Shanghai, April 28, 2010 – Montréal announces today the cultural offerings that it is bringing to the Expo 2010 Shanghai this May, in adjunct to the online experience programs at http://travel.sina.com.cn/z/Montreal-in-SH/. The city is excited to share some of its most thrilling contemporary entertainment, in the shape of 11,373 Kilometres to Celebrate Friendship by Cirque Éloize, Opus Montréal by Angèle Dubeau and La Pietà and Art Montréal Contemporary presented by the top artists from Montréal。
2010 marks the 25th anniversary of Montréal and Shanghai’s Sister City relationship. The three cultural events from Montréal are part of cultural exchange programs in celebration of 25 years of on-going friendship and aims to provide the public with a truly ‘Montréal’ creative experience of music, performance and visual arts。
Gérald Tremblay, the Mayor of Montréal will lead a business delegation from the city on an official visit to Shanghai for the week of Montréal Day. He will also partake in the celebrations on May 14th– the day designated by Expo 2010 as Montréal Day。
Montréal Day (May 14th)： 11,373 kilometres to celebrate friendship with Cirque Éloize
Cirque Éloize, the Montréal-based nouveau cirque troupe, has created a unique program especially for Montréal Day at Expo 2010 Shanghai. 11,373 kilometres to celebrate friendship is an invitation for Chinese friends to share in Montréal’s renowned sense of festivity and experience a highly contemporary event built around music, dance and the circus arts.
Canada’s Commissioner General at the Expo, Mark Rowswell, alias Da Shan, will host this event produced in the spirit of fantasy. Drawing on the legend of a Montréaler who tunnels through the earth all the way to China, this show is spun around a theme portraying strong popular images.
The leading edge production is a fusion of media and special visual and sound effects. The performance will take place to the rhythmic beat of a DJ accompanied by French singing. Dancers, percussionists and acrobats combine to create a festival atmosphere which will be completed by thrilling, colourful and contemporary circus acts.
11,373 kilometres to celebrate friendship
Plaza of the Americas
May 14th at 11:00, 13:00, 15:00, 17:00 and 19:00
Montréal Day (May 14th)： Opus Montréal by Angèle Dubeau and La Pietà
Angèle Dubeau is one of Canada’s foremost virtuoso violinists, whose extraordinary career has spanned over three decades and performances at the world’s top concert halls in some 30 nations. Dubeau strives to make classical music more accessible to the masses, captivates audiences with her rich and passionate performances and has received many national and international awards for her talent. In 1997, she created La Pietà, an all-female, 12-piece string ensemble that features some of Canada’s best musicians。
Angèle Dubeau and La Pietà will be performing ‘Opus Montréal’, described by the violinist as “a musical program organised as a journey through space and time. The selection will emphasise virtuosity and diversity. This trip around the world in six musical pieces will highlight the work of two Montréal composers- François Dompierre and Claude Gagnon. Compositions will reflect the multiculturalism of Montréal’s melting pot。”
Opus Montréal
UBPA Cities Plaza at Expo 2010
May 14th at 11:00, 15:00, 17:00 and 19:30
May 13 – May 19: Montréal’s contemporary art in the heart of Shanghai…
The Art Montréal Contemporary project will officially represent Montréal’s contemporary art at the Expo 2010 Shanghai. Initiated by the Contemporary Art Galleries Association and Art Souterrain, Art Montréal Contemporary will present 15 projects by renowned Montréal artists. These large works have been selected to transform Shanghai’s busy Times Square into a unique exhibition site for the week of May 13-19. Some fifty hosts will be available on-site, and visitors will be invited to discover Montréal’s galleries through a short, purpose-filmed documentary.
