Coleman Lemieux & Compagnie Launches The Citadel Dance Centre

By: Feb. 14, 2012
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Coleman Lemieux & Compagnie (CLC), the contemporary dance company under the artistic direction of award-winning artists Bill Coleman and Laurence Lemieux, launches The Citadel today, its new dance centre located in the heart of Toronto's revitalizing Regent Park neighbourhood with community members in attendance.

The 100-year-old historic Salvation Army Citadel building, located on Parliament Street just south of Dundas, has been transformed into a renewed and upgraded performance space for CLC as well as a centre for dance aimed at the Regent Park community.

Built in 1912, The Citadel was used for decades as a soup kitchen by the Salvation Army. In 2007, Coleman and Lemieux decided to purchase the building for use as a rehearsal studio and performance venue. They found themselves in the middle of one of the most exciting urban renewals in the world.

Designed on a pro bono basis by the world-renowned Diamond Schmitt Architects, the building was completely gutted and renovated to house a new, 1,800 s.f. state-of-the-art dance studio and theatre seating 60-80 people, a 900 s.f. studio for rehearsals, yoga classes, workshop and community dance classes; and office space for CLC.

In the heart of Regent Park, it is part of the revitalization of the neighbourhood and will be home to CLC. CLC will offer weekly free dance classes, rentals for the dance community, affordable performances for the community and patrons of the arts and "pay-what-you-can" classes through its partnership with YogaBeat. Coinciding with the new developments in Regent Park, Coleman Lemieux is spearheading an artistic renaissance in the area, while preserving Regent Park's impressive spirit of community.

 "The wonderful thing about Coleman and Lemieux is that they did not simply relocate into a building in the Regent Park neighbourhood, but became important partners in the revitalization," says local City Councillor Pam McConnell.

CLC have, since first getting involved in the Regent Park community, brought their extraordinary creative vision to the production of a series of events marking significant occasions in the neighbourhood revitalization process, such as street openings and school closings. CLC's activities within the Citadel and beyond serve as a "safe space" for existing and returning social housing tenants to mix and meet with new condo and townhouse owners.

In the words of Mitchell Cohen, president of Regent Park's private sector developers The Daniels Corporation, "We are truly fortunate that Bill and Laurence chose to settle in our neighbourhood. Their desire and ability to engage folks in the local community, as well as the larger artistic community, is particularly exciting."

When the Regent Park revitalization is completed over the next ten to fifteen years, 12,500 people will live across 69 acres of the largest publicly funded community in Canada. The plan includes the replacement of more than 2,000 existing Regent Park units with modern units, and the introduction of approximately 3,000 market units for sale.

Regent Park residents now have a dance theatre in their community - something that doesn't often appear near public housing neighbourhoods. The first work to be presented there will be Les cheminements de l'influence, a world premiere solo by Laurence Lemieux in honour of her father Vincent Lemieux, Quebec's most celebrated political scientist, from February 15-25, 2012.

The Citadel has so far been supported by numerous individual donors, organizations and corporations including Diamond  Schmitt Architects, Bartlett Design,The Daniels Corporation, The Department of Canadian Heritage, Ontario Trillium Foundation, the City of Toronto, and many generous corporations and individuals. Through CLC's Brick by Brick fundraising campaign, prospective donors at various levels have the opportunity to sponsor and name specific rooms in the new facility, and even name the building itself as well as purchase individual bricks of the building for $25 apiece.

Under co-Artistic Director Bill Coleman and Laurence Lemieux, Coleman Lemieux & Compagnie (CLC) has distinguished itself by its innovative, unbridled vision and by an artistic range that encompasses intimate, emotionally honest productions and spectacular stage shows featuring some of Canada's greatest dancers, as well as large-scale, almost legendary site-specific events. CLC is highly regarded for always taking its art to the people. The company has toured across Canada, into the United States as well as to China, Mongolia, Russia and Brazil. With The Citadel, Coleman Lemieux continue their outreach efforts to revitalize the place of dance and art in our society. Its Brick-by-Brick fundraising campaign towards the renovation of the Citadel continues. Visitwww.colemanlemieux.com and www.citadeltoronto.com for more information.


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