A swarm of lotuses

When Japanese choreographer Ushio Amagatsu feels inspired, he sketches or jots down phrases in a notebook that he later consults for inspiration. One of his scribbles described his emotions after seeing an exhibit more than 30 years ago that involved hundreds of lotus leaves pinned to the ceiling. The display left such an impression that these feelings became the base for Kagemi—Beyond the Metaphors of Mirrors. In this septet he created in 2000, larger-than-life lotus flowers surround Amagatsu and his dancers who reflect on reflection.

Amagatsu uses a rich mix of butoh and contemporary dance, and says his work is distinct because it roots itself in gravity instead of trying to escape it, like European or American dance. It’s been 16 years since Amagatsu has brought his company Sankai Juku to Montreal, but the all-male cast is at Place des Arts at 8 p.m. nightly until Oct. 14. And FYI, Friday, Oct. 13, Amagatsu will be giving a freebie talk at noon in the foyer of the Théâtre Maisonneuve at Place des Arts. —Marites Carino

Portraits of refugees

After covering the Palestinian intifada and Haiti, Montreal photographer Darren Ell turned the lens homeward to document the lives of non-status immigrants and Montrealers entangled in anti-terror laws. His work will be shown in his first exhibition, Between States, which starts Thursday, Oct. 12, at Dazibao (4001 Berri).

The exhibition follows in the lucid tradition of documentary photography. The large and vivid pictures, some accompanied by audio interviews with the subjects, are “sharp and confrontational,” Ell says, noting that his art is intended to “defy indifference and put a face on the people affected by immigration and security laws.”

The exhibition starts at 6 p.m., with a panel including a Colombian refugee facing deportation, as well as Sophie Harkat, wife of a man formerly detained without charges on grounds of national security. The show runs until Nov. 11—call 845-0063 for more info. —Samer Elatrash

Flighty flix

A documentary about an all-girl rock ’n’ roll camp in Newfoundland and Italian scratch video... on the same bill? No way? Yes way! This Saturday, Montreal media arts collective Volatile Works present Volatile Shorts 2006, an evening of film supporting “a volatile mix of genres and themes.” The festival, now in its third year, has expanded to include local, national and international guest collectives and filmmakers. According to Volatile Works’ Mario DeGiglio-Bellemare, “The selections share the common ground of a politicized perspective, a DIY aesthetic and a flair for the unusual.”

For an evening of “provocative and radical expression,” Volatile Shorts 2006 takes place at Café Toc-Toc (6091 Parc), Oct. 14, at 8 p.m., suggested donation is $5. The post-screening party has Lesbians on Ecstasy’s Lynne T. spinning the grooves to make you move. For more info, go to www.volatileworks.org. —Anne Marie Marko

The $300,000 door

Last spring, the Musée d’art contemporain sprung for a new screen door—to the tune of more than $300,000. The screen door in question is a solid sterling silver replica of a regular screen door that hung on Elvis’s Graceland, and you can see it for yourself in the exhibition Rodney Graham, on until Jan. 7 at the MAC.

Many of the works created specifically for this show are quirky nods to moments in music history. A photographic piece titled “Awakening” is a recreation of a Black Sabbath publicity shot by photographer Chris Walter from 1970. In “Three Musicians,” Graham recalls the revival in early renaissance music that happened in the ’70s with a photographic triptych of a fictitious music concert set in a Unitarian Church. My personal favourite is “Lobbing Potatoes at a Gong” inspired by the potato throwing antics of Pink Floyd’s drummer. This time, the film recreates a Fluxus-type performance from the 1960s. This all may sound strange, but in Graham’s hands, the exhibition is incredibly humorous and nothing short of inspirational. —Christine Redfern

Is it Art?

TAKING THE HEAT OUT OF THE SEAT: What’s the point of going to a movie if you’re going to leave with someone else’s popcorn margarine all over your slacks—or, worse yet, their germs? The company behind PlaneSheets has the solution. PlaneSheets have been used for years by people who simply won’t fly without their own leopard print seat cover (also available in denim, chenille, camouflage and more), and now the company is pushing the product to moviegoers and anyone else exposed to public seats. The product comes in two sizes, as well as in disposable polypropylene two-packs, for the particularly paranoid. Visit www.planesheets.com to order your own.

ArtsHole

LEARNED LINES: With a highbrow roster to back it up, Delirium Press launches its fall titles today, Oct. 12, at Zeke’s Gallery (3955 St-Laurent). Check out Harvard doctoral candidate Srikanth Reddy’s poetry collection, Voyager, with art by Drew Khan; Columbia grad Mary Jo Bang’s Her Head in a Rabbit Hole, with art by Sefi Amir; University of Chicago poetry prof Suzanne Buffam’s Past Imperfect, with art by Shawn Kuruneru; Concordia MA student Jani Krulc’s Maison du Sexe, art by Sarah Mangle; and intelligent Brooklynite Kathleen Miller’s The Weather Is Happening All Around Us. The launch kicks off at 7:30 p.m., free.

ARTISTAT: Number of years Les Grands Ballets Canadiens celebrates when they unleash Romeo and Juliet upon the city beginning Oct. 19 at Place des Arts, www.grandsballets.com: 50

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