2024
Victor Quijada
Quebec choreographer shares his RUBBERBAND Method with the world
2024
Quebec choreographer shares his RUBBERBAND Method with the world
Victor Quijada’s career as a choreographer is a story of constant evolution and innovation. Most notably, he created a new technique for dancers — the RUBBERBAND Method — that breaks down barriers and brings different dance forms together into a new language of dance.
Mr. Quijada’s contributions to choreography were recognized with a 2024 Guggenheim Fellowship.
The RUBBERBAND Method combines the energy of hip-hop with the refinement of classical ballet and the angular characteristics of contemporary dance.
“It’s a movement approach, a way to think about the body and the environment, and how the body affects the environment,” he explains. “It involves weight-sharing — taking somebody else’s weight and giving my weight to somebody else in a very fast way. It also involves transitioning from standing to the floor, to upside down, to on my head or elbow, and back to my feet. And the RUBBERBAND Method gives the dancer the tools to do those things safely.”
Mr. Quijada’s dance company in Montreal not only trains members in the RUBBERBAND Method but also prepares them as teachers to facilitate and share the method in various countries.
“In the two-week winter intensive program, we currently have four studios with about 10 dancers in each from all over the world,” he says. “I have two of my company members in each studio guiding these dancers in this method.” About 60 dancers take part in his three-week summer intensive program.
The biggest part of the company’s activities, however, is touring and performing his dance productions — including upcoming dates in the United States, Canada, Mexico, and Germany.
Mr. Quijada says that company members performing his work on stage, and “having the chance to observe audiences react and interact with the propositions I am offering,” shapes the ongoing evolution of his work.
Born and raised in Los Angeles, Mr. Quijada first danced in the city’s b-boying circles and hip-hop clubs. He later moved to New York City to join the dance company THARP!. In 2000 he moved to Montreal to join Les Grands Ballets Canadiens, before founding his RUBBERBAND company in the city in 2002.
