Founded in Québec City in 2005 and led by Artistic Director and Choreographer Karine Ledoyen, Danse K par K is a company dedicated to the research, creation and production of contemporary dance performances. Impassioned by developing its community and focused on presenting works that are unconventional, Danse K par K also refines concepts that it shares with its guest artists.
Danse K par K is celebrating 20 years of choreographic resistance in 2025.
Innovative and poetic, Danse K par K company creations inject vibrant and essential energy into the contemporary dance landscape. Danse K par K’s commitment is ongoing and encompasses many aspects of the development of the dance field.
Dare! A Unifying and Structuring Project
Danse K par K and choreographer Karine Ledoyen made its mark in the province of Québec and on the international scene at the turn of the millennium, notably with the creation of a flagship project Dare!. From the outset, the choreographer has been driven by a desire to work in interaction with people, where they live, in participatory and open-air performance settings. Karine Ledoyen is fascinated by how dance is produced. How can creative space be shared and different artists be showcased? How to produce works that both connect with and honour nature? The Dare! project, initially presented on waterfront docks, became an inspiration for reviving site-specific dance in the province of Québec. Produced for nine consecutive years on various docks in Québec and Europe from 2002 to 2010, the project brought together nearly 300 artists and reached an audience of over 14,000 spectators.
At the request of Québec City dance artists, the Dare! event was revived seven years later to celebrate the official opening of the Maison pour la danse de Québec in 2017, a success that has been repeated annually ever since. In 2020, it was refashioned as Dare! Solo, adapting to the pandemic circumstances; a solo performance for one or two spectators at a time. Since its inception, Dare! has transformed itself with each new edition, cultivating unique and meaningful encounters for hundreds of choreographers and performers in front of tens of thousands of spectators across Québec and internationally.
Danse K par K is committed to maintaining this project, recognizing the importance of providing the dance community with an additional and accessible platform to showcase experimental choreographic works.
Timeline of Shows
2002 – Dare! in Saint-Jean-Port-Joli, Québec (first edition)
2002 – Laque
2004 – Plexie Chérie!
2004 – Mondays Are for Dance at La Bordée (co-artistic director)
2004 – Founding of l’Artère – Karine Ledoyen is one of the nine founders
2004 – Tapioca (co-choreographer)
2005 – Creation of the Danse K par K company
2005 – Julio et Romette ou Hybiscus
2008 – Cibler
2010 – Air
2011 – La Nobody (co-choreographer)
2013 – Danse de garçons
2013 – Trois paysages
2016 – Danse de nuit
2016 – Danse de salon
2017 – Danse K par K becomes a resident at the Maison pour la danse de Québec
2018 – De la glorieuse fragilité
2020 – Dare! Solo (first edition)
2021 – Miniatures (co-production with Les Violons du Roy)
2021 – Ready-to-Wear Solos, Summer Collection and Fall Collection
2022 – Les chemins dansants (first edition – cultural outreach project)
2024 – Dare! (return of the original format)
2025 – 20 Years of Choreographic Resistance at the Grand Théâtre de Québec
Awards and Distinctions
2022 – Danse K par K is nominated for the Good Governance Award by the Québec City Chamber of Commerce and Industry
2022 – Karine Ledoyen is nominated for the CALQ Artist of the Year Award for the Capitale-Nationale region
2021 – Karine Ledoyen is nominated for the Artistic Personality Award from Culture Capitale-Nationale et Chaudière-Appalaches
2021 – Danse K par K is nominated for the Ville de Québec Award
2020 – Karine Ledoyen receives the François-Samson Award for Development from the Conseil de la culture de la région de Québec
2019 – Karine Ledoyen is nominated for the François-Samson Award for Development from the Conseil de la culture de la région de Québec
2016 – Winner of the Dense danse Prize for the Surprise Show of the Year from CKRL for the Danse de Salon project
2006 – Karine Ledoyen received the François-Samson Award for Development from the Conseil de la culture de la région de Québec
Public Partners
Associations
Danse K par K is a member of:
La Danse sur les routes du Québec (DSR), Regroupement
québécois de la danse (RQD),
Table de la danse du Conseil de la culture de Québec and the Assemblée canadienne de la danse (ACD).
Danse K par K is a resident company at the Maison pour la danse de Québec.