1-800-India

Bangalore, India's answer to Silicon Valley, is a booming region with an international call centre industry. There, Indian operators chasing the American dream are trained to change their names and accents to promote consumerism in the U.S. This is the focus of Alladeen, an intriguing new project put on by the Builders Association and Motiroti, running at Usine C (1345 Lalonde) from Feb. 15–19.

Combining live theatre with music, video and film elements borrowed from old Bollywood and Hollywood orientalist movies, Alladeen explores how we function as global souls caught up in the circuits of technology, and how our images and voices travel from one culture to another. The cast is made up mostly of second-generation North American actors of South Asian origin. Freeform and featuring haunting musical compositions from Srikanth Sriram, this production should appeal to anyone with an interest in mixing cultures and things South Asian. » Geeta Nadkarni

Let it snow

Montreal's once formidable winter may have collapsed into a giant, tepid smoker's lung, turning factory-grey whatever snow hasn't melted, but Hannah Jickling and Valerie Salez are set on shovelling the stuff anyway. The Yukon-bred artists arrived in town this week with a dozen or so shovels, some custom-made, in order to move and sculpt snow in their strong-shouldered performance art piece Snow Shovelling. "Valerie said she felt like a rock star," says Jickling of her partner's experience checking in at the airport with a stack of steel scoops. Maybe they'll be treated that way too when they're playfully manipulating the terrain outside Dare-Dare's trailer in Viger Square - providing there's something to shovel. "I have an aerosol can of fake snow, but I didn't bring it," Jickling laments. "But if there's nothing it'll pose an interesting challenge. A lot of this is about dealing with whatever conditions we're met with."

The performance runs from Feb. 13–27, with a special family event on Feb. 19, noon–5 p.m., and is part of the Montreal All-Nighter (Nuit Blanche), which starts at 9 p.m. on Feb. 26 and ends the next morning (see www.montrealenlumiere.com). » Matthew Woodley

Window stomping

If you happen to be passing by Simons department store (977 Ste-Catherine W.) and notice something moving in the shop window, don't be alarmed. It's all part of a dance happening called Projet Vitrine. Last year, organizers La 2e Porte à Gauche approached the downtown department store with a proposal to give modern dance extra exposure through three of the windows during the shop's store hours. "We wanted to find a way to show contemporary dance in a different way," says organizer Karine Cloutier. "We're assured of having an audience there."

More than 60 participants will take part in the event, which includes choreographies, improvisation and a video installation. For a more detailed schedule, consult the group's Web site at www.la2eporteagauche.ca. » Marites Carino

Expectation creation

The Hope Machine is a new interdisciplinary work of performance theatre by Brokered Body Lab. "It's a pretty wild take on the first three chapters of Genesis," explains writer and director Virginia Preston. The piece plays with experiences of hope and fear, dealing with the relationships between masculine and feminine, fertility and mortality, humanity and the animal kingdom, and humanity and the divine, as these relate to the story of creation, Eden, and the exile. Appropriately, the work is being performed in an old ecclesiastical building that was moved stone-by-stone to Ville St-Laurent and is now known as Le Musée des maîtres et artisans du Québec (615 St-Croix-du-Collège, next to Du Collège metro). The Hope Machine will feature a visual installation and video, as well as live theatre, music, dance and poetry. Feb. 17–19 and 24–26, 7:30 p.m., reservations: 747-7367 ext. 7226. » Christine Redfern

Is it Art?

LUBE JOB: Thanks to boner pills, men are singing songs of joy in showers across the globe, but what about female sexual dysfunction? According to the people behind O'My lubricants, 43 per cent of women between 18–59 experience vaginal dryness, often a symptom of stress, pregnancy, the pill or too many gin and tonics. The Vancouver company recently introduced their line of hemp-based lubricants to the Quebec market, and behold: they come in eight you-know-what-watering flavours including strawberry cheesecake, piña colada, passion fruit and non-fat decaf cappuccino. Get your grease on at pharmacies and specialized boutiques around town, more info at www.omyonline.com.

ArtsHole

PEGGED: Winnipeg painter and street artist Slowmotion shows his cartoon landscapes that twist day-to-day iconography into a whole new dimension at Massive Riot gallery (5392 St-Laurent). Check out the opening Friday, Feb. 11, 8–11 p.m. • WRITING FROM THE MARGINS: Original magazines from lesser-known voices can be found at the Festival Voix d'Amériques' Salon de la marginalité this weekend, where organizers have invited a slew of indie publishers to display and sell their wares on Feb. 12, 11 a.m.–4 p.m., at La Sala Rossa (4848 St-Laurent). "We're not in the business of boring people," says Organizer D. Kimm, who promises pickings that are alternative, intelligent and fun. • SPACE AND SATIRE: Leslie Baker puts her propensity for cruelty and perversion into action with Momentary Adventures of Space Butt & P. Man, a dance-theatre piece inspired by Mark Twain's satire and poking fun at various aspects of human nature. It's at Tangente (840 Cherrier) from Feb. 10–12, 8:30 p.m., and Feb. 13, 4 p.m.

ARTISTAT: Number of frames and "eyewear pieces" - from focused and fashionable to blindingly unfunctional - that make up the L.A. Eyeworks collection's A Rare Trunk Show, on display at Georges Laoun (4012 St-Denis) until Feb. 28: 350

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