We have some very exciting news to share with our Préville Fine Arts Community!
With a clear idea of how we’d like the Centre’s dance academy to evolve, we have been looking for the right person, and artist, to fill the role of Dance Academy Manager / Director to lead the Centre’s dance academy into its next phase of development.
We are absolutely thrilled to announce that Raphaël Bouchard, recently retired from an illustrious career as principal dancer with Les Grands Ballets Canadiens, has joined the Préville Fine Arts Centre to fulfill this position!
Raphaël grew up in St-Constant, and began dancing at the age of 16. Only a few years after that, in 2005, he was offered a contract with Les Ballets de Monte-Carlo, where he began his professional career. In 2013 he joined The Pacific Northwest Ballet, before moving back to Montreal to join Les Grands Ballets in 2015.
Raphaël brings with him a wealth of experience in performing, creation and collaboration, a deep network of fellow artists, enthusiasm, curiosity and respect for artists and teachers. Since 2024, he has been using all of his accumulated skills as the co-founder and General and Artistic Director of Festival Charlevoix Danse.
Of his new role at Préville, Raphael says:
“I am thrilled to begin this new chapter as Director of the Préville Académie of Dance. I look forward to fostering a welcoming environment where artistry, discipline, and community come together to help every dancer reach their fullest potential.”
Raphaël Bouchard
What this Means for the Dance Academy
We are very excited for you to be able to get to know Raphaël and for our dancers and parents to experience the wonderful energy he’ll bring to our dance programme.
Raphaël will be responsible for the day to day running of the dance academy, which includes being on site as much as he can be. He’ll be the main point of contact for all things dance-related and he’ll work with the rest of the administrative team over the course of the coming year to ensure a smooth transition.
I invite you to learn a little more about Raphaël by watching this video produced by Les Grands Ballets Canadiens, to commemorate his career and retirement.
About the Préville Dance Academy
The Préville Dance Academy offers excellent dance education in a welcoming, inclusive, and inspiring environment. As a primarily recreational school, we provide training in ballet, jazz, contemporary, tap, and hip hop, while also offering opportunities for competition, performance, masterclasses, and summer intensives.
Our priority is to provide exceptional instruction from professional teachers so that every student—from those dancing once a week to those training more intensively—develops strong, lasting, and technically sound skills. We believe that the pursuit of excellence in the arts is rewarding in itself. Excellence is not perfection, but thoughtful, disciplined, age-appropriate work developed in a supportive environment.
Performance is an essential part of that journey. Through performance, dancers experience the discipline and joy of bringing meaningful work to the stage. Competition at Préville is viewed as an extension of recreational dance training rather than an end in itself. Unlike many competition-focused studios, participation is open to all interested dancers who meet the age requirements, without auditions.
For dancers seeking advanced artistic development, the Academy is also home to the Compagnie de danse contemporaine du Québec (CDCQ), our pre-professional contemporary company for dancers aged 13 to 19, which is joined via an audition process.
Above all, we strive to build a community where teachers work together toward a shared vision of artistic excellence, lifelong learning, and a genuine love of dance.
Learn more about the Préville Dance Academy — registration for 2026-2027 dance classes will open in late July.