Press Release
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE:
Boston Early Music Festival announces the appointment of Marie-Nathalie Lacoursière to the position of Lucy Graham Dance Director
Cambridge, MA – The Boston Early Music Festival (BEMF) is pleased to announce the appointment of Marie-Nathalie Lacoursière to the position of Lucy Graham Dance Director. In her new position—named in honor of the late choreographer and frequent BEMF collaborator—she will oversee the development of the BEMF Dance Company as a troupe of exceptional dancers who will grace the stages of BEMF opera productions and other artistic projects. Ms. Lacoursière follows Melinda Sullivan, who served in this role from its inception in 2017 until 2023. She joins BEMF's artistic leadership team featuring Artistic Directors Paul O'Dette and Stephen Stubbs, Opera Director Gilbert Blin, and Orchestra Director Robert Mealy.
“I am excited to strengthen my commitment to the Boston Early Music Festival in this new position,” commented Ms. Lacoursière. “I look forward to further enriching BEMF’s dedication to Early dance, expanding its presence in productions, and inspiring new generations of performers and audiences.”
MARIE-NATHALIE LACOURSIÈRE, LUCY GRAHAM DANCE DIRECTOR
Marie-Nathalie Lacoursière is a multidisciplinary artist recognized for her originality and creativity in stage direction and choreography. Trained in dance, music, and commedia dell’arte, she founded Les Jardins Chorégraphiques in Montreal in 2007, a company dedicated to integrating music and movement of the Baroque period in innovative ways. A long-time collaborator of the Boston Early Music Festival, she has worked on numerous productions as a dancer and choreographer since 2007. She has had the privilege of collaborating with stage director Gilbert Blin both at BEMF and at Opéra Nice, where she danced in his production of Scarlatti’s Il Tigrane. Throughout her career, she has staged and choreographed more than 40 operas in Canada and internationally, including world premieres of Lully’s Le Ballet de l’Impatience and Lorenzani’s Nicandro e Fileno.
For the past 20 years, she has been creating productions for the Montreal Baroque Festival, developing a distinctive scenic approach that merges historical music and dance. In 2023, she was nominated for an Opus Prize, awarded by the Conseil Québécois de la Musique (Quebec Music Council), for her production De la Pavane au Swing with Les Boréades de Montréal. In 2019, she won an Opus Price for Best Early Music Production for her staging and choreography of John Blow’s Venus and Adonis with Clavecin en Concert. She has been invited to present her creations at major international festivals, including Saint-Riquier and Les Saintes (France), Modena (Italy), and the Vancouver Early Music Festival (Canada). Since 2021, she has been directing the scenic projects at the Prangins Baroque Festival in Switzerland. A passionate educator, she teaches stage movement and direction for opera singers and leads opera workshops at Saint-Laurent College, Vincent-d’Indy College, and the Montreal Conservatory of Music. At the 2025 Boston Early Music Festival, she will serve as Dance Director for the Centerpiece Opera production of Keiser’s Octavia and will be Stage Co-Director and Choreographer for the Chamber Opera production of Telemann’s Pimpinone and Ino.
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BEMF DANCE COMPANY
The Boston Early Music Festival Dance Company (previously known as the BEMF Dance Ensemble) was originally founded in 2010 as an integral part of BEMF’s Chamber Opera Series production of Purcell’s Dido and Aeneas. The troupe is made up of American dancers and invited international guests, and is under the artistic supervision of Marie-Nathalie Lacoursière, Lucy Graham Dance Director. As director of the company, she recruits and trains dancers, organizes the practice of technique and style, and supports the work of guest choreographers. The members of the Company perform both noble and character dances in Festival centerpiece operas, annual chamber opera performances and tours, and orchestra concerts. A unique component of the BEMF Dance Company is that it extends invitations to Baroque dance specialists from around the world. This enriches the experience of all the performers by offering opportunities for these artists to share their research with the audience while rehearsing and performing at the Festival, and contributes significantly to a deeper knowledge and appreciation of Baroque dance.
LUCY GRAHAM (1953–2016)
A graduate of the London College of Dance and Drama, Lucy Graham established herself as a leading exponent and choreographer of early dance over an accomplished career spanning work in Baroque opera, Renaissance spectacles, ballets de cour, and English masques. Her production credits include the Renaissance Dance Company of London, the Sadlers Wells Theatre, Música Antique, Hampton Court Palace, Opera Restor'd, and nine productions with the Boston Early Music Festival as choreographer, including the World Premiere production of Matheson's Boris Goudenow in June 2005, which she also co-directed. In recognition of her immeasurable impact on BEMF, the position of Dance Director is named in her honor.
ABOUT THE BOSTON EARLY MUSIC FESTIVAL
Recognized as the preeminent early music presenter and Baroque opera producer in North America, the Boston Early Music Festival (BEMF) has been credited with securing Boston’s reputation as “America’s early music capital” (The Boston Globe). Founded in 1981, BEMF offers diverse programs and activities, including one GRAMMY Award–winning and five GRAMMY Award–nominated opera recordings, an annual concert series that brings early music’s brightest stars to the Boston and New York concert stages, and a biennial week-long Festival and Exhibition recognized as the “world’s leading festival of early music” (The Times, London). The 23rd Boston Early Music Festival—themed Love & Power—will take place from June 8 to 15, 2025, and will feature a fully staged production of Reinhard Keiser’s Octavia. BEMF’s Artistic Leadership includes Artistic Directors Paul O’Dette and Stephen Stubbs, Opera Director Gilbert Blin, Orchestra Director Robert Mealy, and Dance Director Marie-Natalie Lacoursière.
The Boston Early Music Festival is supported by the Massachusetts Cultural Council, National Endowment for the Arts, Constellation Charitable Foundation, and WCRB Classical Radio Boston, as well as a number of generous foundations and individuals from around the world.
For more information, please contact Kathleen Fay at kathy@bemf.org.
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