Binding contacts

“I saw them, but I didn’t really. I ran away. I was scared because they did not really look human,” says Chinese choreographer Wen Wei Wang, describing the first time he saw his grandmother’s feet, which were bound at the age of four. “When you are young, you don’t ask questions.”

Years later, after he saw an exhibit about the now-banned centuries-old practice, Wang did start asking questions about the Chinese foot-binding custom. His thoughts eventually grew into Unbound, a choreography for six, which explores freedom and notions of being bound, both literally and figuratively.

In parts of his piece, the female and male dancers, including himself, wear dainty, embroidered shoes with soles measuring only three-inches. Wang special-ordered the footwear from the Beijing Opera. “I wanted to explore what it’s like for women to wear high-heels, or have bound feet,” he says. “When you put them on your feet, who do you become?”

Wang moved to Canada more than15 years ago to dance and ended up staying. Since his arrival, he’s developed a unique choreographic style he calls a mix of Chinese classical and folk dance, tai chi and ballet. Unbound is at Agora de la Danse (840 Cherrier) at 8 p.m. nightly until Nov. 4, $18–$26, info: 514-790-1245. —Marites Carino

Everybody into the
gene pool

Marc Ngui, reads his official bio, is “trying to balance an overwhelming surge of science-inspired optimism with an understanding that the polar ice caps will no longer be frozen in the winter time by the end of this century.” It’s fitting, then, that he should join three other artists who share a similar sensibility for evolution at its oddest, combining bits and bites from the DNA spectrum to come up with the cartoon-like creatures that will populate Le Kopshop’s upcoming Gene Swarm exhibition. Ngui, along with Rupert Bottenberg, Billy Mavreas and Luke Ramsey, have teamed up to produce a 45-strong flock of figures, all drawn on 8-by-11-inch sheets of paper or plastic, mixing elements of technology, geometry and plain ol’ weirdness into one big mutant zoo. Check out the vernissage this Friday, Nov. 3, 6 p.m., with Mossman and the Unireverse DJs. (111 Roy E.). —Matthew Woodley

Animal friends

Donald Browne has been hanging around local art dealers René Blouin and Thérèse Dion for years. Having reached the ripe old age of 40, he decided he was now wise enough to quit his day job and open his own contemporary art space. Galerie Donald Browne art contemporain opened its doors this past August in room #524 of the Belgo building (372 Ste-Catherine W.).

Toiles is the current exhibition in the new space, featuring paintings by Christine Major and Jérôme Bouchard. Major continues the series on animals that she started in her exposition Vivarium at the Montreal Museum of Fine Arts in 2004. This time, titled The Garden of Eden, she sets her paintings in Temple Grandin, Emily Carr, Donna Haraway and Jane Goodall’s “gardens” to explore their unique relationships with animals. In December, keep an eye out for new works by video artist Claudette Lemay, followed by an electroacoustic installation by international renowned artist/composer Sandeep Bhagwatti in January. Toiles runs until Nov. 25, info: 380-3221. —Christine Redfern

Brains and bars

If you missed the opening of the new gallery at the SAT (1195 St-Laurent) last week, consider yourself lucky. The inaugural exposition Touching the Invisible presents installations by Sweden’s Interactive Institute Smart Studio that you’ll definitely want to check out with a friend, just not during a packed opening party where it was hard to get your hands on them.

If you go, a free brochure provides information about the ideas and technology behind each of the six pieces that definitely adds to the enjoyment of the works. Try “Brainball,” where you sit down opposite someone else, strap on a headband that reads your brainwaves and try to mentally move a ball into your opponent’s net. The only hitch is that the person who wins is the one with the least brain activity. To give yourself an advantage, perhaps visit the “Brainbar” installation prior to playing. “Brainbar” measures your brainwaves in order to mix the perfect drink for you depending on whether your EEG reflects a need for stimulation or relaxation. No cold, clinical vibe here, this exhibition will make you laugh. Touching the Invisible runs until Nov. 29, info: 844-2033, ext. 211. —Christine Redfern

Is it Art?

TWIN POWER: Conjoined twins are back in the news again after a 21-year-old Vancouver woman recently gave birth to a pair of babies attached at the head, both of whom were in stable condition as of press time. The rare condition—the health risks, ethical questions of separation and prospects of a life physically attached to another person—is hard to wrap the mind around, especially for children. That’s where Elaine Landau’s Joined at Birth: The Lives of Conjoined Twins comes in. The book, aimed at students in grades 4–6, explores the medical causes and treatments of conjoined twins and discusses the difficult decision regarding physical separation that parents must face, ultimately aiming to foster an understanding and acceptance of others in young children without freaking them out. It’s available at Amazon.com.

ArtsHole

HAPPY BIRTHDAY CATCALL: Montreal’s only performance series focusing on women artists and performers, Catcall, is turning three: reason enough to celebrate big time at the Casa del Popolo this Friday, Nov. 3. The evening features spots by Ghost Bees, Tune Yards, Abigail Lapell and Luna Allison. Doors at 8:30 p.m., show at 9, $5 suggested donation. • PRE-APOCALYPSE FLIP OUT: Circus troupe Les 7 doigts de la main’s edge-of-the-apocalypse production, Traces, has been extended until Nov. 11. Watch acrobats skateboard in Hollywood-musical style, dance with a basketball, take turns on a grand piano and do lots of crazy things you’ll never be able to do, while the clock ticks down to Doomsday. That’s at the TOHU Cité des arts du cirque (2345 Jarry E.) $13.50–$35, www.tohu.ca for the full schedule.

ARTISTAT: Number of works that can be seen for the first time in North America, some of which are among the Louvre’s most popular paintings, in the MMFA exhibition Girodet: Romantic Rebel, continuing through Jan. 21: 130

>> Arts Listings