Dance in Quebec includes dances that are specific to the province of Quebec, Canada, it comprises traditional group, couple, and solo dance as well as contemporary jazz, ballet, and modern dance. There are a number of dance companies and dance schools. Quebec's most renowned organizations are Les Ballets Jazz de Montréal, Les Grands Ballets canadiens de Montréal as well as the contemporary dance crew La La La Human Steps, directed by the choreographer Édouard Lock and his emblematic dancer Louise Lecavalier. Traditional In late 17th century, English country dances, contredances, cotillions, and minuets were popular. The most known dance was the bastringue. In the 18th century, reels and jigs were introduced to Quebec from the British Isles and British colonies in America. Quadrilles and the waltz started appearing in the 19th century, along with step-dancing (called la gigue in Quebec) and polka. They also create a funny move called . The tradition included galops. Dancing had traditionally been monitored by the Catholic clergy of the province of Quebec, which often used its social and moral influence to ban dancing altogether in many villages and towns. Classical ballet The very first classical ballet studios in the Province of Quebec started appearing in 1945. In 1952, in Montreal, Ludmilla Chiriaeff established the Ballets Chiriaeff, which became Les Grands Ballets Canadiens in 1957. She then founded, in 1966, the Académie des Grands Ballets canadiens, nowadays known as the École supérieure de ballet du Québec. More recently, in 1989, Christiane Bélanger founded the Christiane Bélanger-Danse dance school in Quebec City. She also established the Compagnie Christiane Bélanger (2001), which would become the Ballet de Québec in 2005, the school thus being renamed École du Ballet de Québec in 2013, when she also started a college program in classical ballet at Cégep Garneau. Le Centre Uriel was also the first showcase specialized in classical Ballet in Quebec City. The Société de Ballet du Québec (2012) is dedicated to the promotion and development of internationally recognized professional classical Ballet in Quebec City. Christiane Bélanger co-founded, along with Jacques Marsa from the Opéra de Paris, the Competition Internationale de Ballet|Concours International PETIPA (May 2015), which was the first francophone international Ballet competition held in America. She dissociated herself from its co-founder in November 2012 and created the Compétition internationale de Ballet du Canada – volet Québec. She also created the École de mécanique corporelle du Québec to