ABOUT US

Founded in 2011 in Montreal / Tiohtià:ke, PARTS+LABOUR is a contemporary dance company led by co-choreographers Emily Gualtieri and David Albert-Toth. Together, they create physically charged works that move between the personal, the poetic and the political, bringing the real and the imaginary into collision. Drawing from lived experience as well as literature, mythology, philosophy and design, their work embraces tension rather than resolution as a way of examining how we live alongside one another.

PARTS+LABOUR’s creative practice is rooted in multiplicity, experimentation and dialogue. Emily and David work in close exchange with performers and designers, inviting their collaborators into processes shaped by call and response, shared inquiry and artistic agency. This approach has generated a choreographic language that places performers at the intersection of script and spontaneity. Their works combine intense physicality, theatricality and humour while challenging conventional relationships between author, performer, and audience.

Emily and David’s collaboration is grounded in difference, care and a shared commitment to confronting the world as it is. Emily trained at Canada’s National Ballet School until her changing body no longer conformed to the field’s rigid expectations, an experience that continues to inform her work as a choreographer, performer, educator and leader. David, the son of Eastern European Jewish immigrants, came to contemporary dance through hip-hop and rave culture. Their distinct histories and perspectives create a productive friction at the centre of PARTS+LABOUR’s work, supporting a practice that is collectively built, rigorously composed and deeply human.

Their contributions to the Canadian dance community have garnered multiple awards and nominations, recognizing their imprint on the art form.

OUR STORY

David and Emily began presenting their work together in Montreal in 2013 with La chute and In Mixed Company at Tangente. La chute subsequently toured across Canada and received the Audience Choice Award at the 2015 dance:made in canada festival, while In Mixed Company received the Dance Award at Vue sur la relève. In 2017, La vie attend, presented by Danse-Cité in partnership with La Chapelle, played to sold-out audiences in Montreal before touring the Atlantic provinces and Toronto, where its cast was nominated for a Dora Mavor Moore Award for Outstanding Ensemble.

In 2021, their seven-performer creation Efer premiered with Danse Danse at Place des Arts and went on to receive the Prix RIDEAU. In 2022, the duo presented À bout de bras, a solo performed by David and directed by Emily, in co-production with Agora de la danse. The work subsequently toured to several Canadian cities. The company also produced At Arm’s Length, a cinematic counterpart directed by long-time collaborator Robin Pineda Gould, which was presented at film and screendance festivals in Canada and internationally.

In 2026, PARTS+LABOUR premiered LABOUR at Agora de la danse. Its sold-out Montreal run was followed by sold-out presentations at the National Arts Centre, Potsdamer Tanztage at fabrik Potsdam and the opening of the 20th-anniversary edition of JUNE EVENTS in Paris. The work continues its national and international touring throughout the 2026-27 season.

At the same time, the company is expanding its research through new international partnerships. Emily is currently developing Soft Underbelly in collaboration with Croatian artist Koraljka Begović, through a series of residencies connecting Montreal and Zagreb.

Alongside their creative practice, David and Emily contribute to the dance community through teaching, mentorship and artistic development. They have created commissioned works across Canada and taught at institutions including UQAM, Concordia University, the École de danse contemporaine de Montréal, L’École de danse de Québec and Dance Arts Institute, as well as through professional programs such as TransFormation Danse and Springboard Danse Montréal.

Since 2025, PARTS+LABOUR has also developed and led its own professional workshop series and mentorship program, supporting more than ten emerging artists in the development of their practices. Through its performances, research, teaching and mentorship activities, the company continues to build a practice that connects artistic creation with collaboration, exchange and investment in the wider dance community.

Photos © Robin Pineda Gould

  • David Albert-Toth is a dancer, choreographer, composer, and co-artistic director of PARTS+LABOUR. His diverse collaborations have led him to perform across North America and Europe with artists like Frédérick Gravel, Lemieux.Pilon 4D-Art, Human Playground, and Destins Croisés. He has also contributed to interdisciplinary works with Cédric Délorme-Bouchard, Moment Factory, Phi Centre, CHA Collective, Julie Favreau, and with Alexia Bürger in La Femme Qui Fuit, which opened TNM's 2024-25 season.

    In 2011, David co-founded PARTS+LABOUR with Emily Gualtieri. Notable works include In Mixed Company (2013; Prix Vue sur la relève), La chute (2013; Audience Choice Award), La vie attend (2017; Dora Award nomination), and Efer (2021; Prix RIDEAU). David and Emily premiered À bout de bras in 2022, co-produced by Agora de la danse, with its cinematic adaptation At Arm’s Length (FIFA 2023 Official Selection).

    David’s work and scope of interest as a choreographer and dance artist are often inspired by his Jewish heritage, drawing from its philosophical and cultural richness, its focus on morality, and the socio-political complexities that have shaped his family’s identity over recent generations. This heritage informs much of his artistic exploration, infusing his work with a deep sense of reflection on themes of ethics, identity, and cultural continuity.

    Alongside his creative work, David remains an active presence in the dance community as a sought after performer, teacher, and mentor.

    Photo © Robin Pineda Gould

  • Emily Gualtieri is a two-time Dora Award-nominated choreographer and dance artist working in Montreal. After several years spent choreographing independently, Emily began a creative partnership with David Albert-Toth, founding PARTS+LABOUR in 2011. Their first major works In Mixed Company and La chute would go on to tour across Canada and win various awards. Emily and David’s works have been presented in festivals across Canada, US, and parts of Europe. Emily has participated in and led artist residencies in Montreal, Toronto, Banff, Halifax, Massachusetts, Berlin, Vienna, and Italy. Emily’s independent creations include À la prochaine (2013), performed by Ginelle Chagnon, Re:Pairing (2015), a DanceWorks CoWorks production, and Stealing Fire (2016) a commission for Mocean Dance. The company then premiered La vie attend (2017) co-produced by Danse-Cité and presented at La Chapelle, and Efer (2021; Prix RIDEAU, Parcours Danse 2021) co-produced and presented by Danse Danse with dates at La Rotonde, Théâtre de la ville, Théâtre Gilles Vigneault, Theatre du Bic, and a CAM en tournée. Emily directed David in the solo À bout de bras which pre-premiered at the Atlantic Dance Festival (ADFDA) in Moncton, followed by the Montreal premiere at Agora de la Danse in fall 2022 with follow-up performances in Vancouver.

    In addition to the company’s repertoire, David and Emily are also active teachers and have been commissioned by EDCM, EDQ, and OSOD, and have been guest faculty at UQAM and Concordia University’s Dance Departments. 

    Photo © Robin Pineda Gould

BOARD OF DIRECTORS

PRESIDENT
AMY BLACKMORE
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VICE-PRESIDENT
EMILY GUALTIERI
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TREASURER
FANNIE BELLEFEUILLE
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ADMINISTRATOR
DAVID ALBERT-TOTH
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ADMINISTRATOR
ANGÉLIQUE WILLKIE
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SECRETARY
ALLISON NICHOL
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ADMINISTRATOR
TIMOTHY RODRIGUES
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