MEDIATHEK

Born in France, Dominique Porte studied dance at the Conservatoire d’Avignon and the Centre national de danse contemporaine in Angers, under Dominique Petit, Dominique Bagouet, Norio Yoshida and Aaron Osborne, among others. She received training in classical ballet, Cunningham and release techniques, and Bharata Natyam, all of which have influenced her approach to movement and her concept of dance. Dominique was immediately attracted to the effervescence of choreographic creation in Montreal, and in 1989, she established herself in this city, dancing for choreographers Marie Chouinard, William Douglas, and José Navas. Dominique Porte has always had a strong interest in the solo form, which led her to create and perform her first choreographic piece in 1993. Codine, inspired by the work of Romanian writer Panait Istrati, was presented at Tangente and FIND in Montreal, as well as in Venezuela. The promising young choreographer then created a series of solos exploring themes inspired by sources as varied as the sculpture of Rodin (Ne marchez pas sur le concret, 1995), the music of Ligeti (Sautes d’humeur, 1998), and Chinese calligraphy (7 Gouttes et des poussières, 1998). Her piece Déviation was selected for the 1997-1998 Dance Roads tour in which emerging choreographers and their work are promoted by a network of presenters in Europe. Following this exposure, pieces by Dominique Porte began to travel to Europe and to New York. In August, 1999, she established a structure for her work by founding the company Système D/Dominique Porte. As a performer, Dominique is noted for her energy and wit, her precision and her virtuosity; these qualities give her choreography an undeniable edgy style that contrasts abstraction and emotion, formal logic and inversion, passages with sharply drawn lines and others with curving, undulating movements. A new creation by Dominique Porte is a must-see event, not to mention the chance to see her perform. Fortunately, these opportunities are plentiful, as Dominique participates in a wide variety of choreographic experiences. In 1997, the Orford Arts Centre invited her to create her first group work, a quintet set to music by Ligeti. This success of this piece, entitled De 1 à 6, performed with the musicians on stage, marked the beginning of an ongoing choreographic research in which musicality is given as important a place as movement. In July 2000, the Orford Arts Centre invited Dominique to create another piece, which was set to Chopin études and preludes. In addition to her projects with her own company, since 1999, Dominique has been guest choreographer in a number of projects. Among her numerous commissions, she has choreographed several works for LADMMI, the contemporary dance school. The most recent of these, GO, was created in 2010 for 16 second-year students and set to Bach preludes played by Glen Gould. She has also created pieces for l’Université du Québec à Montréal, l’École supérieure de ballet contemporain, l’École de danse de Québec, Montréal Danse company, the Danse et Lumière project at the Fondation Jean-Pierre-Perreault, la 2ième Porte à Gauche, and several works for Danse-cité. In November 2002, Dominique’s choreographic signature was also seen in the context of Pépinières européennes, when Theatre Academy Helsinki invited her to create Up & Down, a work for 12 graduating students co-produced by the Aleksanterin teatteri. In January 2003, her quartet Solitudes was presented at the Studio of l’Agora de la danse by Korean group Laboratory Dance Project (LDP) in a preview performance for the Seoul International Dance Festival. In 2004, Dominique was guest choreographer at the OSEZ! event in Saint-Jean-Port-Joli, Quebec. She participated in OSEZ! again in the summer of 2009 on the occasion of the 475th birthday celebration of the town of Gaspé. In winter, 2005, with the help of a travel grant from the Conseil des arts et des lettres du Québec, Dominique went to India for six weeks of research and inspiration. She returned to India the following year when she was invited to give a workshop at the Attakkalari Centre for Movement Arts in Bangalore. Dominique’s recent choreographic commissions include the 2007 duet Elisabeth II à Hong Kong, created for the company Corpus Rhésus Dance in Trois-Rivières, and in 2008, the piece Out of Hauz Experiences Vol. 1, presented by the Mancopy company at the Aarhus Festival in Denmark. A much sought-after teacher, Dominique regularly gives classes to professional dancers at the Regroupement québécois de la danse. In 2007, she gave a 2-week intensive workshop to some 20 professional dancers from all over Canada in the context of Transformation Danse in Montreal. She has taught technique and performance for several years at the Dance Department of UQÀM, where, for the first time in 2010, she also began giving choreography workshops. (Quelle: www.dominiqueporte.com) / jst