special projects

Bon Débarras en famille

The album

Bon Débarras en famille results from a tremendous desire to gather again between all those who made up the various trios over the fifteen years of the band's existence. So, Luzio Altobelli, Cédric Dind-Lavoie and Marie-Pierre Lecault joined the present trio to revisit pieces that were meaningful for each of the family members – pieces and songs from their four career albums. In an affectionate atmosphere of sharing and celebration, new versions emerged during these unique intimate moments. Now played by the six musicians, they appear on the Bon Débarras en famille album.

The web series

Bon Débarras en famille is also a web series available on the Ondapart cultural platform (ondapart.com). Built around one of the songs, each of the seven episodes is shot in a different location. They also feature original interviews and moments of fun and sharing.

The seven episodes of the web series are available at www.ondapart.com.


In images

Photo : Pierre Bourgault

Photo : Pierre Bourgault

Photo : Pierre Bourgault

Photo : Pierre Bourgault


Performances for young audiences

Playing Hooky – Interactive performance

Bon Débarras takes you on a whirlwind musical journey through various communities from which they have drawn their inspiration, including Québec, Acadia and Louisiana. Feet stomping, hand clapping, leg slapping and full-on singing are to be expected from both performers and the audience alike. Presented in schools and various children’s festivals throughout Canada and France, this show, with its songs, tales, lilting and called dances, will not fail to move you and give you a spring in your step.
Downoad the Teacher’s Handbook


"They are truly one of the best groups I’ve ever worked with on school outreach. Their program was really well crafted and got the kids up and participating and learning in ways that I’ve rarely seen performers pull off." - Kristine Bretall - Sun Valley Center for the Arts


In images

Photo : Retta Leaphart

Photo : Retta Leaphart

Photo : Retta Leaphart

Photo : Retta Leaphart

Photo : Retta Leaphart


Evening dance partys

Bon Débarras were awesome!!! It was entertaining, educational and fascinating. Most adults were on their feet giving it a try.
- Sue Judge, Coldsnap Festival, British Colombia

The ‘Veillée de danse’ (an informal evening dance party in the folk tradition), was included in 2015 in the official Registre du patrimoine culturel du Québec where it is described as follows: ‘A veillée is a festive gathering based on the collective practice of folk dance, mainly the square dance, contra dance and the quadrille. There is usually a caller, who directs the dancers in the movements of the dance. He or she collaborates with the musicians, weaving the music for the evening from the traditional Quebec folk repertoire. A veillée is a party that combines different forms of artistic expression with social practices. It is participative: experienced and new dancers come together in a spirit of community and conviviality.’

Along with the caller Yaëlle Azoulay, Bon Débarras will provide the entertainment for your own evening dance party, preserving and perpetuating this precious oral tradition, by word of mouth and right down to your dancing shoes! They will draw the evening pieces from the Quebec traditional folk music as well as songs from their own repertoire, working with Yaëlle to find the right music to fit with the dance, to the delight of the dancers. Everyone, take your places for a set!


In images

Festival La Virée,
october 2016.
Photo : Vitor Munhoz

Festival de musique trad de Val-d’Or,
Photo : Dominique McGraw

Festival de musique trad de Val-d’Or

Festival de musique trad de Val-d’Or

Festival de musique trad de Val-d’Or,
Photo : Dominique McGraw

About Yaëlle

Yaëlle has been involved in the dance world for over 20 years. She is a dancer/choreographer in contemporary gigue and teaches in various contexts around the world, from the US to Ireland, France and Brazil. She has also been calling social dances for 15 years, both for large events and traditional dance nights. She has called in both French and English in over thirty cities throughout Quebec, Ontario, Nova-Scotia, the US, France and Ireland, on top of being featured in big festivals in Quebec. Her human approach, her passion for dance, and her deep regard for initiatives that involve social action are but a few of the many strengths that contribute to Yaëlle’s success in the dance world.


Le loup de Noël

Winter in the Quebec of yesteryear, a hearth, a tree, a great table… everything assembled for a dance-filled réveillon in a cottage. But the villagers will have an unexpected visitor… Master Griboux, a solitary old wolf from the Laurentians, has nothing left to eat. Starving, he makes his way to the village on Christmas Eve, where he is drawn by the lights of the church. In the middle of the midnight Mass, he approaches the manger, and tries to take a bite of the infant Jesus… made of wax! The priest intervenes just in time, and the wolf soon becomes eveyone’s friend!

Available in French only.


In images

Photo : Luc Tremblay

Photo : Luc Tremblay

Photo : Luc Tremblay

Photo : Luc Tremblay

Photo : Luc Tremblay