau), as well as for Serge Fiori Seul Ensemble (directed by Benoît Landry).
In theatre, she has contributed to creations alongside directors Nini Bélanger (Splendide jeunesse and Petite sorcière by Pascal Brullemans), Michel-Maxime Legault (Les inventions à deux voix by Sébastien Harrisson and Ce que nous avons fait by Pascal Brullemans), and Catherine Vidal (Je disparais by Arne Lygre).

antoine berthiaume | composer

A Montreal-based composer, Antoine Berthiaume is active in improvisation, contemporary music, dance, theatre, and film. A jazz guitarist and improviser, his work has been enriched through collaborations with creators such as Marie-Ève Milot, Alan Lake, Parts+Labour_Danse, Milan Gervais, Jessica Serli, Catherine Gaudet, Louise Lecavalier, as well as companies including Cavalia, Cirque du Soleil, la Bande à Paul, Epsilon Games, and Moment Factory.

He appears on a dozen recordings released on the labels Ambiances Magnétiques, Audiogram, Vos Records (Japan), Incus Records (UK), Sainte-Cécile, SONY, and Starkland (USA), alongside Michel Donato, Pierre Tanguay, Rick Haworth, Maryclare Brzytwa, Derek Bailey, Fred Frith, Elliott Sharp, and others.

An occasional columnist for Classical Guitar Magazine, he holds a Master’s degree in contemporary music and a PhD in digital music from Université de Montréal.

frannie holder | voice coach

Frannie Holder is a Montreal-based singer, songwriter, and stage director. In addition to her musical projects (Random Recipe, Dear Criminals), she has designed the music for the theatre productions La déesse des mouches à feu by Geneviève Pettersen (directed by Patrice Dubois and Alix Dufresne, 2018), Déclarations by Jordan Tannahill (directed by Mélanie Demers, 2022), Neecheemus (directed by Émilie Monnet, 2023), as well as contemporary dance works La Poursuite du cyclone by Kevin Jean (2019), La Goddam Voie Lactée and Confession publique by Mélanie Demers (2021).

sophie michaud | dramaturg and rehearsal director

Sophie Michaud began her career in the early 1980s. After exploring movement through performance and choreography, she specialized in accompanying creative processes. Holding a Bachelor’s degree and a Master’s degree in dance, as well as doctoral studies in Arts Studies and Practices (UQAM), she has worked for over thirty years as a rehearsal director and dramaturgical advisor. As a researcher and practitioner, she develops reflections on modes of communication and ethics, and since the early 2000s has worked toward the recognition of the rehearsal director profession in dance in Quebec.

Highly present with independent and emerging creators, her career is marked by numerous collaborations with companies such as Cas Public, Bouge de là, Manon fait de la danse, Sinha Danse, Corpuscule Danse, Lucie Grégoire Danse, Lorganisme (Amélie Rajotte, Caroline Laurin-Beaucage), Fleuve Espace Danse, BBOYIZM, and Human Playground. She is also a writing consultant and artistic mediator, and a trainer with the Regroupement québécois de la danse (RQD), where she contributed to the development of training programs for emerging artists. Her first collaboration with Catherine Gaudet dates back to 2009 with L’invasion du vide.

larsen lupin | sound engineer

This pseudonym conceals one (and formerly two) composer, musician, sound designer, and sound engineer. Larsen Lupin has been active for over twenty-five years and has contributed to more than one hundred original scores or sound designs.

His recent work can be heard in Le vrai monde, Ceux qui se sont évaporés, Zéro, L’Énéide, 21, La Queens’, Hidden Paradise, Des souris et des hommes, Neuf [working title], Le déclin de l’empire américain, J’accuse and Tu te souviendras de moi. While theatre is his main base, he also works in dance, film, and pyrotechnics.

alexandre pilon-guay | lighting designer

A graduate of the theatre program at Collège Lionel-Groulx in 2003, Alexandre quickly became associated with Montreal’s dance scene. He has collaborated with choreographers Virginie Brunelle, Mélanie Demers, Frédérick Gravel, Antonija Livingstone, Frédéric Tavernini, Nicolas Cantin, Lynda Gaudreau, Clara Furey, Jacques Poulin-Denis, Catherine Gaudet, and the Pierre-Paul-Savoie Dance Company. For over ten years, he contributed to the creations of choreographer Dave St-Pierre, whose works have toured Montreal and Europe.

In theatre, he has worked with Alice Ronfard, Jérémie Niel, Claude Poissant, Catherine Vidal, Patrice Dubois, Sylvain Bélanger, Martin Faucher, Emmanuel Schwartz, Olivier Choinière, and Brigitte Haentjens. In 2017, he took on new challenges with artist Clara Furey by creating a work for the exhibition A Crack in Everything / Une brèche en toute chose presented at the Musée d’art contemporain de Montréal. With Catherine Gaudet, he designed the lighting for ODE, and previously for Au sein des plus raides vertus, La très excellente et lamentable tragédie de Roméo et Juliette, L’affadissement du merveilleux, and Se dissoudre.

PERFORMERS

rodrigo alvarenga-bonilla | ODE

Rodrigo Alvarenga-Bonilla began dancing at the age of five by joining a Salvadoran folk dance troupe. He later discovered Hip-Hop, Popping, and Breaking through youth centers and self-directed learning. He continued his training at Studio Party Time in Quebec City and joined PNT Dance Company. In 2013, he co-founded the group MARVL, with which he participated in the TV show Révolution and toured the production JAM across Quebec.

Graduating from the École de danse contemporaine de Montréal in 2019, Rodrigo continues to develop his personal style by blending breaking, contemporary dance, and acrobatics. He collaborates with various choreographers and companies including Destins Croisés, Sylvain Émard, Marie Béland, Hélène Simard, Catherine Gaudet, and Tentacle Tribe. He has also worked on select projects with Cirque du Soleil and Cirque Éloize.

stacey désillier | the pretty things (understudy) and ODE

Passionate about movement and the possibilities of the body, Stacey Désilier quickly realized she wanted to make dance her profession. She pursued professional training at the École de danse contemporaine de Montréal. She has collaborated with choreographers George Stamos, Sasha Kleinplatz, Helen Simars, Opéra de Québec, Starmania, and Tentacle Tribe in circus contexts. She participated in Dana Gingras’ new creations FRONTERA and Creation Destruction.

She became immersed in the rich artistic worlds of Mélanie Demers, expanding her experience through multiple challenges including two films, a podcast, a solo drawn from the repertoire of Icône Pop, and two new creations: La Goddam Voie Lactée and Cabaret Noir.

Her first choreographic work, Pythagore mon corps, won the Audience Choice Award at Festival Quartiers Danses in 2018 and was presented at Tangente in 2020. Her choreographic journey continued with Montréal Danse, which invited her to participate in Research Event in 2023. She believes in cross-cultural encounters through dance and seeks to continue sharing artistic experiences.

dany desjardins | the pretty things and ODE

Dany Desjardins began his artistic practice at a young age through drawing and theatre. After studying visual arts in Alma, he completed a dance program in Drummondville and pursued further studies at LADMMI in Montreal. Since March 2007, he has worked with Marie Chouinard Company, PPS Danse, Dave St-Pierre inc., DLD, Maribé – sors de ce corps, and collaborated with choreographers George Stamos, Kathy Ward, Frédérick Gravel, and Andréane Leclerc. He has worked with Compagnie Catherine Gaudet since 2009.

Dany presents his choreographic work in numerous contexts and locations, including Théâtre Lachapelle in Montreal, Barcelona, Florence, and Berlin. He has developed a collaboration with DLD as a comic artist and completed a 3D animation program in the summer of 2022.

francis ducharme | the pretty things and ODE

A graduate of the Theatre Performance program at Collège Lionel-Groulx in Sainte-Thérèse, Francis Ducharme has pursued a career across theatre, film, and dance. Since graduating, he has appeared in approximately twenty theatre productions under directors such as Claude Poissant, Florent Siaud, Lorraine Pintal, Brigitte Haentjens, Serge Denoncourt, Catherine Vidal, and Catherine Bourgeois. In film, he has appeared in Chasse Galerie (J.P. Duval), Corbo (M. Denis), Les Signes Vitaux (S. Deraspe), La Capture (C. Laure), and C.R.A.Z.Y. (J.-M. Vallée).

An iconoclastic artist, he has left a strong mark on works by Quebec choreographer Dave St-Pierre, including Un peu de tendresse bordel de merde, La pornographie des âmes, and Le no man’s land show. He has worked with Belgian choreographer Sidi Larbi Cherkaoui and toured with Babel, directed by Damien Jalet. He also dances with ArtGravelArtGroup led by Frédérick Gravel, Clara Furey, and with Mélanie Demers. He has collaborated with Catherine Gaudet on Au sein des plus raides vertus, La très excellente et lamentable tragédie de Roméo et Juliette, L’affadissement du merveilleux, The pretty things (FTA 2022), and her latest creation ODE (2024).

aurélie ann figaro | ODE

Aurélie Ann Figaro is a performer originally from Haiti. In addition to training in traditional Haitian dances with Shérane Figaro and classical ballet training at the Académie du Ballet Métropolitain, she graduated from the École de danse contemporaine de Montréal in 2022. She has since worked with Sylvain Émard Danse, RD Créations, WAFD Interdisciplinary Creations, and Catherine Gaudet. Ancestry, eclecticism, and versatility guide her artistic path in dance.

caroline gravel | the pretty things and ODE

Caroline Gravel is a performer, dance artist, workshop leader, and initiator of choreographic and videographic research projects, grounding her practice in both living and digital spaces. Recognized for her distinctive approach as a contemporary dance performer, she collaborates in the creation and performance of works by Montreal-based choreographers on local and international stages. Her personal work explores the division between memory and experience through the documentation of events and questions of representation. She creates evocative atmospheres without narration, where drama emerges elsewhere and crystallizes tension to embody an ever-evolving event.

chi long | ODE

Chi Long began her dance career with Canberra Dance Theatre in Australia. In 1990, upon arriving in Montreal, she joined O Vertigo, a company with which she immediately connected and danced for over a decade. In 2002, she fulfilled a dream by joining Compagnie Marie Chouinard. Now an independent performer, she is grateful to develop creative complicity with a wide range of choreographers and continues to collaborate closely with Virginie Brunelle Company and Mayday.

scott mccabe | the pretty things and ODE

Born in Toronto, Scott McCabe graduated from The Juilliard School in 2013. They performed with Gallim Dance toward the end of their studies. Scott was a member of Ate9 from 2013 to 2015 before joining Compagnie Marie Chouinard from 2015 to 2020. They also practice the Ilan Lev Method.

james phillips | the pretty things, ODE and Hors d'Œuvre

James Phillips completed professional training at the Royal Winnipeg Ballet School, then graduated from the École de danse contemporaine in 2005 and moved to Ottawa, where he spent four years as a member of Groupe Dance Lab under the direction of Peter Boneham. He moved to Montreal in 2009 to join Ginette Laurin’s O Vertigo until November 2015.

During the 2015–2016 season, James was a guest artist with Toronto Dance Theatre and participated in creations by Christopher House, Alyssa Martin, Alex Napier, and Andrew Tay. He also took part in the project Singular Bodies with Toronto Dance Theatre. In February 2016, he returned to Winnipeg to work with Freya Bjorg Olafson and Lise McMillan on Olafson’s new creation C.P.A (Consistent Partial Attention) for Collective Corps. James joined Toronto Dance Theatre as a company member for the 2016–2017 season, dancing in works by Christopher House and Ame Henderson. In recent years, he has collaborated on research and creation projects with Catherine Gaudet, Emmanuel Jouthe, Louise Bédard, Virginie Brunelle, and Andrea Peña.

geneviève robitaille | ODE

After studying visual arts at Université Laval, Geneviève Robitaille completed her professional dance training at L’École de danse de Québec in 2015. She has worked with Lina Cruz since 2016, dancing in works such as the solo Tic-Tac Party and the group piece Morphs. She appears in Le cri des méduses by Alan Lake and reprised a role in Solitudes Duos by Daniel Léveillé. She participates in new creations by Fleuve Espace Danse and Catherine Gaudet. She has also collaborated with Social Growl Dance, Martin Messier, Jacynthe Carrier, Parts+Labour_Danse, Morgane Le Tiec, Harold Rhéaume, and Kimberley De Jong. Alongside performing, she builds bridges between visual arts and dance through personal multidisciplinary research.

lauren semeschuk | ODE (understudy)

Originally from Saskatchewan, Lauren Semeschuk began her career in Ukrainian dance, touring internationally with the Pavlychenko Folkloric Ensemble. After a detour into accounting, she returned to dance and graduated from Ryerson University in 2008. Her professional career includes projects with numerous choreographers and companies, including Compagnie Catherine Gaudet, José Navas / compagnie Flak, Louise Bédard Danse, Compagnie Marie Chouinard, and Je suis Julio / Le Radeau. Since 2017, she has also been a somatic practitioner of the Ilan Lev Method.