A generous and prolific dancer whose career has spanned nearly 25 years, Marc Boivin has worked and performed in Quebec, Canada and abroad. The evocative power of his numerous appearances on stage has been repeatedly acclaimed by audiences and critics alike. He began his career in 1982 with Ottawaʼs Groupe de la Place Royale, under the direction of Peter Boneham, and has since lent his interpretive qualities to many choreographers and projects. He joined O Vertigo, under choreographer Ginette Laurin, in 1985, participating in the companyʼs earliest creations and in several tours in Canada, the United States and Europe. He began to work as a freelance ar t i s t in 1991. Many renowned choreographers such as Louise Bédard, Sylvain Émard, André Gingras, Jean-Pierre Perreault, Dominique Porte, James Kudelka, Tedd Robinson, Felix Ruckert and Catherine Tardif have since solicited his talent and skill as a dancer for their works. Over the years, Boivin has also taken part in numerous improvisation projects, which have proven to be determining influences in the artistʼs trajectory. Indeed, these experiences have inspired his own passion for choreographic creation and shaped the quality of imagination that he brings to his pieces. In 1999, Marc Boivin was awarded the Jacqueline Lemieux Prize by the Canada Council for the Arts and in 2014 the Dora Mavor Moore Award for WOULD, by Mélanie Demers.
In parallel with his work as a dancer, Boivin has pursued a very active teaching career since 1987, when he joined the professorial staff at LʼÉcole de danse contemporaine de Montréal. His pedagogic approach is infused with the same passion that he brings to interpretation, and he is regularly called upon to teach and choreograph in professional schools and universities across Canada. Noteworthy are his passages in Vancouver, at the University of Calgary and in many EDAM workshops, where he teaches interpretation, improvisation and technique as well as offering individual coaching.
While Marc Boivin has long evolved as a performer, giving shape and meaning to the languages of different choreographers, he has also developed a marked interest for creation. Between 2004 and 2008, he created solos for two professional dancers, respectively To Somewhere else for Jolene Bailie (Winnipeg) and Between here and now for Jennifer Dallas (Toronto), as well as the group piece Fragments, for Code Universel in Quebec City. In 2007, Marc Boivin created R.A.F.T. 70, an improvisational project for Andrew Harwood’s AH HA Productions. This experience showed him the creative potential that could exist between the realms of choreography and guided improvisation. After that, in 2008, the creation of his first solo Impact began to take shape. This was followed by The Fictions Project, which included the pieces Withrow Park for Duskdances and Chroma key for firstthingsfirst productions.
In the spring of 2010, he created X/Y for the students of LADMMI in collaboration with the music school at the Université de Montréal. Work on X/Y led to a desire to deepen his exploration of the relationship and dialogue that is possible between the human body and music. The further exploration of his creative relationship to music is at the heart of his close collaboration with the contemporary composer, Ana Sokolovic and the Quatuor Bozzini. The premiere of this work Une idée sinon vraie… has been presented in October 2012.
Marc Boivin is highly involved in the contemporary dance milieu, and has played an influential role in its emancipation on the larger art scene. He is President of Fondation Jean-Pierre Perreault since 2005, and was a member of the Conseil des Arts de Montréal from 2006 to 2010 and RQD president from 2010 to 2014.
photo credit: Ginelle Chagnon