Etienne Lavigne

A former student of the École supérieure, Etienne Lavigne joined the National Ballet of Canada in 1997, where he was promoted to Premier soliste in 2007. After a 20-year career and more than 1,500 performances for 3 million spectators, he retired from the National Ballet full-time in 2015 and was named Principal Guest Artist.

During his career in dance, Mr. Lavigne studied business administration at Metropolitan University in Toronto and developed an active role in dance administration. Since 2009, he has taken on the management of many of Canada's leading dancers and companies and, with Guillaume Côté, founded Anymotion Production and Côté Danse, whose mandate is to bring people together and dazzle them by making them see and experience dance differently.

In 2016, he was named General Manager of the Festival des Arts de Saint-Sauveur (FASS), one of the country's largest summer dance festivals. During his tenure, FASS underwent a remarkable revival, doubled its ticket sales and, in 2020, was awarded the Opus Prize as Specialized Presenter of the Year.

Etienne Lavigne has been a member of the Board of Directors of the Fondation de l'École supérieure de ballet du Québec since 2022, and Co-Chair of the Foundation since 2023. He is also Vice-President of REFRAIN, which represents Quebec's independent arts festivals.