(light entertainment) The winter nights light even brighter during the 14th Montréal en Lumière, a festival of food, free outdoor activities (a ferris wheel, an ice slide and more!), music, theatre and dance shows, and other entertainment. Gourmet cuisine comes in all shapes and sizes at the festival, from multi-course meals to cheese samplings – see our Top 5 food picks for ideas. Tango enthusiasts and the curious are in for a treat at tango-meets-cabaret-meets-circus show and milonga La Pista Tango, the art of singer Tonny Bennett is on display, French music star -M- plays February 22, theatre-dance show The Humanity Project provokes deep thoughts, Haitian-born Québécois artist Marie-Josée Lord sings February 25, singer and pianist Diana Krall entrances in a solo concert on February 26, and none other than The Zombies rock out on February 28.

(circus & butterflies) Add far more than a dash of bright colour to snowy days at the 34th Festival Mondial du Cirque de Demain, a internationally touring circus show featuring some of the top circus acts from the Paris-based competition of the same name, including acrobats, trapeze artists, jugglers, clowns, contortionists and more, to March 2 at La Tohu. More brightness awaits at the Butterflies Go Free exhibition at the Montreal Botanical Gardens, where 2000 butterflies and moths from around the world take up residence until the end of April. Or step outside at the Old Port to see the astounding athlethics involved in the Ice Canoe Races on February 23.

(dance & theatre) For the first time in Canada, the National Ballet of China performs Raise the Red Lantern, a classical Western ballet interpretation of Zhang Yimou’s dramatic film of the same name – the director even added his creative voice to the production by writing the libretto, designing the lighting and signing the stage direction – on stage February 22-24 at Place des Arts, presented by Les Grands Ballets Canadiens de Montréal. Danse Danse presents Corps de Walk, a thoroughly cool, contemporary-culture show (in music, movement and style) by choreographers Gai Behar and Sharon Eyal and 12 dancers of The Norwegian National Company of Contemporary Dance, February 28 and March 1-2 at Place des Arts.

(travel with art) Take a different kind of walk around downtown’s happening Quartier des Spectacles to the tune of Luminothérapie: use your iPhone or mp3 player to interact with art project Le jour des 8 soleils by artist Pascal Grandmaison who tells a story through video projects video projections on buildings in the area, from Berri-UQAM metro station to Place des Festivals and points in between. Indoors, visit Peru through its art, history and culture, presented in stunning detail at the MMFA’s Peru: Kingdoms of the Sun and Moon. The Musee d’art Contemporain features intriguing large-scale colour photography by celebrated photographer Lynne Cohen and an immersive, mysterious multi-room installation called Uraniborg, by French multidisciplinary artist Laurent Grasso.

(live music) Old Montreal cultural hub the PHI Centre hosts Thus: Owls on Friday, February 22 and follows that up on Saturday, February 23 with amazing Haiti fundraiser party Kanaval Kanape, with performances by Arcade Fire with Haitian group Doody & Kami and a dancetastic afterparty – in partnership with Black History Month Montreal. Also on Friday, ska-rock the night away with The Planet Smashers at Club Soda, while Bosnian Rainbows play Cabaret du Mile End and the good folks at Passovah Productions throw a party with Young Galaxy, Valleys and many more (plus doughnuts from Chez Boris!) at Il Motore. On Saturday night, dance to the electronic music of Bordello, Vosper and Jealous Lovers at the SAT. On Sunday, the MSO hosts conductor Gennady Rozhdestvensky and pianist Viktoria Postnikova, while The Montreal New Music International Festival showcases some of the best in new classical and experimental works. On February 25, feel the Irish spirit with Celtic Woman, February 25 at Place des Arts. On February 26, indie-experimental-rock artist Eels  is at Theatre Corona, and on February 27, Swedish House Mafia makes the Bell Centre thump.

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(illuminated learning) Hands-on learning about how music works on our minds is at the heart of Musik: From Sound to Emotion, a cool new exhibition at The Montreal Science Centre. Every step of the exhibition’s journey is interactive – each visitor carries an MP3 player to listen to music of all kinds (including by pop-punk band Simple Plan, who collaborated on the exhibition), answer questions and create a personal composition. Less high-tech, but delightfully educational nonetheless is a visit to the Insectarium and The Botanical Gardens, where the main greenhouse is decked out for Christmas with lights, new plant life, choir performances on some afternoons, and even a craft fair December 7-9.

(glorious showtime) Lumberjack acrobats tumble among pine trees in Cirque Alphonse’s Timber!, a comedic, musical circus for the whole family, December 18-31 at Montreal’s one-and-only circus centre, Tohu. Geordie Productions specializes in creating shows for children that their parents can also truly enjoy – this year they’ve put a new twist on Robin Hood, the classic tale of do-good outlaws and their merry ways, playing December 7-16 at the Centaur Theatre in Old Montreal (453 St-Francois-Xavier). For more traditional holiday theatre fair, see Les Grands Ballets unveils its colourful annual performance of The Nutcracker, December 13-30 at Place des Arts, while Charles Dickens’ A Christmas Carol becomes a musical, complete with 14 songs, at Theatre Rialto on December 14.

(holiday history) A question possibly on many a kid’s mind this season: Who is the real Santa Claus? Pointe-a-Calliere Museum of Archaeology and History answers with an theatrical tour of international holiday traditions, from St. Nicholas, Melchior and Babushka to Santa Claus, throughout December – see the museum’s website for tour times. For toys and nothing but toys, visit The McCord Museum’s Toys 3 – The Voyage exhibition, where children aged 3 to 9 can travel through the adventureland of Abracadabra, where 200 historical toys are on display in wild jungles and next to crackling campfires.

(joy of art) The Montréal Museum of Fine Arts gives the gift of free tours and art activities this season: wander through an indoor forest of 35 Christmas trees, decorated in different styles, see museum’s permanent collections, kids and parents can make their own tree decorations and wrapping paper in a Holiday Decoration Workshop (Saturdays and Sundays, drop in), paint a pastel and ink landscape (Saturdays and Sundays, 1 and 2:30 p.m.) and listen to stories (in English Saturdays and Sundays, 1 p.m.). The Musee d’art contemporain also has art workshops for the family every Sunday afternoon, with a different theme each week. And traditional and contemporary art as well as plenty of craft – including all kinds of hand-made toys – that you can not only look at but buy is in abundance at Montreal’s artisanal and craft fairs.

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(hot shop) Shop for holiday gifts or yourself at the annual souk @ sat art and design fair – it’s hip, it’s cool, it’s very Montreal, with over 100 professional artists and designers selling unique clothing, jewellery, handbags, furniture, home accessories, toys, art and more. The sale happens November 30 to December 2 at the Société des Arts Technologiques downtown, where you can also stop for a bite at their FoodLab restaurant. Find more Quebec-made creations, from clothing to gourmet food, at Le Marché Casse Noisette, also known as The Nutcracker Market, a non-profit market co-organized by Les Grands Ballets Canadiens – it’s one of many of Montreal’s December craft and artisanal fairs. Environmentally conscious shopping meets eco-education and entertainment – including a Green Santa! – at the Recycling-Artists Eco Fair at the Biosphère ecological centre in Parc Jean-Drapeau, November 30-December 2. And in Mile End, check out Marché de Noël du Mile End at Ecole Lambert-Closse (5840 St-Urbain), November 30 until 9 p.m. and December 1, 10am-5pm., featuring food, gifts and more.

(winter wonderlands) Montreal’s first snowfall has come and gone already, but more picturesque snow days are certainly on their way – and with them, winter sports! The huge outdoor skating rink in the Old Port opens December 1 – if you get there before 11 a.m., skate for free! If you get there afterwards, it’s only $6 anyway, with rentals available on site too. Later on December 1, the TELUS Fire on Ice fireworks show lights up the sky over the Old Port starting at 8 p.m. And over at the Montréal Museum of Fine Arts, wander through an indoor forest of Christmas trees, decorated in different styles with traditional and hand-painted decorations by local associations and cultural groups. Access to the museum’s permanent collections is free at all times, as are the museum’s weekend art workshops and tours for kids and families.

(comedy gold) Some big names in comedy come to Montreal this week, but while Jerry Seinfeld’s December 1 at Place des Arts is sold out, there’s still a chance to see Robin Williams in freewheeling conversation with fellow comedian (and director and author) David Steinberg on December 5 at Place des Arts. Not only is Williams’ career in television, film and on stage on the interview agenda, but so is his personal life – sure to be strange, hilarious and entertaining. On a smaller but just as funny scale, New York City veteran comic Al Lubel treads the Montreal Comedy Works stage November 30 and December 1. And family-friendly circus, musical and epic adventure show Loucho the Clown continues at Theatre Ste-Catherine to December 2.

(immersive art) Montreal lights up throughout the month with Luminotherapie, works of high-tech art located throughout the Quartier des Spectacles in the downtown core. Follow the story of an iceberg in interactive installation Iceberg – human movement actually transforms the physical structure and the sounds within, and look out for the many videos of Le Jour des 8 Soleils, projected on buildings throughout the Quartier. Create a professional self-portrait at the WonderWall collective art project at ArtLab (5524 St-Patrick), all day December 1 and 2 – you don’t need any art experience to be a participant and all materials will be supplied. And the Musée d’art contemporain de Montréal holds its Giant Inventory Sale of Musée Publications – all publications are on sale for $2, cash only – December 4-5.

(film lands) At the end of Montreal’s film festival season, we find a celebration: Image+Nation has spent 25 years bringing LGBT films from around the world to Montreal, with plenty of good ones this year too, playing at Cinema du Parc until December 2 – feature length dramas this weekend include Joshua Tree, 1951: A Portrait of James Dean, Nicole Conn’s A Perfect Ending and more. Also at Cinema du Parc is Montreal’s Brazilian film festival, November 30-December 6, featuring premiers of new Brazilian films along with directors present for Q&A sessions after screenings.

(opera & theatre) Opera de Montreal holds its 17th annual Gala fundraiser with some of the companies most adored singers performing arias and ensembles from productions past and present – held at the beautiful new Maison symphonique de Montréal on Sunday, December 2 at 2 p.m. Meanwhile, in theatre, David Lindsay-Abaire’s Pulitzer Prize-winning play Good People, set in Boston’s working-class Irish “Southie” neighbourhood, continues at the Centaur to December 6. Contemporary painting gets the dramatic treatment in Red, based on the work and life of artist Mark Rothko, at the Segal Centre to December 16. And live it up with a night of vaudeville on December 6 at the Segal, with live music from Bad Uncle, comedians Mike Paterson, Tim Rabnet and Ryan Wilner, burlesque and circus acts, and  more.

(dancing days) The fairytale of Snow White is turned into an urban, dreamy, often funny dance odyssey in Où est Blanche-Neige?, choreographed by Manon Oligny as part of this winter’s Parcours Danse events – see a free performance at Espace culturel Georges-Émile-Lapalme at Place des Arts on December 4 at 5 p.m. and a free performance of Alors, Dansez Maintenant! on December 5 at 11:45 a.m. Persian music and contemporary dance combine in Śūnya, at the Segal Centre on December 1. Dance Cité presents Nancy Leduc’s Projet Harlequin, inspired by reading Harlequin romance novels as a teenager, to December 8 at Théâtre de Quat’sous (100 Pins W.). And up-and-coming dancers perform short pieces at the Bouge d’ici Mash Up, hosted by Miss Sugarpuss on November 30 at Shift Space (1190 St-Antoine W.).

(warm-up music) Back home after European tours, Montreal’s Jonas and the Massive Attraction show off their rock-pop stuff at Club Soda on Friday, November 30. On Saturday, December 1, Montreal musician Ariane Moffatt returns with her bilingual blend of jazz, electro and folk, with electro-pop makers Young Galaxy at the Corona Theatre, while jazz-blues entertainer Leon Redbone is at Sala Rossa – and on a different, but also Montreal-based note, Grim Skunk get their rock-punk-world-beat on at Club Soda. Sunday, December 2 is the right kind of day for the Gospel Celebration 30th Anniversary, featuring the wonderful Montreal Jubilation Gospel Choir and special guests at Théâtre Maisonneuve at Place des Arts, 8 p.m. On Monday, December 3, get into the soulful, kind of jazzy, kind of rock music of Rachael Yamagata at Sala. On Tuesday, December 4, it’s NYC folk-pop group Pearl and the Beard at Sala. And on Thursday night, spend an evening with Loreena McKennitt at Place des Arts, or chill out with the Americana-style rock of Band of Horses at Metropolis, or dance to the electro-beat of Diamond Rings and Mozart’s Sister at Sala.

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(film fest fun) The final weekend of the Festival du Nouveau Cinema has arrived, but there are still plenty of all-new feature films, shorts and documentaries to see, from closing film Camille Redouble by Noémie Lvovsky to an autobiography of Monty Python’s Graham Chapman to concert films about Peaches and The Chemical Brothers, plus a multimedia, multi-DJ “Suicide Hotel” party on Friday night and closing party on Saturday night with DJ Thomas von PARTY, at Quartier Général. Meanwhile, the 4th edition of the Montreal Stop Motion Film Festival, October 19-21, screens over 70 new stop-motion animation films from Montreal and around the world.

(intrigue on stage) Explore the Plateau and Mile End neighbourhoods via a true Montreal creation: The Phénomena Festival, to October 26. The festival of music, performance and art, is a reinvention of the 10-year-old Festival Voix d’Amériques, dedicated to showcasing the beautiful, strange and poetic artistic voices in this city and further afield. see artist and musician Genisis P-Orridge on stage with spoken-word group Thee Majesty on October 20 at Cabaret du Mile End, in film The Ballad of Genesis and Lady Jaye at Excentris, and with art showing at La Centrale; as well, see Kobol’s marionette show Voodoo at Usine C, Kabin tells 15 stories via 15 small booths on October 20, duo 2boys.tv span the history of their performance career in Generation on October 21, plus free music and performances every evening at 5 p.m. at Divan Orange, featuring Teen Sleuth, Free Opera Ensemble, Jef Barbara and many more, as well as free open mic nights at 11 p.m. at Casa del Popolo.

(frightful & delightful) Halloween starts early this year in Montreal. If you’re downtown at Place des Arts in the Quartier des Spectacles on Saturday around noon, don’t panic: the zombie apocalypse is not upon us, it’s just people dressed up for the Montreal Zombie Walk – join in if you’re zombie-inclined. Freaks of a different sort sing and dance for our pleasure in The Rocky Horror Show, garnering some great  reviews at Mainline Theatre, to October 20. And there’s also something a little freaky – in the most awesome sense – about DJ Food’s The Search Engine, an all-encompassing audio-visual experience like no other, screening in the dome of the surround-sound Satosphere at the SAT, to October 26.

(sports fans) A pro first for Montreal this week: the NBA Canada series pits the New York Knicks against the Toronto Raptors, October 19 at the Bell Centre. And while the NHL season is sadly on hold due to labour talks among hockey players and the league, the spirit of hockey is still strong in Montreal with national women’s hockey champions The Stars, featuring Olympic national team players Kim St-Pierre, Meghan Agosta, Caroline Ouellette and more. The Stars play Boston on October 20 at 5 p.m. and October 21 at 1 p.m. at Étienne Desmarteau Arena.
(tragedy & comedy) An epic 10th-century Japanese folk tale comes to life in choreographer Jiří Kylián’s Kaguyahime, The Moon, produced beautifully by Les Grands Ballet Canadiens, October 11-27. Quebecois playwright Suzie Bastien probes the human psyche in the dramatic The Medea Effect, at Theatre La Chapelle, to October 20. Old Montreal’s Centaur Theatre features Scapegoat Theatre’s take on Euripedes’ tragedy The Bacchae, to October 20, as well as Quebecois playwright Jean Marc Dalpé’s family drama August, An Afternoon in the Country. Meanwhile, the Segal Centre lightens the mood with Broadway musical Guys and Dolls to October 31, and well-known and even well-loved Montreal comedian and Just For Laughs festival veteran Joey Elias brings his One Man Show at Club Soda on October 21.

(urban art) The Montréal/Brooklyn collaborative contemporary art project makes its mark on the city’s gallery scene this weekend, highlighting the artistic similarities and differences between the two urban centres. On Friday and Saturday, new shows open at Centre Clark and artist-run centre articule, as well at galleries in the Belgo building – Galerie SAS, Optica, Galerie Division and Les Territoires – and down the street at Galerie de l’UQAM, featuring multi-artist Vidéozones exhibition (above), and the Musée d’art contemporain, featuring work by Janet Biggs and Aude Moreau.

(live music) Friday night is indie-rock alright with Cat Power playing tunes from her new album Sun at Metropolis, The Sea & Cake at Il Motore, Dragonette at the Corona Theatre, and Brooklyn electro duo Blondes at Le Belmont. Pittsburg rapper Wiz Khalifa, rolls into town with Juicy J, Chevy Woods and many others at Uniprix Stadium on October 20. Monday night goes punk with Off!, The Spits and Double Negative at Foufounes Electriques. On October 23, Dan Mangan brings his folk-rock sensibility to Theatre Corona, San Francisco’s Sic Alps play Divan Orange. The Jezabels rock Cabaret Mile End and Social Distortion shake up Metropolis. Montreal’s Papagroove release their newest album on October 24 at Theatre Plaza – free! Akousma 9, a festival of digital music, brings its immersive audio-visual wonders to Usine C, October 24-27. And the ‘80s are back with Air Supply in an “intimate evening” on October 25 at Metropolis.

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Choreographer Jiří Kilián is a world-famous master for a reason: the Prague-born former artistic director of the Nederlands Dans Theater is incredibly prolific, and produced over a hundred choreographies throughout his career. He displays a singularly humanistic sensitivity in his work, making poetry out of human emotions. The Grands Ballets Canadiens de Montréal has already put quite a few of his works to the stage, to great public acclaim. The latest is Kaguyahime: The Moon Princess.
The story, based on a late 9^th century Japanese tale, is simple: A moon princess, the most beautiful creature you’ve ever seen, descends to earth to spread peace and love. She is too beautiful for this place, though, and drives men wild with desire: soon they fight over her. War ensues, and eventually, an emperor gets involved; he tries to capture her to keep her for himself. She is imprisoned, until the moonlight blinds the emperor’s troops – in that moment, she is freed and re-ascends to the moon.
Kilián tells this story with lots of quiet, extended moments of subtle movement backed by eerie flute music, giving the entire things an appropriately lunar feel. The music is key in this show: the flutes are played by three Japanese musicians whose heads stick up from the orchestral pit in the front of the stage. In the second half, huge kodo drums figure as part of the stage design, and drummers run up from the pit onto stage to play them and other percussive instruments, mixing with the dancers. Those are some of the most exciting moments.

The stage design is spare and simple, keeping the focus on the dancers. While the battle scenes provide the most expressive and explosive physical moments, this is really a one-woman show: the quiet, controlled beauty of the princess’s movements is truly and appropriately beguiling. The central role was danced by Eva Kolarova for the premiere performance (the role alternates between her and Sarah Kingston), and, well, she’s a star!

The Details

Kaguyahime: The Moon Princess, October 11-27, 2012

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(movie magic) Montreal’s Festival du Nouveau Cinéma, October 10-21, rolls out the red carpet for new feature films, shorts and experimental media from around the world. See Ang Lee’s Life of Pi, based on Montreal author Yann Martel’s novel, Simon Galiero’s La Mise à l’aveugle, Martin Villeneuve’s sci-fi Mars et Avril, screenings of work by French singer Albin de la Simone, Sarah Polley’s new doc Stories We Tell, plus kid-friendly fare in the Little wolves (Les P’tits loups) section, experimental media art in the FNC Lab and a “waterfalls” exhibition at Place des Spectacles, free music shows (like The Hallicrafters and Ben Shemie on October 13 at Agora Hydro-Quebec), parties, and much more.

(high art renewed) Ballet isn’t what it used to be in choreographer Jiří Kylián’s Kaguyahime, The Moon, based on a culturally influential 10th-century Japanese folk tale of beauty, violence and worlds colliding, performed by dancers of Les Grands Ballet Canadiens, October 11-27. The Orchestre Métropolitain adds volume to great moments in cinematic history, from Psycho to Star Wars, playing works by several film composers, conducted by Simon Leclerc, on October 18 at the Maison symphonique de Montréal. Meanwhile, the Montreal Symphony Orchestra welcomes mezzo-soprano Susan Graham to sing Ernest Chausson’s Poème de l’amour et de la mer, on October 16 and 17.

(theatre scene) The play’s the thing this fall as Montreal theatres open the season with as much drama as fun. Old Montreal’s Centaur Theatre features two shows this month: Scapegoat Theatre’s version of Euripedes’ psycho-sexual, metaphysical tragedy The Bacchae, to October 20, and Quebecois playwright Jean Marc Dalpé’s family drama August, An Afternoon in the Country. Another Quebecois playwright Suzie Bastien dives deep with The Medea Effect, exploring universal fears and existential questions about the archetypal – and personal – role of the mother, at Theatre La Chapelle,  October 11-20. Meanwhile, it’s all song and dance with Broadway musical Guys and Dolls at the Segal Centre, to October 31, and, not quite theatre, but comedian Russell Peters is at the Bell Centre on October 15.

(art and history) The beauty and the history of art come together at the MMFA this fall in their exhibition A History of Impressionism: Great French Paintings from the Clark, featuring Impressionist masterpieces by Renoir, Bonnard, Corot, Cassatt, Degas, Gauguin, Manet, Millet, Monet, Morisot, Pissarro, Sisley and Toulouse-Lautrec. Down the street at the McCord Museum, see the city of Montreal and other cities around the world through the eyes of Italian photographer Mimmo Jodice, in his solo exhibition Sublime Cities. And the Musée d’art contemporain de Montréal recently opened an amazing retrospective of the work of Montreal painter Pierre Dorion, along with high-Arctic video work by Brooklyn-based artist Janet Biggs.

(ska-tastic sounds) The Montreal Ska Fest packs a lot of punch into its fourth year, with horn-blowing, toe-tapping, body-skanking shows October 11-14, including a massive “All-Skanadian” (get it?) show at Club Soda on Saturday, October 13 with The Planet Smashers, The Johnstones, Illscarlett and more. On Friday night, it’s the New York City Showcase, with Victor Rice vs The M7, The Forthrights and more at Petit Campus, while Sunday morning closes the festival with a good greasy breakfast of eggs, toast, coffee and ska with Mitch Girio, at Ye Olde Orchard.

(more music) The OFF Jazz Festival comes to a close Friday, October 12 with bassist-composer William Parker conducting Fragrances of Compassion for Lawrence D. Butch Morris, a piece for 15 musicians, at La Sala Rossa. Also on Friday, LA-based electronic music producer Flying Lotus gets our bodies moving at SAT. On Saturday night, enjoy the sweet singer-songwriter sounds of Montreal talents Mark Berube and Katie Moore at Cabaret du Mile End, while blues-rock rocks on with Colin James at Metropolis. Monday night is one big party with rumba-rooted Congolese band Staff Benda Bilili at the Rialto Theatre. On October 16, none other than Barbra Streisand is at the Bell Centre, or if Babs isn’t your thing, maybe Alanis Morissette is – she’s at Metropolis, or get down and dance at OohLaLA! Festival, at the SAT. Public Image Limited rocks the Corona Theatre on October 17 and The Jon Spencer Blues Explosion follows  the next night. Also on October 18, the three great men of might Rush bring their Clockwork Angels Tour to the Bell Centre.

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