Sylvain Lafortune

Born in Montreal, Sylvain Lafortune begins his professional career with Les Grands Ballets Canadiens (GBC) in 1979, having studied with its affiliated school.  This first experience allowed him to dance classical and modern choreographies, works by Kudelka, Taylor, Limon, MacDonald and Lubovitch among many others.

In 1984, a grant from the Canada Council for the Arts and the Jacqueline Lemieux Award allowed him to study dance and theatre in Europe and in New York.  Remaining in New York until 1990, he became a member of the Lar Lubovitch Dance Company as well as dancing for the Susan Marshall & Co. and in the Martha Clarke Off-Broadway production of “The Garden of Earthly Delights”.

Back in Montreal, he again joined the GBC, this time as a principal dancer, and danced a repertory that included revivals and creations from choreographers such as Joss, Tudor, Balanchine, Kudelka, Duato, Kylian and Godden.  In 1995, he joined O Vertigo Danse, directed by choreographer Ginette Laurin, and, in 1998, Montréal Danse where he danced the works of Navas and De Vasconcelos.

Sylvain Lafortune also appeared in film projects such as Narcissus by director Norman McLaren, Fandango and Romeos and Juliets by Barbarra Sweete, La nuit du déluge by Bernar Hébert and Le violon magique by Raymond St-Jean.

A freelance artist since 1999, he was part of numerous independent dance projects, most notably Monsieur and S’envoler from Estelle Clareton, the Montreal Dance production of Prisme from Benoit Lachambre, and Les chaises from Pierre-Paul Savoie, an adaptation for young audience of Ionesco’s play. He shares his activities between dancing, teaching dance and working as an artistic adviser to students of the National Circus School (NCS).  He created several circus shows for the NCS, notably Faërie, the school’s 2007 production at Tohu.  Also in 2008, he collaborated in the creation the street performance Gramoulinophone from the French company 2 rien merci.

Parallely to his professional career, his interest for dance partnering lead him to pursue graduate studies at the Université du Québec à Montréal (UQAM). His master’s degree (La classification des portés en danse, 2003) ans his doctorate degree (L’apprentissage d’un duo chez des danseurs experts, 2010) allowed him to deepen his theoretical and practical understanding of partnering in dance. The workshops he gives, the conference he presents and the articles he publishes make him an authority on this subject.