The Governor General’s Performing Arts Awards are Canada’s highest honour in the performing arts. The Awards are how we as a country say “thank you” to the artists whose work has filled our lives with meaning, beauty and joy.
When the recipients for the 2014 Governor General's Performing Arts Awards were announced in Montreal it was a true national event. It connected laureates in Toronto (Blue Rodeo and Albert Schultz), Calgary (Tom Jackson) and Niagara-on-the-Lake (Brent Carver) via FaceTime with fellow recipients in Montreal – dancers Anik Bissonnette and Louise Lecavalier, Quebec actor Janine Sutto and opera singers Jean-Philippe Fortier-Lazure and Joseph Rouleau.
Once the recipients were gathered together on stage and on screen, the audience cheered, and rightly so. The Awards are about celebrating artistic achievement, and these incredible artists represent Canada’s best.
This year's GGPAA Mentorship Program protegé is Montreal-based tenor Jean-Philippe Fortier-Lazure. The award will enable him to focus on repertoire and the drama of opera with renowned opera singer and former award recipient Joseph Rouleau.
Dancer Anik Bissonnette shared why she feels it is important to celebrate Canadian artists.
“I believe that Canadian artists embody this country's culture and they represent it everywhere in the world,” she said. “Thanks to our artists our culture can travel."
