ABOUT THE SCHOOL

Located by the beautiful and historic Lachine Canal, L'Academie de Danse was founded in 1980 by Renée Rouleau, under the name of Académie de Ballet Renée Rouleau. In her 20 years as director and principal teacher she built the school into a highy respected training center for aspiring young professionals and recreational dancers alike. Paying special attention to the individual needs of students, she focused on technique, placement, quality of movement and above all else, the love of dance.

In 1999, former student Linda Marchand returned to The Academy to became artistic director. Since then, Marchand and her staff of certified teachers have maintained the school's exceptional quality of training and expanded upon the scope of its academic foundation. Modern dance and jazz ballet have been added to the curriculum, as they are now considered essential requirements for professional dancers.

In 2015, Katia Lacelle also a former student of the Academie, became the artistic director of the school. Fascinated by the movement, Katia has a great desire to make each of her student evolve and share all of her dance knowledge.

And in keeping with L'Académie's global approach to dance education, all students are given the opportunity to participate in polished and expertly mounted annual performances as well as internationally recognized examinations. L'Académie de Danse Classique's students also successfully participated in the Cecchetti Quebec Choreography Contest receiving several first, second, and third place finishes. Over the years numerous students of L'Académie were accepted into professional training programs such as the National Ballet School, Alberta Ballet School, Quinte Ballet School of Canada, the Banff Center for the Arts, Ladmmi (l'École de Danse Contemporaine de Montréal) and the École Supérieure de Ballet du Québec. Several have gone on to professional carrers in such prestigious companies as The National Ballet of Canada, Les Grands Ballets Canadiens de Montréal and the Berlin Naional Ballet.