Everyone into the pool
DANCING IN THE DEEP END: Piss in the Pool
If you go to Piss in the Pool this weekend, you don’t have to worry, the water’s not going to turn yellow. The annual contemporary dance event, put on by choreographers Sasha Kleinplatz and Andrew Tay of wants&needs danse, returns to the drained Bain St-Michel.
Movement makers Dana Michel, Andrew Turner, Katie Ward, Erin Flynn, Thea Patterson and Emma Howes join in and turn the now defunct pool into their choreographic jungle-gym. They manage to create an unpretentious atmosphere that breathes levity into contemporary dance.
“We have to make dance accessible to people. It’s the art form that gets the least support,” says Kleinplatz. “And I think people should be able to come see dance for five bucks.” Jump into the deep end for a fiver from June 22–23, 8 p.m., 5300 St-Dominique. Info: (514) 223-8959.
by MARITES CARINO
Barbie time!
Everyone’s familiar with gender roles, especially if you have kids. Then, every once in a while, you get a front-row view of how some children’s  upbringing is modelled on the classic girl/boy stereotypes. This was the experience of Montreal artist Danilo Villaflor, whose exhibition of photographs and installations is currently on view at the Maison de la culture Frontenac (2550 Ontario E.).
When Villaflor was a child, growing up in the Philippines, he was forbidden to play with Barbie dolls. He was told instead to play with G.I. Joe. Villaflor is now an adult, and he can do what he wants—and what he wants is to play with those damn Barbie dolls. He dresses them up in outfits made from garbage bags, pins, string, Kleenex and other odds and ends. He pierces their noses and gives them guns. He has speech bubbles coming out of their mouths saying things like, “Help, is there a hairdresser in the house?” All this he does in the hopes of expressing that when it comes to play, what is deemed appropriate should never be more important than what is fun. Exhibition runs until August 25, info: (514) 872-7882.
by CHRISTINE REDFERN
Reading meals
Local agit popster Norman Nawrocki’s latest book, Breakfast for Anarchists, is volume one of “The Brainfood Trilogy.” “I’ve been  amassing a huge pile of poems over the last five years,” Nawrocki explains. “It’s like I’ve got all this food, so I’ll divide it into three equal-sized reading meals.” Along with his lively verse and revolutionary rants, it features visuals by Linda Dawn Hammond, David Lester, Benoît Tremblay, Miriam Verburg, Zazalie Z and others.
Tonight and tomorrow, you can catch Nawrocki fronting the legendary Rhythm Activism, back together after a near-decade-long hiatus. “It’s a very special project for us,” says Nawrocki. “Each member of the band has embarked on a totally different music career since Rhythm Activism; that’s 10 years of musical evolution for each one of us.” RA opens for the Ex at la Sala Rossa (4848 St-Laurent), on June 21 and 22, 8:30 p.m., $22. Breakfast for Anarchists hits the shelves June 30.
by VINCENT TINGUELY
Is it art?
MAKING MARVELS: With the bad reviews that accompanied the  release of Fantastic Four: Rise of the Silver Surfer, we are in need of a comic success to boost morale. Although Planetwide Media’s Comic Book Creator will not help you with the difficult comic-book-to-film adaptation, it will help you to create your own personal (sort of) comic book.
The Creator has a multi-year deal with Marvel—DC fans will, for now, have to continue tracing their favourite heroes with pen and paper—and the original package allows you to create personalized Spiderman and Wolverine stories, with 100 templates to choose from. Hulk, Daredevil, Captain America and Fantastic Four fans never fear; accompanying “booster packs” are available with a slew of other men-in-tights to choose from. So for those of you out there too lazy to draw/invent your own personalities, here’s your chance to finally see your Marvel-character of choice in your scenario of choice (note: choices are limited).
Arts
hole
SHADES OF ART: Experience stories told through improvised live drawing as la Centrale (4296 St-Laurent) presents the performance art of Vida Simon, June 21–23, 9 p.m. Her drawing-story is to be observed from outside the gallery, where her sketches and shadow gestures will be projected and amplified onto the street. • COMIC CORNUCOPIA: For your heart’s fill of comics of every shape, size and Québécois variety, visit Maison de la culture Plateau-Mont Royal (465 Mont-Royal) until Aug. 18. The gallery is now featuring a photo installation of the comics created at Nuit Blanche sur Tableau Noir, plus two other comicbased exhibits. GRAB BAG: Musical performances, BBQ, a “stuff” sale, Nicole Fournier’s Live Dining and a fortune with every purchase at articule’s (262 Fairmount W.) fundraising event, on Saturday, June 23.
Artistat
Number of contemporary gardens, designed with an emphasis on sound, at the 8th International Garden Festival from June 23–September 30: 12 |
