Côté Danse

Our Story

Côté Danse is a contemporary creation company dedicated to producing and presenting original dance works that bring together performance excellence and bold artistic collaboration. Working with a wide range of designers, artists, and partners, the company creates immersive and visually compelling productions that are both accessible and scalable, engaging audiences across Canada and internationally.

Rooted in a refined classical ballet vocabulary, the choreographic language of Côté Danse contours space through resonant geometries and deeply human connections. Sleek contemporary lines, sculptural clarity, and a refined athleticism give the work its distinctive vitality. Each creation balances precision with emotional depth, offering audiences an experience that is at once rigorous, intimate, and expansive.

Côté Danse is committed to expanding how dance is encountered by fostering inclusivity, accessibility, and openness in its practices and performances. Through a diversity of collaborators, formats, and presentation contexts, the company actively contributes to a cultural landscape that reflects a multiplicity of voices and experiences, while cultivating new generations of dance and theatre audiences.

 

Our Vision

Côté Danse envisions a fluid and evolving dance ecology that bridges the many worlds of the art form. Through imaginative works that span styles, aesthetics, and contexts, the company seeks to dissolve traditional boundaries between disciplines and between performers and audiences. It aspires to remain responsive to a shifting cultural landscape, cultivating a creative environment grounded in inclusion, adaptability, and exchange. Côté Danse imagines a space without limits, where dance can exist in multiple forms, reach diverse communities, and resonate across a wide spectrum of lived experiences.

 

Land Acknowledgement

Côté Danse acknowledges the remarkable opportunity to live and create on this land, the traditional territory of the Huron-Wendat, the Anishinaabe, the Chippewa, the Haudenosaunee, and the Wendat Peoples, and most recently, the Mississaugas of the Credit First Nation.

Today, the meeting place of Tkaronto, meaning “where the trees stand in the water”, is home to many diverse First Nations, Inuit, and Métis Peoples. We are grateful to live and dance on Turtle Island, a sacred land that has been a site of human activity for over 15,000 years. We extend our deepest respect to all First Nations peoples, their ancestors, past and present, and future, and commit to ongoing learning, responsibility, and care in how we create and share our work on this land.

Our People

  • Guillaume Côté - Artistic Director

    Photo: Matt Barnes

    “One of the finest male dancers in the world.”
    – The London Times

    “(Côté Danse) are dance for now—dance you cannot quite look away from, dance you want to follow, dance that insists the art form is not over but, once again, on the verge of something new.”

    – Deirdre Kelly, Critics at Large

    “Guillaume Côté elaborates and evolves his style by blending classical and contemporary techniques, which brings out a gesture that is both aesthetically and theatrically significant. His powerful choreographic language allows the dancers to intensely express the depth of the emotions at stake.”
    – Antonella Poli, Chroniques de danse

     

    Guillaume Côté is a dancer, choreographer, and artistic leader whose career spans classical ballet, contemporary creation, and multidisciplinary performance. A native of Lac-Saint-Jean, Québec, he studied at Canada’s National Ballet School and joined the National Ballet of Canada in 1999, rising to Principal Dancer in 2004. Over 26 years with the company, he performed extensively on stages worldwide and served as Choreographic Associate from 2013 until 2025, with eight of his works included in the company repertoire.

    Guillaume has created several major works for the National Ballet of Canada, including the full-length ballet Le Petit Prince, the 60-minute contemporary work Being and Nothingness, Dark Angels for the National Arts Centre, and the multimedia full-length production Frame by Frame, co-created with Robert Lepage, and co-produced by the National Ballet of Canada, the National Film Board of Canada, and Ex Machina.

    Internationally, Guillaume has choreographed for companies and projects such as Gauthier Dance, Sara Mearns, New York City Center – Artist at the Center, Joyce Theater, Royal Winnipeg Ballet, Kelowna Ballet, ProArteDanza, and Maggio Musicale in Florence. He was awarded third prize at the Hanover Choreographic Competition.

    In 2021, Guillaume founded Côté Danse, together with his long-time collaborators Etienne Lavigne and Anisa Tejpar, dedicated to exploring innovative ways of presenting dance. Under Côté Danse, he has created several major works, including: Crypto (2019), X (Dix, 2021), Touch (2021), Hamlet, Prince of Denmark (2023), and Burn Baby, Burn (2024).

    Guillaume is deeply passionate about the future of dance and its evolution as a living, expressive language. He thrives on collaboration and has worked extensively with multidisciplinary, film, and multimedia artists such as mirari, Thomas Payette, Michael Levine, and Ben Shirinian. Together, they have created films including Lost in Motion 1 and 2, Lulu (winner of Best Short at the Milan Film Festival), Naraka and Grand Mirage, expanding dance into cinematic and immersive experiences.

    Guillaume currently serves as Artistic Director of FASS (Festival des Arts de Saint-Sauveur), Canada’s largest summer dance festival. In this role, he has expanded the festival’s artistic vision by curating an eclectic program of national and international dance, theatre, and multidisciplinary performances. He champions mentorship and artist development, fostering collaborations across disciplines and generations. His leadership emphasizes accessibility, audience engagement, and innovation, establishing FASS as a dynamic platform where artists can take creative risks and audiences can experience the transformative power of live performance.

    Throughout his career, Guillaume Côté has been recognized with numerous awards and honours, including the médaille de l’Assemblée nationale du Québec (2011) for his outstanding contribution to dance and being named Chevalier de l’Ordre national du Québec (2021).

     

  • Etienne Lavigne - Executive Director

    Photo: Karolina Kuras

    A native of Montréal, Etienne Lavigne trained at l’École supérieure de ballet du Québec, San Francisco Ballet School and the National Ballet of Cuba. He joined The National Ballet of Canada where he was promoted to First Soloist and Principal Character Artist. He danced a number of lead roles with the company and after more than 1500 performances, he retired from his full-time position in 2017 and was named Guest Principal Character Artist, a title under which he occasionally returns to the stage.

    During his dance career, M. Lavigne studied business management and took an active role in the administrative side of dance. He has managed many of the leading dancers in Canada and in 2016, he was named Executive Director of the Festival des Arts de Saint-Sauveur, the largest summer dance festival in Canada. Since the beginning of his tenure, the Festival has experienced a remarkable revival, doubling its ticket sales, budget, and visibility.

    Along with his work at the Festival des Arts de Saint-Sauveur, he co-founded, with Guillaume Côté in 2019, Côté Danse.  The company is now the fastest growing dance company in the country and has performed over 200 times in 43 cities during its first 5 years.

    Mr. Lavigne was the recipient in 2025 of the Prix de la relève from the Chaire de gestion des arts Carmelle et Rémi-Marcoux au HEC Montréal, which honours the excellence and vision of emerging leaders in arts management in Quebec. He has also been awarded the David Tory Award, which recognizes leadership, honesty, and integrity in his work.

    Mr. Lavigne is Vice-President of REFRAIN, an organization representing artistic festivals in Quebec, and Co-President of the Foundation of the École supérieure de ballet du Québec.

    contact: etienne@cotedanse.com

  • Anisa Tejpar - Associate Producer

    Photo: Tim Leyes

    Dora Mavor Moore Award winner Anisa Tejpar is originally from Toronto and a graduate of Canada’s National Ballet School. She has performed works by Guillaume Côté, Matjash Mrozewski, John Neumeier, Ginette Laurin, Mauro Astolfi, Peggy Baker, Robert Desrosiers, Robert Glumbek, Roberto Campanella, D.A. Hoskins, James Kudelka, Christopher House, Hanna Kiel and William Yong, and has danced with companies including Toronto Dance Theatre, Zata Omm, ProArteDanza, Against the Grain Theatre, and Human Body Expression.

    Anisa is Co-Artistic Director of the dance entertainment firm Hit & Run Dance Productions Inc. (www.hitandrun.ca), for which she has created works for artists and brands across Canada, including Chanel, Porsche, NIKE, The Rolling Stones, PUMA, TIFF, Telus, Evergreen Brickworks, M.A.C. Cosmetics, and Casa Loma, among many others. She is also the co-creator of Haunted Cinema, a live immersive drive-in experience.

    Anisa is Associate Producer with Côté Danse and serves as Creative Assistant on Guillaume Côté’s new creations and remounts. She currently teaches Consent + Boundaries for Dancers at Toronto Metropolitan University in the Performance Program.

    Anisa is an Intimacy Coordinator and Director, working across dance, theatre, film, and television. Her stage credits include work with Canadian Stage, The National Ballet of Canada, Drayton Entertainment and Ballet BC, and her screen credits include Star Trek: Section 31, Orphan Black: Echoes, Beacon 23, The Terminal List, Darkest Miriam, and Star Trek: Starfleet Academy.

    Anisa is a member of both the Board of Directors and the Foundation Board of Canada’s National Ballet School, and serves on the Advisory Committee for The Creative School at Toronto Metropolitan University. She has also worked extensively with Dancing with Parkinson’s, and was choreographer and director of their Intergenerational Dance Project, connecting youth and seniors through dance.

    contact: anisa@cotedanse.com

  • Simon Rossiter - Production Director

    Simon Rossiter is a Toronto-based lighting designer who occasionally designs scenery. For Côté Danse, he supports the technical execution of the company’s productions, and has had the pleasure of designing lighting for several of Guillaume Côté’s creations, including Hamlet; Burn Baby, Burn; Crypto; X(Dix); and Touch.

    Specializing in lighting for dance, he’s collaborated on more than three hundred designs with a range of companies (including Citadel+Compagnie; Dancemakers; the National Ballet of Canada; Soulpepper Theatre Company; Théâtre français de Toronto; and Toronto Dance Theatre) and is the Director of Design at Fall for Dance North. Simon’s designs have been honoured with eleven Dora Mavor Moore nominations, receiving the award three times, and he was twice nominated for the Ontario Arts Council’s Pauline McGibbon Award. Simon also serves as the Business Agent for the Associated Designers of Canada, IATSE Local ADC659, representing the interests of designers across Canada.

  • Dana MacDonald - Administrative Assistant 

    Photo: Maxim Bortnowski

    Dana Macdonald (she/they) is a Dora-nominated artist and a versatile contributor to the Toronto (Tkaronto, Treaty 13 Territory) dance community, excelling as a mover, choreographer, Rehearsal Director, and collaborator. A 2018 Bachelor of Fine Arts in Dance graduate from Toronto Metropolitan University (formerly Ryerson University), their practice is built upon a solid educational foundation.

    Dana has a diverse and extensive performance background, having trained and worked with numerous internationally and Toronto-based dance companies. Recent performance credits include engagements with Transcendance Projects, The Chimera Project Dance Theatre, Alysa Pires Dance Projects, et Kylie Thompson Creative.

    Beyond performing, Dana actively engages in other critical industry roles, including rehearsal direction and administration. This multi-faceted approach reflects a keen interest in gaining a holistic understanding of the dance Industry. As a Rehearsal Director, they have worked at institutions such as Canadian Contemporary Dance Theatre and Toronto Metropolitan University on pieces by esteemed choreographers including Ryan Lee, Carol Anderson, Roderick Geroge, Colin Connor, Peter Chu, Jennifer Archibald, Elon “The Wandering Spirit” Höglund, Julia Cratchley, and Hanna Kiel. Currently, Dana is focused on administrative work, viewing it as an essential area for comprehensive professional growth and a vital means of contributing to the sustainability of the art form.

  • Judith Dubeau - Public Relations 

    For media inquiries, please contact judith.dubeau@ixioncommunications.com