Louis Robitaille (dancer)

Robitaille was born in Montreal, Quebec on December 21, 1957. He was discovered when he performed at a high school dance performance. A physical education teacher named Peter George saw his ability and arranged for Robitaille to attend Les Ballets Jazz de Montreal’s summer program on a scholarship.[1]

He joined Compagnie de danse Eddy Toussaint in 1974 and studied under Olga Merinova and William Griffith.[1]

In 1978 Robitaille was chosen for the title role in Les Grands Ballets Canadiens’ production of Icare.[1]

Robitaille gained greater fame when he partnered with Anik Bissonnette. Their first dance together was Eddy Toussaint’s Un Simple Movement which won a gold medal at the Helsinki International Festival in 1984.[2] Throughout the 1980s they travelled together to Europe, the United States and Australia, as well as performing in Canada.[1]

In 1988, Robitaille performed with Bissonnette in Swan Lake for the Odessa Ballet. In exchange, the Odessa Ballet allowed Odessa dancers to perform in Eddy Toussaint’s choreography in Montreal.[2]

In 1989, Robitaille joined Les Grands Ballets Canadiens as a principal dancer. He performed 35 roles with the company by choreographers like José Limón, George Balanchine and William Forsythe.[1]

Robitaille became the artistic director of Jeune Ballet du Quebec in 1994 and also founded a chamber ballet group called Bande a Part. In 1995 he founded Dance-Theatre de Montreal with Anik Bissonnette.[1]

In 1998, Robitaille was appointed artistic director of Les Ballets Jazz de Montreal. He changed the company’s name to the hip bjm_danse to reflect his new direction for the company. He envisioned a more contemporary company that fused jazz with theatre, circus, visual arts and new music.[1]

Robitaille increased the employment of the dancers in his company to 42 weeks but only toured with the company for 4 months. When picking choreographers for the company he favored Canadians who were on the verge of achieving international attention. [3] He resigned as director in 2020.

Robitaille is married to Céline Cassone, a former dancer in Les Ballets Jazz de Montreal.[4] They first met when Robitaille was a guest dance partner of Cassone's mother. They met again in the late 2000s and fell in love despite a 19-year age gap.[5]

Louis Robitaille won the Jacqueline Lemieux Prize in 1994.[1] In 1995, he was made an Officer of the Order of Canada.[6] In 1996, he was made a Knight of the National Order of Quebec.[7]