East Coast. West Coast. Dirty South…Montreal? That French Canadian city may be known for supporting the arts, but it’s not exactly the first joint that comes to mind for urban music and dance. But then Quebec’s own Blueprint Cru made it to the finals on America’s Best Dance Crew this season. And last Thursday at the American Dance Festival the hip hop-ballet fusion of Montreal-based Rubberbandance Group blew my mind.

Thanks to the Miami Light Project‘s long-running Miami/Project Hip Hop, we’ve been kept up to date on the latest experiments in bringing urban dance to the concert stage, from local greats like Teo Castellano’s D-Projects to national powerhouses like Rennie Harris Puremovement.

And thanks to Tigertail‘s exquisite taste, Miami has hosted the cutting edge contemporary work of Montreal’s Compagnie Marie Chouinard, twice. Now what I want to know is who will bring us the Montreal troupe that blends hip hop moves with contemporary dance’s experimental thrills?

Other efforts to translate hip hop to the stage have attempted to preserve or amplify the form’s awesome power. Not so with Rubberbandance founder, Victor Quijada. Born and raised on the LA hip-hop scene, the choreographer started his formal training at the LA County High School for the Arts, later dancing with Twyla Tharp and Les Grandes Ballets Canadiens de Montreal before forming his own company in 2002.

Where a b-girl propels a flare into the air, a Quijada dancer anchors her arms to her partner’s leg, transforming the show-offs wide-legged flip into a glancing connection with another human being. Where a b-boy challenges a rival to battle, a Quijada dancer collapses limp into the arms of a peer, allowing himself to be dragged, Christ-like, across the stage. Rubberbanders pop and lock, but each isolation is slowed down, to reveal every link in the illusion. Torsos thread through arms and legs like needles, extending into handstands and backbends, never stopping for applause before gliding into the next step, hardly ever stopping at all.

Soundscapes by Quijada’s collaborator, DJ Lil Jaz (conservatory-trained composer and hip-hop battle DJ Jaspar Gahunia), cut and scratch classical music in the Jamaican dub style that carves out empty spaces in the original track by stripping the elements down to the rhythm. Rubberbandance strips hip hop to the dynamics of call and response, channeling the explosive energy and constant spinning into the fleeting touch and go of limb upon limb.