Rhythm riot

The year’s most memorable moves

MOVING ARCHITECTURE: Sutra

I’ve always admired Sidi Larbi Cherkaoui for his conceptual grandiose productions, but have sometimes felt they were too long and had too much going on. Cherakoui’s Sutra was an exception. The breathtaking work that featured 17 Shaolin monks and rectangular wooden boxes was like watching moving architecture. A definite highlight was a mesmerizing duet by Cherkaoui and a 12-year-old monk that took place inside a vertically placed box. The sell-out show sparked repeated encores and I even contemplated hitching a ride to Ottawa the next weekend to see the piece again.

Montreal audiences also discovered young Israeli talent Hofesh Shechter, a multi-tasking artist who is also a percussionist and composer. Uprising, his uplifting 26-minute short work for seven men dressed in comfy street clothes left the audience wanting more thanks to its succinct craftsmanship, creativity and furious physicality that was heightened only by a driving percussive score by Shechter himself.

To kick off 2009, choreographer Dave St-Pierre sold out Tangente with Over My Dead Body. The piece, which is a more intimate production compared with his La Pornographie des âmes and Un peu de tendresse, bordel de merde, still contained classic St-Pierre elements of nudity, over the top humour and self-deprecation. This theatrical work, however, was a more personal reflection on life and death and took on specific meaning since St-Pierre has been living with cystic fibrosis for most of his life. One of the highlights of the year, for me, were the last minutes of this piece, the only moments of dance where he performed alone. It reminded me of why I first noticed St-Pierre—for his dancing. It was the first time he’d been on stage in years.

STILL STRONG AT 17: La Chambre Blanche

Well aged

Although I’ve seen most of Ginette Laurin’s major works for O Vertigo, I had only seen stills of her signature piece La Chambre Blanche that addressed the issues of alienation and disequilibrium. Originally created in 1992, Laurin remounted the piece, keeping the elaborate set by Stéphane Roy. Like a fine wine, it’s aged well. Keep an eye out for the film version of the piece.

Two local production companies have been making a name for themselves with their mandate to bring contemporary dance to new audiences by yanking it out of traditional spaces. In 9 1/2 à part, La 2e Porte à Gauche had spectators meandering in and out of a bowling alley now converted to an upscale condo in St-Henri. Visitors volunteered to give dancers directions in an improvised choreography, strolled through the kitchen for an energetic piece involving the sink and cutlery, and then jumped in for some line dancing in the living room.

Last but not least, kudos to Andrew Tay and Sasha Kleinplatz of Wants & Needs Danse for their contemporary dance concoction Short & Sweet that showcases what they describe as “dances that end quickly” by a multitude of artists. Since they launched the inaugural edition last winter at Club Lambi, it’s become an instant success. Look out for edition five in the New Year.