Julie Lachance
Julie Lachance has worked in the Quebec circus world for over 15 years, as a choreographer, art advisor, director, and teacher. Her first collaboration with Cirque du Soleil was in 1999, as choreographer for Dralion.
First introduced to classical ballet at the age of five, Julie Lachance discovered as an adolescent that she had a keen interest in creation and in sharing knowledge. This prompted her to enrol in the teaching option of the dance program at Université du Québec à Montréal. Immediately after graduating in 1984, she began teaching at Collège Régina Assumpta, in Montreal as well as giving classes at private dance schools. Meanwhile, she pursued her own training by taking classes in contemporary, jazz, and percussive dance, flamenco, and tango.
Her unbroken association with the circus arts world began in 1987, when she became educational director at Montreal's National Circus School (ÉNC). She has been at the school as a dance instructor and an art advisor for its collegial education program since 1992.
Since 1990, Julie Lachance has participated, as choreographer, designer, or director, in some ten shows starring students from the internationally renowned school. She has also been involved in the design of shows representing the ÉNC at international events, in particular the Festival des Hautes Écoles de Cirque in Brussels.
In addition to these contributions to the ÉNC, she choreographed the circus show Salto Natale presented in Zurich (December 2002 and January 2003) and the production Ulalena which has been running at the Maui Myth and Magic Theatre in Hawaii since 1999. In 1995, she was on the team of designers for magician Alain Choquette's show Fascination, and in 2000, she played a triple role as choreographer, artistic director, and director for Montreal percussive dancer Sandy Silva's production My Dance.
In 1992 and 1998, her choreographic creations for circus acts won the performers numerous prizes at the Festival Mondial du Cirque de Demain in Paris, La Piste aux Espoirs in Tournai, the Wuqiao International Acrobatic Art Festival, and the Festival Première Rampe in Monaco.