PPS Danse was founded in 1989 by Pierre-Paul Savoie. Over the years the company has created some 20 works and given more than 700 performances in a dozen countries in the Americas and Europe.

Openness, creativity, humanism, sharing and commitment underpin and nourish the company's activities. These values are exemplified in its choreographic works and the steadfast efforts by PPS Danse to democratize contemporary dance. By investing in areas of creation, production and cultural mediation PPS Danse continues to affirm its position as a pillar of Quebec's dance community.

The company's artistry is inspired by the principle of encounter and its creations join the realm of dance-theatre. Characterized by an interdisciplinary form and an inherent humanity, the works reach out to general and youth audiences alike.  

ppsdanse.com

Playing Hooky

MARKETS: Quebec and Canada
Audiences: 4 to 10 years (school) / 4 years and over (family)

Following upon Tales for Naughty Children, Pierre-Paul Savoie again draws on the unique and captivating world of poet Jacques Prévert, this time with Playing Hooky. Dance, music, the words of the poet celebrate the fantasies of children seen through their games and lessons. Featured are a quartet of dancers whose spirited antics reflect the child's imagination in all its boisterous beauty. The classroom and the schoolyard burst with inventiveness and freeform exuberance. 

Once again Pierre-Paul Savoie calls upon Benoît Côté who wrote the music for Tales for Naughty Children and The Chairs. In a modern, original mode the composer breathes new life into the musical forms of nursery rhymes and ritournelles, expressed through the voices of Alexandre Désilets and Amylie.

A celebration in dance, song, music and the poetry of children, filled with creativity, tenacity and camaraderie. 

Creative team

Collage, Choreography and Staging: Pierre-Paul Savoie
Texts: Jacques Prévert
Performers: Mathilde Addy-Laird, Chantal Baudouin, Dany Desjardins and Amélie Rajotte
Substitutes : Nicolas Boivin, Marie-Ève Carrière and Marilyne St-Sauveur
Music: Benoît Côté 
Voices: Alexandre Désilets and Amylie
Original composers: Joseph Kosma and Pierre Arimi
Drama consultant: Lise Vaillancourt
Costumes: Linda Brunelle
Lighting: Jocelyn Proulx and Valérie Bourque
Rehearsal directors: Annie Gagnon and Ève Lalonde

A coproduction of PPS Danse and Moncton's DansEncorps

Good to know

Duration: 55 minutes
Capacity: 300 spectators
Performance space requirements: W35' x D25' x H14'
Audience outreach activities also available

Downloads

Press review (available soon)
Teacher guide (available soon)
Technical rider (available soon)

Calendar

THE TREASURE

MARKETS: Quebec and Canada
Audiences: 4 to 10 years (school) / 4 years and over (family)

Dance. Songs. A puppet. Illustrations. A universe of a thousand discoveries.

Inspired by a deep attachment to this musical form, Pierre-Paul Savoie drew on the repertoire of Quebec song to createThe Treasure, a new interdisciplinary creation. The songs of Vigneault, Léveillée, Leclerc and La Bolduc are linked to those composed by Alexandre Désilets, Alexis Dumais and Lise Vaillancourt (lyrics) to set the framework for a choreography that oscillates between ardour and poetry, between sweetness and tone. Manon Gauthier’s illustrations, transposed into the stage space by Richard Morin, come alive in an enchanting movement. The Treasure takes a luminous look at childhood, at the joy, freedom and spontaneity of the game, a glance at the shared complicity with pets, a cat here, these guardians of our most intimate secrets. Anchored in the values of humanity, fraternity and sharing, The Treasure reveals the greatness of the little ones.

Synopsis
On a rainy day, two children – a brother, a sister and their cat Piano – are confined to the house, their noses stuck to the windows. Boredom quickly gives way to creativity, which unfolds as if by magic before the eyes of the audience. Their spontaneous creations offer a lucid, poetic and touching vision of childhood.

Creative team

Choreography and direction: Pierre-Paul Savoie
Original music: Alexandre Désilets
Dancers: Chantal Baudouin, Nicolas Boivin
Interpretation of the songs: Alexandre Désilets
Dramaturgy: Lise Vaillancourt
Illustrations: Manon Gauthier
Puppet production and scenographic ideation: Richard Morin

The creation of this show was made possible thanks to the support of Place des Arts de Montréal and its Foundation. We also thank Spectacles New Richmond and Spect’Art Rimouski, as well as the Maison de la culture Notre-Dame-de-Grâce.

Good to know

Duration: 55 minutes

Downloads

Press review (available soon)
Teacher guide (available soon)
Technical rider (available soon)

Calendar 2020

Place des Arts junior show series (premiere)
March 3-7, at 2pm

Festival Petits bonheurs
May

“No need for words (…) here there is only the vehemence of the gesture, the emotion of the song, the impalpable nature of the music to pay tribute to a strong and eternal work”. 

— Marie-Christine Trottier, Espace Musique

“In the end, a magnificent evening, where the dance showed how it can express what cannot be said, in words or in song. A context that could not be more perfect for Lhasa, who carried, beyond her words, that extra soul that touched so many people around the world. “

— Iris Gagnon-Paradis, DF Danse, November 2011

” (…) and the master stroke of Pierre-Paul Savoie who brought the dance to Coup de cœur francophone with the very successful Danse Lhasa Danse. “Fabienne Cabado, Voir, December 2011

— Fabienne Cabado, Voir, December 2011