Compagnie de danse contemporaine
du Québec (CDCQ)

Training and performance opportunities for aspiring young dancers

Compagnie de danse contemporaine
du Québec (CDCQ)

Training and performance opportunities for aspiring young dancers

The Compagnie de danse contemporaine du Québec (CDCQ) is a division of the Préville Fine Arts Centre. Based on the South Shore of Montreal, the CDCQ provides young dancers with preprofessional performance and networking opportunities.

The CDCQ diverges from competition teams and dance studios, as the dancers train as a company for a season of shows, masterclasses, enrichment activities and other events, all with the added benefit of engaging with dancers, choreographers and directors who work in the dance industry.

Special Spring CDCQ Programme

Ballet & Contemporary Class with Jeremy Raia – Starting June 1st – 3 weeks only!

Designed for dancers aged 11 to 20 years old, with dance experience, this 3-week session open to non-CDCQ dancers, offers a unique opportunity to train alongside current dancers from La Compagnie de danse contemporaine du Québec (CDCQ) and to work directly with the company’s artistic director, Jeremy Raia! Classes are held twice a week, on Mondays and Tuesdays in Saint-Lambert, and are taught in a fun and dynamic multi-aged group setting.

Multi-aged Group
During the first hour, all dancers—ages 11–12, ages 13-20, and CDCQ company dancers—train together. Dancers aged 13-20 then train for an additional 1.5 hours with the CDCQ dancers.

AGE GROUP: 11 to 12 years old*
DAY & TIME: Mondays 5:30pm-6:30pm & Tuesdays 5:30pm-6:30pm
PLACE: 415 Mercille ave., Saint-Lambert
PRICE: $110
*Minimum two years of experience in any style.

AGE GROUP: 13 to 20 years old*
DAY & TIME: Mondays 5:30pm-8pm & Tuesdays 5:30pm-8pm
PLACE: 415 Mercille ave., Saint-Lambert
PRICE: $270
*Minimum three years of dance experience in any style.

News and Upcoming Events

May 2 & 3
VIVORA Premiere
CDCQ’s principal show, VIVORA, is a luminous program featuring three contemporary dance works, created for and with the young dancers of the CDCQ. Learn more.

June 1 to 16
CDCQ Spring Program 

A special 3 week ballet & contemporary class with Jeremy Raia. Open to the public. Register.

June 29 to July 10
CDCQ Summer Intensive

A fun two-week intensive led by CDCQ Artistic Director Jeremy Raia and guest masterclass teachers, focusing on ballet, contemporary, and choreography. A fantastic opportunity to dive into dance and discover more about the (CDCQ)! Learn more.

From the blog

The 25/26 CDCQ Season Is in Full Swing – A Message from CDCQ Artistic Director – Jeremy Raia. Read the article

2025-2026 CDCQ DANCERS

Ella

Jaqueline

Lara

Maria Anna

Serena

Sofia

Victoria

Director and dance teachers

Jeremy Raia

Jeremy Raia began his training in Queens, NY. He graduated from The Juilliard School with a BFA in 1996 and also studied at Boston
Ballet School and the Koniklijk Conservatory in the Netherlands. In 1996, he began his professional career with Ballet Arizona, dancing works by George Balanchine, Michael Uthoff and Daniel Ezralow.

After 2 seasons, he was invited to join Les Grands Ballets Canadiens in Montreal where he was a Premiere Dancer until retiring in 2018. A dancer of both classical and contemporary works by a multitude of choreographers, including George Balanchine, Jiri Kylian, Mats Ek, Nacho Duato, William Forsythe, Christian Spuck, Jean-Christope Maillot and Ohad Naharin. He has originated roles in World Premieres by Stijn Celis, Didy Veldman, Mauro Bigonzetti and Stephan Thoss.

In 2017, Jeremy danced as a Guest Artist with Aszure Barton and Artists. Jeremy taught Company class and was an assistant to Ballet Masters at Les Grands Ballets. As a guest teacher, Jeremy has been invited to 4 continents in such places as Centre National de la Danse (France), Arts Umbrella and Ballet BC (Canada), Saarländisches Staatstheater (Germany), Charlotte Ballet (USA) amongst other Companies and schools.

He has been Artist in Residence at Hamilton College (NY) and Ballet Metropolitano (Colombia) and restaged choreography of Didy Veldman and Christian Spuck on Companies in Europe and USA. From 2018 until 2020, Jeremy was the Ballet Master at Ballet Jazz Montreal and served as Interim Artistic Director for the 2020/21 season. Currently, Jeremy is on faculty at École Supérieure de Ballet du Québec, Les Studios Grands Ballets and Danse a la Carte and is Co-Director of Propulsion, Co-Founder/Director of Festival Charlevoix Danse and Sajedance.

Crédit: Emelle Massariol
Amara Barner

Amara Barner is a multidisciplinary artist from Minnesota, who currently resides in Montreal. As a teenager she traveled as an assistant to the choreographers of The Pulse On Tour, Intrigue Dance Intensive, as well as Emma Portner.

Among these opportunities for professional development, Amara was granted opportunities to perform and teach at workshops in Australia, Mexico, England, and Italy. After moving to NYC at 16, Amara trained locally and worked commercially, such as dancing backup for Sia on The Tonight Show With Jimmy Fallon. At 18 years old, Barner was the youngest dancer ever hired for Montreal dance company, RUBBERBAND. She performed and toured internationally with the company from 2016-2021.

Amara went on to perform the works of artists such as Anne Plamondon, Dana Gingras/Animals of Distinction, and Elon Höglund/Tentacle Tribe. Barner’s versatility allows her to work in both the concert dance realm as well as the commercial circuit. She performed in the Quebec version of The Masked Singer in seasons one and two, as well as in music videos such as La Force’s All That I Am, Aisha Bahdru’s Lazy River, Dominique Fils-Aimé’s Mind at Ease, and Make Believe by sickxsense. Amara was featured in Dance Magazine’s July 2020 issue as an artist “On The Rise “.

Amara studies Fibres and Material Practices at Concordia University, and through the school, presented her first multidisciplinary solo “mongrel” in 2021 and later adapted it for gallery exhibition in 2022. She officially premiered the solo in March of 2024 at Tangente’s LABdiff 2. Amara was the recipient of the Emerging Artist prize from Festival Quartiers Danses in 2023 for her multidisciplinary work The Songbird Dreams of Singing. Barner is currently a faculty member at the USA dance conventions, Intrigue Dance Intensive and Luminous. She is also a contemporary dance instructor at Danse à la carte in Montreal, where she shares her personally developed movement practice, Soft Chaos.

Jérémy Galdeano

Born in Nîmes, France, Jérémy Galdeano graduated from the École Nationale de Danse de Marseille. He began his career as an apprentice with the Ballet National de Marseille before joining Les Grands Ballets Canadiens in 2001, where he evolved over 19 years to become principal soloist.

Alongside his career as a dancer, Jérémy has also created several works for the company’s choreographic workshops, presented in Montreal, Germany and Mexico.

In 2020, after a busy career with Les Grands Ballets, Jérémy chose to devote himself fully to choreography and teaching. In collaboration with Vera Kvarkacova, he forms a dynamic choreographic duo. Their creation “DOMA” has met with great success, integrating Les Grands Ballets Canadiens’ mixed program

“Parlamid’Amore” in May 2019, and being selected for prestigious events such as Carte Blanche DAC 2019 in Montreal and the Noverre-Young choreographers’ evening at Stuttgart Ballet. They were finalists in the 2020 Hannover International Choreographic Competition and invited to the HANGARTFEST in Italy. Their work was also selected for the Future Dance Festival 92Y in New York, where they presented “DOMA” at the Joyce Theater as part of the Martha Graham Company’s season.

In June 2021, their creation “FOMO” was presented at the Mannheim National Theater in Germany and at the Festival Quartiers Danses in Montreal, where it was awarded the prize for best show. In 2022, “DOMA” was performed in Houston and Austin (USA) with the Ishida Dance Company.

In June 2023, their latest creation “BLÍZ” was presented at the Mannheim National Theater in Germany. In January 2024, Jérémy created “You look strange_You look happy” for the Ishida Dance Company in Austin, Texas. In March 2024, they presented their brand-new creation “Nebe” with Les Grands Ballets in the mixed program “Soirée Cantata”.

Sylvia Berman

Sylvia Berman started her pre-professional training at the Quinte Ballet School of Canada. After graduating from QBSC in 2016, Sylvia was accepted into the B.F.A. program at the Conservatory of Dance at SUNY Purchase and graduated summa cum laude in May 2020. During her training at Purchase, Sylvia studied ballet, contemporary and modern techniques, as well as improvisation and choreographic composition.

As a member of the Purchase Dance Company, Sylvia performed works by George Balanchine, Bettijane Sills, Eve Chan, and Norbert De La Cruiz III. For her senior project, she performed a solo entitled “For Sylvia” by Montreal choreographer, Hélène Blackburn. Since Graduating in 2020, Sylvia has had the pleasure of working with Brittney Canda, Cai Glover, Tableau D’Hôte Theatre and Jera Wolfe. Currently, Sylvia is a company dancer with Ballet Ouest de Montréal and tours the Tchaikovsky Candle Light Ballet with Fever Company.

Nadine Berniqué

A preschool teacher since 1999, Nadine Berniqué has been dancing from a very young age. She has had the opportunity to express herself through a variety of styles, including ballet, jazz, lyrical, heels, and Broadway.

Her passion for movement led her to discover the Essentrics method, a full-body workout that combines muscle strengthening with dynamic stretching. An instructor since 2020, she is happy to share this wonderful technique with a wide range of participants.

Nadine is also certified in the ABRACADABARRE method, a ballet fitness approach developed by Joëlle Henry, former principal dancer with Les Grands Ballets Canadiens.

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Thank you to our sponsorS!

A big thank you to ours sponsor DRW for becoming the first official sponsors of CDCQ Dance Company! Their support is essential in helping us bring our project to life. We’re actively seeking additional sponsors and donors to join us on this journey. If you’d like to support the CDCQ dance company, please contact us for details.