Anik Bissonnette

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Anik Bissonnette OC CQ (born February 9, 1962), is a Canadian ballet dancer. She started her professional ballet career with the Ballet de Montreal Eddy Toussaint in the 1980s and was a principal dancer with Les Grands Ballets Canadiens beginning in 1990. Her father, Jean Bissonnette, was a television director with Télévision de Radio-Canada.

Bissonnette began her ballet training at age ten at the studios of Ludmilla Chiriaeff, Les Grands’ founder. She dropped out after six months.^[1] She then took up jazz and danced at the École de Danse Eddy Toussaint.^[1] Toussaint offered her a scholarship, requiring her to take classes in classical ballet. Bissonnette agreed.^[1]

In 1979, at age 17, she joined Toussaint's troupe, Le Ballet de Montréal Eddy Toussaint.^[2] She created many leading roles in Toussaint's choreographies, including Rose La Tulipe (1979), Un Simple Moment (1981), Requiem de Mozart (1986), New World Symphony (1987), and Bonjour Brel (1988).

Under Toussaint's artistic direction, Bissonnette formed a partnership with Louis Robitaille. She starred in many televised productions with Le Ballet de Montréal Eddy Toussaint and performed in Night Magic, a film directed by Lewis Furey. Her participation in the 1984 Helsinki Ballet Competition netted Toussaint first prize for his choreography in Un simple moment.^[1]

She danced the role of Giselle for the first time in Odesa, Ukraine, USSR 1988.^[1] The following year, she was invited to Toulouse, France, where she danced the part of Odette/Odile in Swan Lake with Laurent Hilaire, the principal dancer with the Opéra de Paris.^[1] She also danced the role of Juliet in Nicholas Beriozoff's Romeo and Juliet^[1] and Cinderella in a work of the same name.

In 1989, Bissonnette joined Les Grands Ballets Canadiens in Montréal, Canada^[1] and was named principal dancer the following year. and was named principal dancer the following year. She performed leading roles in The Nutcracker, Coppélia, La Fille Mal Gardée, Les Sylphides, Giselle, and Swan Lake. She played dramatic principal roles in Antony Tudor's Jardin aux Lilas, Pillar of Fire, and José Limón's Moor's Pavane. She has also performed in ten George Balanchine ballets.

In 1991, she resumed the role of Giselle and was partnered with Éric Vu An, another Paris Opera étoile.

Bissonnette left the company in 1996.

Throughout her career with Les Grands, Bissonnette has worked with such choreographers as James Kudelka, William Forsythe, Jiri Kylian, Ohad Naharin, Nacho Duato, Nils Christe, Susan Toumine, and Hans van Manen. Montréal choreographer Ginette Laurin and several up-and-coming choreographers (including Kevin O'Day, Gioconda Barbuto, Septim Webre, Didy Veldman, and Stijn Celis) have also worked with her.

In 2001, she created the role of Lisa in Kim Brandstrup's La Dame de Pique.

Bissonnette regularly performs at galas in cities around the world, including Melbourne, Athens, Prague, Budapest, Thessaloniki, Montréal, New York City, Toronto, Vienna, Spoleto (Italy), Helsinki, and Bratislava.

In 2005, Carla Fracci of Rome's Teatro dell'Opera invited her to revive the ballet La Chatte, which Les Grands Ballets Canadiens de Montréal had staged for her in 1990. She performed in Vienna for the closing of Tanz für Europa.

She retired from the company in 2007.^[1]

In tandem with her stage career, Bissonnette is Artistic Director of the Festival des Arts de Saint-Sauveur^[3] and President of the Regroupement québécois de la danse.

Bissonnette has helped organize Montreal's Festival Quartiers Danses.^[4]

Bissonnette was partners with Louis Robitaille for almost 20 years before divorcing in 2001.^[1] has one daughter, who attended l'École supérieure de danse.^[1]

• 1985: Best individual Performance at the International de Danse Porsche du Canada.
• 1985: Personality of the week by La Presse
• 1988: Personality of the year, Youth section by the Salon de la Femme de Montréal
• 1990: Prix des Biches (awarded on the Radio-Canada television show La Bande des Six)
• 1995: Officer of the Order of Canada
• 1996: Chevalier de l'Ordre du Québec^[5]
• 2005: Awarded the Prix du Public at the Budapest Ballet Gala
• 2007: Awarded the Prix du Public at the Budapest Ballet Gala
• 2014: Governor General's Performing Arts Award for Lifetime Artistic Achievement^[6]

• Anik Bissonnette at The Canadian Encyclopedia