Montreal dance fest will fold

For two decades, Canada’s Festival de Nouvelle Danse, or FIND, made Montreal a showplace for choreographic modernism, from Edouard Lock’s La La La Human Steps to work by the expatriate American William Forsythe. This week, however, the festival’s board of directors announced that FIND will fold at the end of the year, largely because of a substantial decrease in public funding and a current deficit of $600,000 (Canadian). Officials added that the aftermath of Sept. 11 left the festival without “proper attendance” a month later and initiated its period of deficit spending.

FIND had announced in May a plan for the years 2003 to 2007 designed to build a more stable funding base to replace its dependence on private donations, public handouts and box-office revenue. But support proved insufficient, the board said this week.

-- Lewis Segal