Cerebral vortex

The first clue something was wrong was back in 2004 when Nathalie Buisson experienced convulsions in the middle of the night. Hours later, the former dancer with Les Grands Ballets Canadiens awoke in hospital to learn she had a brain tumour. After researching treatment options, she turned to neurosurgeon-oncologist Dr. David Fortin, who successfully removed the majority of the five-centimetre tumour. To express her gratitude, last fall, Buisson came up with the idea for Coeur en tête, a one-night benefit event to raise money to continue Fortin’s cerebral cancer research, which is in need of financing.

Buisson then called up more than 20 of her former colleagues, mostly dance artists, and asked them to volunteer their talent for the project. Everyone readily agreed and also convinced Buisson to dance in one of the 10 pieces of the soirée. “It seems paradoxical,” she says, “But working for cerebral cancer makes me forget about mine.” Support the cause this Monday, April 3 at the Centre Pierre-Péladeau, 8 p.m., $35–$50, 987-6919. —Marites Carino

The illest hobos

Since it’s most often rolling around the continent on freight cars or married to board scraps and backalley walls, it ain’t easy to take the artwork of Other home with you—so here’s your big chance. This Wednesday, April 5, Bully Projects launches Fight, an 88-page heavy-stock compilation of linocuts and drawings from the modern Canadian folk art anti-hero. The book comes with a bonus CD of music by Sixtoo, an ideal soundtrack to flipping through the pages, perhaps second only to the theme from The Littlest Hobo, where the German shepherd is running down the road on his way to help people. The launch also kicks off a new weekly DJ night featuring Sixtoo and guests that he describes as “low irony,” by which the man means honest-to-goodness good music, so leave your Huey Lewis and the News fetishes at home and head over to Pharmacie Esperanza (5490 St-Laurent) from 9:30 p.m. on. —Matthew Woodley

Spring in steps

Just in time for the spring melt, the City of Montreal and Tangente launch their annual Les Printemps de la Danse at the Cégep Marie-Victorin (7000 Marie-Victorin) tonight, March 30, at 8 p.m. The touring dance showcase, this year celebrating its 10-year anniversary, will be hopping between 10 different Maisons de la culture across the island with the free shows until the end of April.

This year’s mélange includes programs of excerpts by choreographers Mélanie Demers, les Demi-Lunes Violentes, Karine Denault, Hinda Essadiqi, Emmanuel Jouthe, Patrick Lamothe, Pierre Lecours, Élodie Lombardo, Anne Thériault and Chanti Wadge. Spectators are invited to pick the brains of the creators in an informal discussion after each performance. For the detailed wheres and whens, visit ville.montreal.qc.ca/culture. —Marites Carino

Bad art for AIDS

If the type of celebrity activism like Paul and Heather McCartney’s recent seal-hunt protest on the St. Lawrence ice floes makes you sick, come join some grassroots activists who actually know something about their topic. The upcoming HIV/AIDS BaD_aRt exhibition at the VAV Gallery (1395 René-Lévesque W). BaD_aRt is a project initiated by professors and students of the HIV/AIDS course offered jointly by Concordia’s Fine Arts and Social Sciences departments.

Starting at 7 p.m. on Tuesday, April 4, Dont Rhine and Isabelle Noel from the L.A.-based audio activist group Ultra-Red will be in town to perform with three guests from local AIDS organizations. There will also be performances by students Emma Howes, Alessandra Naccarato and Sarah Febbraro. Starting at 7:30 p.m. is a silent auction, featuring great artwork by Evergon, Nelson French and others, to raise funds for Concordia’s AIDS Project. To hear more, check out the artist talks by Rhine on April 5 and French on April 6. The complete schedule can be found at http://aids.concordia.ca/badart/badart.html. —Christine Redfern

Is it Art?

PLATEAU 4 1/2, HIGH CLNGS, PZL FLRS: Only the Lord knows which rich ’n’ famous bleeding hearts would come to Montreal if club beatings were allowed in the annual apartment hunt, bloodying our hallowed hardwood floors with competing tenants’ corpses, poor pets and punished landlords. Regardless, you can be sure such a change isn’t as likely as, say, Puzzle Floors becoming a staple in this city’s apartments. Made of quality northern hardwood, the floors break the traditional rectangular mould with a fun shape that’s—get this—even easier to assemble than other floors due to the two simple, interlocking male and female pieces. Get jiggy at www.puzzlefloor.com.

ArtsHole

VERRE TO CARE: Montreal-based artist Kai Chan rejected the formalized art traditions of his native China during his youth, but things took a turn during a recent visit there, when he found himself inspired by ancient artefacts set in isolated mountain settings. In a parallel recuperating of things once discarded, Chan uses glass fragments from broken bottles to create simple and beautiful sculptures evoking occidental spirituality with a taste of tongue-in-cheek. His exhibition, From Sea to Shore – Travel Notes opens this Tuesday, April 4, with a vernissage from 5–7 p.m., and continues until April 25 at Galerie Elena Lee (1460 Sherbrooke W.), Suite A. • PHOTO PLANET: Based around the “Terre, planete bleue,” entries in the 20th annual interuniversity photography competition, open to students from all universities in Quebec as well as out-of-province francophone universities, is at Le Centre d’exposition de l’Université de Montréal (2490 Côte Ste-Catherine) from April 6–20, in collaboration with Équiterre.

ARTISTAT: Number of works created by employees of the Montreal Museum of Fine Arts, whether professional or amateur artists, in A Topsy-Turvy World, on display until June 4: 51

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