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Everyone loves a parade – and especially
in Montreal where a surfeit of summer
festivals transforms the city into 24/7
open-air theatre. Packed with visitors
from around the world, Place
Jacques-Cartier marked the commencement
of the samba parade that kicked off
Sunday afternoon’s La Grande Danse, the
climactic event of the annual
Divers/Cite festival.
As hundreds of partygoers danced through
Old Montreal, Le Carnaval Cantelli led a
spirited samba and capoeira procession
to Quai Jacques-Cartier on which
Divers/Cite celebrated its 22nd birthday
with a weeklong festival of arts and
music that culminated in the seven-hour
dance marathon known as La Grande Danse.
Often referred to as the “City of
Festivals,” Montreal hosts no less than
100 annual multi-day festivals, with the
majority occurring during the high
season from April through October. Given
the plethora of choices, locals can get
finicky and critical, but visitors to
Montreal recognize a good deal when they
see one. In a town where the concurrent
Osheaga festival can command $225 for a
single-day ticket, Divers/Cite offers
its guests complimentary admission for
the first hour of every day of the
festival (with a four-day pass available
for $30).
Hours before sunset on Sunday, led by
the samba parade, both locals and
visitors danced onto Quai
Jacques-Cartier, Divers/Cite’s “new”
home for the past three years, where
local favorite Stephan Grondin headlined
a roster of international deejays that
included Brighton-based superstars Prok
& Fitch, as well as Vibe from Portugal,
and Montreal’s own Joubin. In the swoon
of late afternoon sun, music lovers from
around the globe partied at one of North
America’s largest outdoor dance events
in the spirit of “All Together
Different,” the festival’s motto that
stresses Divers/Cite’s belief in both
individualism and community. A special
collaborative performance by Grondin and
recording star Celeda took the crowd to
church as the mesmerizing singer lifted
her audience into ecstasy with a rousing
medley of her top ten dance hits.
Equally as riveting and expertly
choreographed, Saturday night’s Viva
l'Amour was Billy L'Amour’s inaugural
entry onto the Divers/Cite schedule of
large-scale outdoor events. Held at
Divers/Cite’s brand-new stage on
Bonsecours Island, L’Amour’s debut show
for Divers/Cite was as brilliantly
conceived as it was expertly
choreographed, with a raft of stellar
performances by some of the most
talented entertainers in North America.
The three-hour show was a riotous
cavalcade of showgirls, chorus boys,
burlesque queens, and gasp-inducing
entertainers that channeled the antic
“let’s put on a show” spirit of both P.T.
Barnum and Flo Ziegfeld. Drag king Nat
King Pole alternated emcee duties with
L’Amour while introducing stars such as
Scarlett James, Trixie Little and The
Evil Hate Monkey, and Erika Daniels.
Matthew Richardson of the “prodigious
apparatus” (in the words of L’Amour) was
a particular favorite, as was Jessy
Gauthier and his dynamic duo of sexy
dancers. A trained dancer and former
lead soloist in several dance companies,
L’Amour generously shared his stage –
and yet it was L’Amour’s incandescence
that lingered long after the last
rhinestone had been ground into the
floorboards.
For the 16th consecutive year, Divers/Cite's
Friday evening event was also the finish
line rally for the Friends for Life Bike
Rally, the six-day, 600-kilometer
journey from Toronto to Montreal that
raises funds to help support those
people living with HIV/AIDS.
Designated a UNESCO City of Design,
Montreal received the award for its
citywide emphasis on talent, tolerance,
diversity, and technology – all factors
that enable a plurality of values and
overall inclusiveness of its citizenry.
The massive crowd at this year’s La
Grande Danse made it abundantly clear
that the locals who wish to partake in a
spectacular celebration of music know
their way to Divers/Cite’s “New Home on
the Old Port.” Founded on the principles
of diversity, solidarity, and openness,
and brilliantly orchestrated by General
Director Suzanne Girard, Divers/Cite
annually reaffirms that while we are
“All Together Different,” there are also
times that when dancing in the glow of
community we are all together one. |
