Anik Bissonnette

rdf:langString Anik Bissonnette

rdf:langString Anik Bissonnette

rdf:langString Anik Bissonnette

rdf:langString Anik Bissonnette OC CQ (born 9 February 1962) is a Canadian ballet dancer; and was a principal dancer starting in 1990 with Les Grands Ballets Canadiens. Her father, Jean Bissonnette, was famous as a television director with Télévision de Radio-Canada. Bissonnette began her training at the École de danse Eddy Toussaint, primarily under Camilla Malashenko. In 1979, she joined Toussaint's troupe, Le Ballet de Montréal Eddy Toussaint. She created many leading roles in Toussaint's choreographies, including Rose La Tulipe (1979), Un simple moment (1981), Requiem de Mozart (1986), New World Symphony (1987), and Bonjour Brel (1988). Under Toussaint's artistic direction, Bissonnette formed a memorable partnership with Louis Robitaille. She starred in many televised productions with Le Ballet de Montréal Eddy Toussaint and performed in Night Magic, a film directed by Lewis Furey. Her participation in the netted Toussaint first prize for his choreography in Un simple moment. She danced the role of Giselle for the first time in Odesa, Ukraine, USSR, in 1988. The following year, she was invited to Toulouse France where she danced the part of Odette/Odile in Swan Lake with Laurent Hilaire the principal dancer with the Opéra de Paris. In 1991, she resumed the role and was partnered with , another Paris Opera étoile. She also danced the role of Juliet in 's Romeo and Juliet as well as Cinderella in a work of the same name. In 1989, Bissonnette joined Les Grands Ballets Canadiens in Montréal, Canada and was named principal dancer the following year; thus, gaining access to roles that showcased the full range of her enormous talent. Leading roles in great classics like The Nutcracker, Coppélia, La Fille Mal Gardée, Les Sylphides, Giselle, and Swan Lake allowed audiences to appreciate her versatility. She performed the dramatic principal roles in Antony Tudor's Jardin aux Lilas and Pillar of Fire and José Limón's Moor's Pavane. She has also performed in some 10 ballets by George Balanchine. Throughout her career with Les Grands, Bissonnette has worked with such choreographers as James Kudelka, William Forsythe, Jiri Kylian, Ohad Naharin, Nacho Duato, , , and . Montréal choreographer Ginette Laurin and several up-and-coming choreographers (including , , , Didy Veldman, and Stijn Celis) have also had the pleasure of working with her. In 2001, she created the role of Lisa in Kim Brandstrup's La Dame de pique. Bissonnette performs regularly in galas in many cities around the world: Melbourne, Athens, Prague, Budapest, Thessaloniki, Montréal, New York City, Toronto, Vienna, Spoleto (Italy), Helsinki, Bratislava. In 2005, she was invited by Carla Fracci of Rome's teatro dell'Opera to revive the ballet La Chatte, which Les Grands Ballets Canadiens de Montréal had staged for her in 1990. She performed recently in Vienna for the closing of . In tandem with her stage career, Bissonnette is Artistic Director of the and President of the . In 1995, she was made an Officer of the Order of Canada. In 1996, she was made a Knight of the National Order of Quebec. In 2014, Bissonnette received the Governor General's Performing Arts Award (GGPAA) for Lifetime Artistic Achievement, Canada's highest honor in the performing arts. At the Gala honoring GGPAA recipients at the National Arts Centre on May 10, Guillaume Côté, principal dancer with the National Ballet of Canada performed a piece commissioned for the event.