“Joe” was a success, but the dancers didn’t got paid

Canada’s media proudly echoed the formidable success of Jean-Pierre Perreault’s Joe tour throughout Europe. At a cocktail party after a performance in London, a representative of the Que­bec Delegation humorously acknowledged the ambassadorial dimension of the 32 dancers’ role with the statement: “You did in one evening what I do in one year.

” They were receiving the com­pliment in silence while eating as many hors d'œuvres as possible, since they had no idea when the Fondation Jean-Pierre Perreault was going to pay the per diems for their meals or even their paycheques for seven weeks. Since then, Fondation has closed its doors (just two years after the choreographer’s death), and the provincial and federal governments have stepped in with a combined emergency contribution of 180,000 CDN$, to pay a portion of those debts. At this writing, the dan­cing “Joes” nevertheless remain approximately 2500 $ out of pocket each (that’s about one-sixth of a Cana­dian dancer’s annual income). The 32 Joes now have articulated in an open letter, “it is simply unconscionable for a country of Canada's international stature to sit back and allow its front-line workers to be taken hostage in a ...