Erotic vision

HERE KITTY: Pony (L) and Eric Hart in Beware of Dog

K-5 is a glimpse into the exotic and articulate universe of choreographer Lina Cruz. Premiering at Agora de la Danse (840 Cherrier) next week, Feb. 20–23, the new work marks an evolution in Cruz’s masterful melding of live music and dance. “For this project, I wanted to make decisions from the outside, because there are things I didn’t see when I was dancing,” she says.

And so, while a renowned performer herself, Cruz chose five exceptional dancers—Éric Beauchesne, Justin Gionet, Alejandro De Leon, Catherine Laroque and Soula Trougakos—to convey her stylized choreography.

While adapting her sculptural movements to the bodies of the dancers, Cruz let K-5 organically develop its own dream-like logic. “I didn’t want to censor or limit myself with an established theme, I wanted to let the ideas surface.”

The result is a cohesive, erotic vision much like a Bosch painting sprung to life. Sinuous dancers dressed in exotic and revealing costumes move through charged interactions like taut elastics, creating ornate tableaus and a mystical and sensuous atmosphere.

Since forming La Compagnie Fila 13 in 2003, Cruz has made live music an essential part of her practice, as it “makes the performance come alive for both the dancers and audience.” K-5 is a seamless physical and musical exchange between pianist, vocalist and composer Philippe Noireaut and the dancers

by ERIN FLYNN

Cause and action

DARK ART: By Geoffrey Farmer

Vancouver artist Geoffrey Farmer is currently showing an odd collection of material at the Musée d’art contemporain. It is the first time he has ever exhibited more than two of his works together.

To be honest, when you first enter the galleries, much of it looks like something a kid might assemble with the contents of a recycling bin and some old clothes and objects. But look a little closer and this work has a wit and depth that tickles the imagination.

He’s made paper out of a piece of wood from the gallery floor, built a trailer from scratch and makes videos with his legs tied together where he can’t see what he is shooting.

His pieces raise questions about the role of the artist, what is real and our understanding of time. In the installation “Nothing Can Separate Us,” you’ll notice a yellow Post-it note with a phone number. Call that number and you trigger a bell (cast at the foundry that made the Liberty Bell) that is hidden behind a wall.

“The technology is the same as organizations use to remotely activate bombs,” says Farmer. “It is a work about cause and action—what we do has an effect somewhere else.”

Until April 20, info: www.macm.org or (514) 847-6226.

by CHRISTINE REDFERN

Rolling down the highway

Co-founders Jen Renata Soutter, Shara Weaver and Alan Shain of Ottawa-based Propeller Dance are heading down the Trans Canada this weekend to show an excerpt from View Finder, their collaborative trio that was conceived to challenge audiences on many levels.

“People will have a perception of what it means to be in a wheelchair. They think of limitations and being confined, but the wheelchair creates movement and mobility,” says Shain. “If it wasn’t for my wheelchair, I wouldn’t be able to get out of my house!”

Propeller Dance’s mandate is to provide dance programming to people with and without disability. “We’re breaking down people’s perceptions of what dance is and breaking down barriers about who has access to the arts and the stage,” explains Soutter. “And we’re putting mixed ability on the map in Canada—as Canada is a little behind.”

View Finder is part of the Vernissage-danse series at Studio 303 (372 Ste-Catherine W.), whose theme this Saturday, Feb. 16, 8:30 p.m., is “Boxes.” Info: (514) 393-3771.

by MARITES CARINO

Multicultural musings

Montreal poet Kaie Kellough is the author of Lettricity, and co-editor (with Jason Selman) of the sumptuous Kalmunity Vibe Collective anthology, Talking Book.

He’s been keeping a low profile and recharging his batteries lately, but he’ll be venturing onto the stage this Sunday, Feb. 17 at Artists Against Apartheid II, with a few new poems touching on history, family and his beloved city.

“I think I’ve learned to say what I want to say in fewer words and more effectively,” says Kellough. “The city’s such a fascinating and colourful place, it can’t help but pop up in verse. And with reasonable accommodation—that made me see the value of articulating the multicultural city, of how people from different cultural backgrounds get along.”

The show also features North African Rai ensemble Syncop, Mohamed Mehdi and members of Kalmunity. It kicks off at 8 p.m. at O Patro Vys (356 Mont-Royal E.), $7–$15 suggested.

by VINCENT TINGUELY

Is it art?

IDENTITY CRISIS: Vinyl’s not dead. It is alive and well and on sleeveface.com, a new site dedicated to turning you into an icon of your choosing simply by holding a rock star’s album cover to your face.

The site, started by DJ Carl Morris, who helped kick-start the trend by covering his face with the album sleeve of Paul McCartney’s McCartney II while playing a gig in Cardiff, Wales, features some of the cleverest uses of the trend (see Pantera and the Professionals sleeves).

But it’s on Facebook—where the fad has inevitably migrated and where, at last count, over 4,000 people are part of the Sleeveface group—that the trend has really exploded.

To date, 918 people have taken to hiding their identity behind such classic albums as INXS’s Kick, Dylan’s Blonde on Blonde and Ween’s Chocolate and Cheese to full chuckle-worthy effect.

Check out www.sleeveface.com for the informative and helpful how-to video, then ransack your record collection.

Arts hole

LAST CALL: This is the last weekend to catch two exhibitions currently on view at Circa (372 Ste-Catherine W. #444). En tránsito by José Luis Torres and Monstres by Chantal Durand come to a close this Saturday, Feb. 16.
• GET IT TOGETHER: Vancouver-based theatre group Radix will be taking over the city at Théâtre la Chapelle (3700 St-Dominique) with their latest show, Assembly. Using the structure of a self-improvement seminar, Assembly features four motivational speakers who share their secrets of becoming whole, while the speakers themselves gradually fall apart. The show starts tonight, Thursday, Feb. 14 and runs until Saturday, Feb. 16, www.lachapelle.org for more details.

Artistat

The average number of African butterflies that will be released daily at the Insectarium of Montréal starting next Thursday, Feb. 21 as part of their annual Butterflies Go Free event: 100+