Marc Boivin | The door opened west
Marc Boivin began his career with the Groupe de la Place Royale in Ottawa under the direction of Peter Boneham. In 1985, he joined Ginette Laurin and her young company, O Vertigo Danse. Since 1991, as an independent dancer, he has performed in works by choreographers from here and elsewhere, such as Louise Bédard, Mélanie Demers, Sylvain Émard, Jean-Pierre Perreault, Tedd Robinson, Tedi Tafel et Catherine Tardif, as well as collaborating with improvisers Andrew Harwood and Peter Bingham. Affiliated with L’École de danse contemporaine de Montréal since 1987, he regularly teaches and choreographs in schools and organizations across Canada. Marc Boivin was president of Espace Perreault – Transmissions chorégraphiques from 2006 to 2024. He also chaired the board of directors of the Regroupement québécois de la danse from 2010 to 2014 and was a member of the Conseil des arts de Montréal from 2005 to 2010. In 1999, he won the Jacqueline-Lemieux prize awarded by the Canada Council for the Arts, and in 2014, the Dora Mavor Moore prize for his performance in WOULD, a work choreographed by Mélanie Demers in which he danced with Kate Holden.
JURY NOTES
He is an iconic figure in contemporary dance in Montreal and in Canada. He has danced on the world's most prestigious stages and has been a key performer for major choreographers, including Ginette Laurin and Jean-Pierre Perreault. His performances, virtuoso and theatrical, reveal a human being of extraordinary magnetism and charisma.
In addition to his commitment as an artist, Marc Boivin has trained several generations of dancers through his humane, rigorous teaching methods, imparting his work ethic to them. A respected teacher at EDCM and at several other Canadian institutions, he enjoys an enviable reputation both as a teacher and as a performer — no small feat.
His commitment to the community further heightens his status as a unifying leader. As president of the Espace Perreault – Transmissions chorégraphiques and of the RQD for many years, he has worked tirelessly to strengthen the community and give it cohesion and vision. His contribution places him in a category of its own. He is known for his generosity, his role as a transmitter of knowledge and expertise, and his ability to build bridges between generations.
Many of us would not be here without him.
The members of the jury unanimously agree on the exceptional quality of Marc Boivin as a person and as an artist.
Michael Slobodian
