École de danse contemporaine de Montréal

What École de danse contemporaine de Montréal does

École de danse contemporaine de Montréal (EDCM) is a private non-profit dance education institution founded in 1981 in Montreal, Quebec. It specializes in training professional contemporary dance interpreters through a three-year Formation Supérieure and serves secondary audiences of adult and youth recreational students. The school operates from the Édifice Wilder-Espace Danse in downtown Montreal (1435, rue De Bleury, Suite 600) and is affiliated with Cégep du Vieux Montréal, accredited by the Ministère de l'Éducation et de l'Enseignement supérieur du Québec, and funded in part by the Ministère de la Culture et des Communications and Heritage Canada. Since its founding, EDCM states it has trained more than 500 professional dance interpreters.

The institution delivers a multi-tiered program portfolio. The core offering is the Formation Supérieure, a three-year professional program requiring video audition. Surrounding it are recreational adult classes (contemporary, floorwork, improvisation, jazz, Pilates Reformer, creation workshop, mobility/flexibility, dance and well-being) and youth classes (creative movement for ages 3-5, contemporary for ages 9-12 and 13-17, preparatory class). Auxiliary programs include the Formateur en danse AEC teacher-training attestation, Tremplin Immersive Intensive, Summer Intensive Internship, Spring Break Program, and the newly launched Projet Pont for graduate insertion. Recurring faculty and guest artists include Ohad Naharin, Marie Chouinard, Stephanie Lake, Hofesh Shechter, Sidi Larbi Cherkaoui, Crystal Pite, and Dana Gingras.

EDCM generates revenue primarily through tuition and course fees (subscription/seasonal pricing for recreational classes at $195-$345 per session, plus one-time fees for intensives at $295-$445) and through donations. Distribution is direct-to-consumer via in-person registration at the Montreal facility and the online portal at edcm.coba.ca/CapNet. The school is led by Directeur général Yves Rocray. Recent strategic activity includes the 2026 launch of Le Projet Pont, partnerships with PROMIS (immigrant integration) and Patrick Watson (FIJM 2026), and ongoing Summer School programming with international choreographers.

Name

École de danse contemporaine de Montréal

Legal name

École de danse contemporaine de Montréal

Website

https://edcm.ca

Company type

Private

Founded year

1981

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

11–50 employees

Short description

École de danse contemporaine de Montréal (EDCM) is a non-profit dance school in Montreal, founded 1981, offering a three-year professional contemporary dance program, recreational classes for adults and youth, intensives, and graduate insertion support, serving aspiring professional dancers and the broader Montreal community.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Product category

Dance Education

NAICS

Fine Arts Schools (611610), Educational Services (61), All Other Schools and Instruction (61169)

SIC

Services-Educational Services (8200)

akta.pro primary industry

Interactive Practice & Skill-Building (Drills, Games, Mastery Practice) (EDAFACAC)

akta.pro secondary industries

Training Delivery Services (Onsite/Virtual Instruction, Workshops, Coaching) (BPAEANAN), Train-the-Trainer & Instructor Enablement Services (BPAEANAL)

Keywords

• Contemporary dance education
• Professional dance training
• Recreational dance classes
• Dance teacher training
• Youth dance programs

Headquarters

HQ city

Montreal

HQ country

Canada

HQ region

North America

Offices1 record

Markets served

GTM type

B2C

Offering type

Services

Cost components

Personnel, Operations, Infrastructure, Marketing or Sales, Others

Revenue model

1. Tuition and course fees: Revenue from professional program tuition, recreational class fees, summer intensives, spring break programs, and preparatory courses for youth and adults
2. Donations: The school maintains a 'Donate' section on its website, accepting charitable contributions to support its mission and student programs

Pricing tiers

Go-to-market motion1 record

Distribution channels1 record

Marketing channels6 records

Core offering

École de danse contemporaine de Montréal (EDCM) is a specialized dance education institution founded in 1981 that delivers a three-year professional training program in contemporary dance, supplemented by a broad portfolio of recreational classes for adults and youth (ages 3-17), summer intensives, spring break workshops, preparatory courses, and an AEC teacher training program. It also operates a graduate transition initiative (Projet Pont) supporting newly graduated dancers into professional practice.

Product overview

École de danse contemporaine de Montréal (EDCM) is a dance education institution offering a multi-tiered program portfolio centered around contemporary dance training. The core offering is the Formation Supérieure (Professional Program), a three-year professional training that forms versatile contemporary dance performers. Complementing this are Cours Récréatifs for both adults and youth, providing recreational dance education across multiple disciplines (Contemporary Dance, Floorwork, Improv, Jazz, Pilates, etc.). Additional offerings include youth-specific programs (Tremplin Immersive Intensive, Summer Intensive Internship, Spring Break Program, Preparatory Class), a Teacher Training AEC program, Summer School intensives for professionals, and the new Projet Pont graduate support initiative. The institution operates from Wilder-Espace Danse building in downtown Montreal.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Products and services

• Formation Supérieure (Professional Program) Three-year professional training program in contemporary dance preparing aspiring dancers for careers as professional contemporary dance interpreters, including technique, improvisation, choreography, somatic practices, performance opportunities, and career transition support.
• Cours Récréatifs Adultes (Adult Recreational Classes) Recreational dance classes for adults (16+) across multiple disciplines including Contemporary Dance, Floorwork, Improv, Creation Workshop, Jazz, Pilates, Mobility & Flexibility at Foundation, Progression, and Mastery skill levels.
• Cours Récréatifs Jeunesse (Youth Recreational Classes) Recreational dance programs for youth including Creative Movement (ages 3-5), Contemporary (ages 9-12), Contemporary Dance (ages 13-17), and Preparatory Class, offering age-appropriate contemporary dance technique, improvisation, and choreography.
• Formateur en danse (AEC) - Teacher Training Program Teacher training program in dance leading to an Attestation of College Studies (AEC) certification for professionals seeking to become dance educators.
• Tremplin Immersive Intensive

Quantifiable outcome

• 500+ professional dance interpreters trained since 1981 performing on national and international stages

Named customers19 records

Segments4 records

Ideal customer profiles3 records

Technology focussed No

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

Partnerships

Four partnerships are on record, tiered minor and core.

• Patrick WatsonminorStrategic or Co-development Partner · 3 July 2026Patrick Watson, the acclaimed Montreal artist, is collaborating with EDCM for a special participation in the Festival International de Jazz de Montréal 2026. EDCM students will perform as part of this collaboration, providing them with high-profile performance opportunities at a major international festival.
• PROMISminorStrategic or Co-development Partner · 17 March 2026PROMIS is a community organization supporting immigrant and refugee integration in Montreal. EDCM partners with PROMIS to offer contemporary dance workshops as a universal language for expression and cultural exchange for francisation participants. Michelle Lucero Moris, an EDCM graduate originally from Chile, leads the workshops. The collaboration aims to make dance accessible and use movement as a tool for dialogue, inclusion, and social transformation.
• Cégep du Vieux MontréalcoreOthersEDCM is an educational establishment affiliated with Cégep du Vieux Montréal, a public college in Quebec's CEGEP system. This affiliation provides institutional accreditation and integration with Quebec's educational framework.
• Government of Quebec - Ministry of EducationcoreOthersEDCM is accredited by the Quebec Ministry of Education and Higher Education (Ministère de l'Éducation et de l'Enseignement supérieur), providing official recognition of its programs.

Scale indicators2 records

Recent moves5 records

Expansion highlights4 records

Direct peers

• Trinity Laban Conservatoire of Music and Dance: UK conservatoire offering undergraduate and postgraduate dance programs with emphasis on contemporary practice and choreography. Trinity Laban's mix of professional training, community/short courses, and accreditation parallels EDCM's program portfolio and target audience.
• The Ailey School: The official school of Alvin Ailey American Dance Theater in New York, offering professional training and certificate programs in contemporary dance and Horton-based modern technique. The Ailey School's combination of professional track and community/extension classes maps closely onto EDCM's structure.
• School of American Ballet: New York-based pre-professional ballet academy affiliated with New York City Ballet. While SAB emphasizes classical ballet rather than contemporary, its training-program-plus-outreach structure and selective audition model are directly comparable to EDCM's professional program.
• Northern School of Contemporary Dance (NSCD): Leeds-based school specializing in contemporary dance training at the undergraduate and postgraduate levels. NSCD's focused contemporary dance curriculum and small-cohort professional training directly mirror EDCM's core Formation Supérieure.
• LADMMI (L'École de danse de Montréal): Montreal-based dance school offering professional training in modern dance. LADMMI is the most direct regional peer, competing for the same Montreal student base with overlapping contemporary/modern curriculum and similar recreational offerings.
• National Ballet School of Canada: Canada's premier ballet and dance training institution based in Toronto. NBS offers professional training alongside recreational and outreach programs, comparable in structure to EDCM's professional plus recreational portfolio, though oriented more toward classical ballet.
• Centre National de Danse Contemporaine (CNDC): French national school for contemporary dance based in Angers. CNDC delivers professional-level training, choreographic workshops, and educational programs with strong government backing, directly comparable to EDCM's mandate and operating model.
• P.A.R.T.S. (Performing Arts Research and Training Studios): Brussels-based contemporary dance training school founded by Anne Teresa De Keersmaeker. P.A.R.T.S. offers a comparable multi-year professional program and intensive workshops focused on contemporary dance technique, choreography, and improvisation, making it a close international peer to EDCM.

Broad incumbents

• Royal Conservatoire of Scotland: Scottish performing arts conservatoire offering degree programs across multiple disciplines including dance. RCS shares EDCM's combination of conservatoire-style professional training and broader public/community programming but operates at a substantially larger scale with a wider multi-disciplinary portfolio.
• The Juilliard School (Dance Division): World-leading US conservatoire with a competitive Dance Division offering a four-year BFA. Juilliard represents the elite end of the professional dance training market, sharing EDCM's conservatoire-style selective admission and audition process but at far greater scale and resources.

Market position

Strengths5 records

Weaknesses5 records

Competitive moat4 records

Key risks6 records

Key highlights6 records

Customer concentration

• YouTubeyoutube.com/user/EcoledanseMTL
• Facebookfacebook.com/EcoleDeDanseContemporaineDeMontreal
• LinkedInlinkedin.com/company/%C3%A9cole-de-danse-contemporaine-de-montr%C3%A9al
• Instagraminstagram.com/edcmtl
• TikToktiktok.com/@edcm545

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Profiles1 record

Funding overview

Funding rounds

Investors

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M&A

Investments

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Frequently asked questions about École de danse contemporaine de Montréal