Pleasure from pain

>> Choreographer Hélène Blackburn’s Suites Cruelles pushes the boundaries of the body

by MARITES CARINO

What do you get when you take one choreographer, nine dancers, two pianists and brainstorm the theme of pain and pleasure?

A: Suites Cruelles.

For months, local movement maker Hélène Blackburn and her cast ruminated on what pains and pleases, then compiled a multitude of scenarios that eventually evolved into what Blackburn describes as “38 little pieces that are stuck together.”

These choreographic morsels, which make up the full-length work Suites Cruelles, are “little scenes about pain or pleasure, or both.” Blackburn adds that her newest, highly physical work also looks at “how pain could be pleasure for someone.”

Blackburn, who founded her company Cas Public in 1989, looks back and names the common denominator among her works: “All of my pieces are about how we can go beyond our limits,” she says, and Suites Cruelles is no exception. “At a certain level, you need to challenge yourself with pain if you’re going to be a dancer.”

One of the choreography’s sections originated from the idea of teaching a Schubert opera for soprano to the worst singer of the bunch. Although Blackburn says this was obviously an “impossible task,” the result, she says, was “pathetic, yet moving.”

Pianists Mario Roy and Laurier Rajotte play an original score by Canadian composer Ana Sokolovic. For this choreography, one of Blackburn’s goals was to integrate the pianists who perform Sokolovic’s piano composition. “It’s a bigger torture because they have to share the bench,” she laughs. “In a certain way, they are part of the dance. They are more than just playing the piano...” she trails off, unwilling to divulge details.

Since 2001, Blackburn has been concentrating on creating choreographies for young audiences, but decided to shift her focus with Suites Cruelles, which addresses more adult themes. Although she says this work is suitable for ages 16 and up, Blackburn cringes when she thinks about her 17–year-old attending the performance. Catch it Jan. 24–26 at the Centre Pierre-Péladeau (300 de Maisonneuve E.).

Dance around town

Usine C (1345 Lalonde) has two major happenings this month. First up, choreographer Dave St-Pierre’s wildly popular Un peu de tendresse, bordel de merde! sold out its second run in the city in no time, so programmers added another three shows on Jan. 24, 25 and 26 to satisfy demand. The choreography—not for the faint of heart—is a follow-up to St-Pierre’s La Pornographie des âmes.

In the same building a handful of days later, Jan. 29–Feb. 1 to be exact, Belgian choreographer Anne Teresa De Keersmaeker brings us her groundbreaking 1982 duet Fase, four movements to the music of Steve Reich. We last saw De Keersmaeker two years ago with her solo, Once.

To conclude the month, contemporary dancer Jean-Martin Bernier presents his first collaboration, with Danse Cité. In À corps défendant, Bernier looks at the mind/body divide and contrasts male and female energy with actress Suzanne Lemoine. The show runs at the Monument-National (1182 St-Laurent) until Feb. 1.