Exhibitionists·Video

How Victor Quijada took his L.A. b-boy roots and created a whole new dance language in Montreal

RUBBERBANDance introduced an electrifying vocabulary of moves to the dance scene. Its creator breaks down how it all happened and what keeps him going.

His company RUBBERBANDance introduced an electrifying vocabulary of moves to the dance scene

(CBC Arts)

If you've ever seen RUBBERBANDance Group perform before, you're already aware of its resolutely physical nature. RUBBERBAND dancers (including Anne Plamondon, whom we've covered before) are athletic and unafraid — and, let's face it, it looks kind of dangerous.

In this video made by filmmaker Alexander Álvarez Cadilla, you'll go inside Rubberband's rehearsal for their upcoming tour. And you'll meet RUBBERBAND's founder, choreographer and art director, Victor Quijada. He's originally from Los Angeles, where he earned his chops dancing in hip hop clubs and on the street. As he puts it, "My first contact with dance was not in the dance studio but it was in the street with ciphers, with b-boy and breaking, popping. And that hip hop culture became a huge part of my life throughout my childhood, my adolescence."

Watch the video:

Victor Quijada and RUBBERBANDance Group

5 years ago
Duration 3:52
Victor Quijada of Rubberband talks about how much breaking and popping meant to him growing up and how it drove his founding of the Montreal dance company. Filmmaker: Alexander Álvarez Cadilla

That experience stayed with him, and he merged his b-boy skills with more classical forms to create RUBBERBAND, who became celebrated in the dance world. But it wasn't only the choreography that inspired Quijada.

He explains: "I started this company and I wanted to start something that felt like what I had been part of as a kid. A dance crew family — 'I got your back' — I wanted it to be [that]. I was paying homage to a certain time in my life, but I wanted it to be bigger than just me. I want it to be a hub."

We think he's achieved that. You can find out more about RUBBERBAND and keep up with their schedule here.

(CBC Arts)

Stream CBC Arts: Exhibitionists or catch it on CBC Television Friday nights at 11:30pm (12am NT) and Sundays at 3:30pm (4pm NT). Watch more videos here.

ABOUT THE AUTHOR

Lise Hosein is a producer at CBC Arts. Before that, she was an arts reporter at JazzFM 91, an interview producer at George Stroumboulopoulos Tonight and a PhD candidate at the University of Toronto. When she's not at her CBC Arts desk she's sometimes an art history instructor and is always quite terrified of bees.