Guillaume Côté

Choreographic Associate

Guillaume Cote

Biography

Best known to audiences of The National Ballet of Canada as one of the company’s most gifted and dynamic performers, Guillaume Côté is also a choreographer of unique vision and talent. In 2013, in addition to his position as a Principal Dancer, Guillaume assumed the role of Choreographic Associate with the company.

As a dancer, Guillaume’s versatility, accomplished technique and strong sense of the theatrical moment have made for a large number of powerfully etched performances in his time onstage. He brings those same virtues to bear on his choreography, which is characterized by a rich physicality and a complex and often suddenly shifting emotional tenor. As a composer, Guillaume understands both the technical and dramatic centrality of music in the condition of the dance work and as a consequence, his ballets are forged with a careful attention to the symbiosis of musical and physical effect.

For the National Ballet, Guillaume created Frame by Frame, a collaboration with Robert Lepage, Le Petit Prince, Being and Nothingness, Dance Me To The End Of Love, Tonight Will Be Fine, Body of Work, Boléro, No. 24 and Enkeli.

Awards for his choreography include the Audience Choice Award for Best Choreography at The International Competition for The Erik Bruhn Prize for Enkeli and third prize at Ballet Society Hanover’s 25th International Competition for #24. In 2017, he created Dark Angels for the National Arts Centre.   

In 2012, Guillaume choreographed and starred in the film Lost in Motion, presented at Toronto’s International Film Festival. The sequel, Lost in Motion II, was released in 2013 and was featured at the Dance on Camera Festival in New York City in 2014. In 2020, Lulu, choreographed by Guillaume won Best International Short Film at the 2020 Milan International Film Festival.   

In 2021, Guillaume founded his own company Côté Danse that focuses on the multidisciplinary creation of innovative works. In 2021, Guillaume created Touch, an immersive experience that incorporated projections, technology and dance and in 2022, Guillaume embarked on a cross-Canada tour for Crypto. He is also Artistic Director of the Festival des Arts de Saint-Sauveur, one of the largest summer dance festivals in the country.

Quotes

    • “Côté, the National’s choreographic associate, has covered himself in glory with this ballet.”

      Ludwig van Toronto.com

      Frame by Frame

    • “Côté was able to provoke a thoughtful expression of the inner struggle that lies at the heart of our desire to exercise our free will.”

      Elle Canada

      Being and Nothingness

    • “Côté, who in addition to being the company’s danseur noble is also now a Choreographic Associate, has crafted a riveting seven-minute solo for Greta Hodgkinson.”

      National Post