Dance free-for-all
STEPPING IT UP: Pas de danse pas de vie
Today marks International Dance Day and in its honour, the Regroupement québécois de la danse is holding a week-long celebration. Now its fifth edition, Pas de danse pas de vie rallies Montreal dance talent for a dance free-for-all across the city.
Studios put out welcome mats to the public for free classes—49 to be exact—including classical ballet, Afro-latin, Bhratanatayam and even a Broadway dance workout class. This Saturday, May 1, stop by l’Agora de la danse (840 Cherrier) from 1–5 p.m. for La Danse,
Making-of, a glimpse into the creation process of three different works. Go south that evening to the Darling Foundry (745 Ottawa) for Nuit de la Création, 8–midnight, a collaboration with LADDMI students and the Faculté de musique de l’Université de Montréal.
The closing dance creation takes place at the Mont-Royal metro station this Sunday, May 3 at 4 p.m. Choreographer Katya Montaignac leads a swarm of dancers who slip in and out between subway users and pedestrians in a project called ODNI.mp3. Through headphones, each of the performers follows movement directions from an MP3 and shares them with passersby. Complete schedule and details at pasdedansepasdevie.com.
by MARITES CARINO
Miles ahead
NOTHING IS OUT OF THE QUESTION:
Davis, from We Want Miles
Legendary jazz musician Miles Davis has long been called the “Picasso of Jazz,” a title that makes perfect sense when you think about some of the similarities between the two artists. For one, each believed that there are no “wrongs” in art, and that a person could, or even should, try anything once, and both were famous for shedding their artistic skins and embracing innovations that took their respective art forms in entirely new directions.
The Museum of Fine Arts (1380 Sherbrooke W.) invites you to explore these innovations with their new exhibition We Want Miles, which opens tomorrow, Friday, April 30, and features everything from videos and recordings of the jazz great to examples of his own foray into the visual arts. As Davis once explained, “Nothing is out of the question. The way I think and live my life... my future starts when I wake up every morning.”
Organized chronologically, it traces a number of thematic threads, seeking a greater understanding of this elusive man and his incredible music. In the end, what becomes most clear is how the diversity in his body of work allowed for so many people to fall in love with his music.
by STACEY DEWOLFE
Elektrafying
“The relationship between art and science is starting to collapse,” says artist Ben Bogart, whose work is featured at Elektra, the 11th annual international  digital arts festival in Montreal from May 5–9. Bogart is the inventor of The Dreaming Machine #2, at the Cinémathèque Québécoise (335 de Maisonneuve E.), Thursday, May 6, 5:30 p.m., which collects footage during the day then uses artificial intelligence to free-associate images during the night.
“It’s relatively easy to make a computer learn something when the domain is so constrained, that you can tell it whether it has the right answer or not,” says Bogart. “In chess, it can know whether it loses or wins a game. But in the realm of art and creativity, the question is how to make the machine evaluate for itself what is good art or not.”
Elektra’s pre-opening night party takes place Wednesday, May 5, 9 p.m. at Théâtre Usine C (1345 Lalonde) and features music by pioneering electroacoustic artist Jean Piché, who performs alongside the Sixtrum percussion ensemble in K’ANCHAY light for six percussions. Full schedule and details at elektramontreal.ca
by CHRISTOPHER OLSON
Behind designer doors
For the fourth year in a row, design agencies, projects and presentation venues are opening their doors to the public for Design Montréal Open House. Happening all weekend, Saturday May 1 and Sunday, May 2 from noon–5 p.m., the public is invited to visit and meet the architects, fashion, industrial and graphic designers and urban planners, who’ll show their latest projects using drawings, photos, video screenings and interactive installations.
Design Montréal’s website, portesouvertesdesignmontreal.com, has a great Create Your Own Itinerary function but here are some picks to get you started . Download a self-guided walking tour from Audiotopie (audiotopie.org/reso) and practise your French listening skills as you’re guided through the Old Port, downtown or Little Italy. Check out the digital design of Dynamo (439 St-Pierre), who specialize in social networking and animation. All four of the city’s universities have participating faculties, including Concordia’s design department whose Arrivals and Departures is at the FOFA Gallery (1515 St-Catherine W.).
The most exciting event, however, might be Regard 9, an exhibition-performance featuring emerging designers who’ll create one-of-a-kind pieces on-site. It’s at the SAT (1195 St-Laurent) Saturday, May 1 from 5–8 p.m., party to follow.
by SACHA JACKSON
IS IT ART?
BIEBER FLAG: When you think of a teen rebel, baby-faced pop star Justin Bieber probably doesn’t come to mind. But all that’s about to change—just this  past weekend, the mere anticipation of the singer’s presence was enough to cause a tween riot in Sydney, Australia.
Hot on the heels of this ruckus event, one Etsy designer has created the Bieb Flag t-shirt in ode to his new, punk rock ways. Modelled after the iconic Black Flag logo, the “flag” t-shirt, a simple black and white affair retailing for $20, nicely anoints the pop star as a new punk hero. And just like a young Henry Rollins, Bieber has really nice hair.
http://is.gd/bITHL
Arts hole
INDY DOES IMPROV: Improv Madness is the latest edition of the Indyish Monthly Mess, which takes place tonight, Thursday, April 29 at 8:30 p.m. at Il Motore (179 Jean-Talon W.) with performances by improv troupes On the Spot, Uncalled for, Montreal Improv and web-TV stars the Bitter End. Tickets are $8 at the door. • WITNESS THE JEWISH ARTISTS OF MONTREAL’S PAST: This is your last chance to see Jewish Painters of Montreal—Witnesses of their Time 1930–1948 at the McCord Museum (690 Sherbrooke W.), until May 2 and featuring over 80 paintings, drawings and even caricatures by local Jewish artists. • POETRY IN THE PRINTEMPS: Michael Harris, Johanna Skibsrud, Paul Tyler and Susan Briscoe read as part of Gaspereau Press and Signal Editions Spring Poetry Tra-la! happening tonight, Thursday, April 29 at Drawn & Quarterly (211 Bernard W.) at 7 p.m. Free.
Artistat
The number of artists whose designs were chosen to be printed on t-shirts as part of Moniker Custom Screen Printing and Design’s annual event and sale Machine Wash Cold/Tumble Dry Low, which takes place this Saturday, May 1 from 5 p.m.–12 a.m. and Sunday, May 2 from 11 a.m.–5 p.m. at 135 Van Horne W., 3rd floor: 15
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