Emerging, established artists to debut work at Quebec Scene

Premieres from acclaimed dance troupe La La La Human Steps and playwright Wajdi Mouawad are among the highlights of Quebec Scene, organizers announced Tuesday.

The massive, 16-day multidisciplinary arts festival, spearheaded by The National Arts Centre, descends on the Ottawa and Gatineau region beginning April 20. Theevent will span the worlds of music, theatre, dance, film, comedy, literature, circus, culinary arts, visual and media arts.

"We're bringing the best of what's happening with established and emerging artists in all cultures. There's English, there's French and there's all those arts that don't have a language," festival producer and executive director Heather Moore told Radio-Canada on Tuesday.

"The festival is a chance to discover and celebrate."

A new dance production from La La La Human Steps will be part of this year's opening night festivities, and Scorched, the English-language version of Mouawad's acclaimed French-language play Incendies, will also have its debut during Quebec Scene.

Other premieres will include:

• Norman, 4D Art's theatre-and-film collaboration about Quebec filmmaker Norman McLaren;
• Pierre Lebeau's stage and variety show Lvres, with accompaniment by The Triplets of Belleville musical collaborators Benot Charest and Batrice Bonifassi;
• A little tenderness for crying out loud!, a new dance work by choreographer Dave St-Pierre;
• Welcome to (a city where you are a tourist), a nomadic theatre experience by up-and-coming playwright Olivier Choinire.

Previously announced participants include jazz pianist Lorraine Desmarais, the Montreal Jubilation Choir, Les Grands Ballets Canadiens de Montral, Kent Nagano and the Montreal Symphony Orchestra.

Newly announced artists to be featured on the Quebec Scene stage include jazz icon Oliver Jones; authors Yann Martel and Neil Bissoondath; Oscar-nominated animated filmmaker Torill Kove; comedy from Juste Pour Rire and contemporary circus performance troupe Les 7 Doigts de la Main.

More details about the participating artists can be found on the festival's website.

Quebec Scene is the NAC's third biennial festival celebrating the artists of a specific Canadian region. Previous festivals included Atlantic Scene in 2003 and Alberta Scene in 2005, both of which exposed artists of those regions to new audiences around the world, organizers said.

"We are incredibly proud to be showcasing 700 Quebec artists during the festival," NAC president and CEO Peter Herrndorf said in a statement.

"I have no doubt that audiences will be dazzled by the imagination, creativity and talent coming out of Quebec."