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Muscle bound >> Finding inspiration in hemlock, wolves, love and death by MARITES CARINO
Muscle is part of the Tangente's Sa Geste series, created as a celebration of International Women's Day. Tangente's artistic director Dena Davida says the series is "about work created and danced by the same women. And it becomes autobiographical because it's solo work and it's close to the bone." The program showcases three generations of choreographers. The youngest, in her 20s, is Julie Beaulieu. La Grande Cigué features a fantastical character through whom Beaulieu explores her own identity. "The solo is like opening an oyster: the more the solo progresses, the wider the oyster opens," she explains. As inspiration, Beaulieu chose the hemlock plant, because of its contrasting poisonous and healing capabilities. From these contrasts, she's created a whimsical character: "I've managed to create a person and another reality... and it's like I've embodied the spirit of the plant."
Williams, in her 30s, has extensive experience with numerous dance companies: "I feel like I've been an interpreter for so long," she reflects, "I feel like I've got other people's vocabulary in my body." However, in Wolf's Clothing, "the movement is how I would want to move. Some of it is fast and hard-edged, but there's a softer and more vulnerable part to it, so it's not just powerful." Finally, Vancouver artist Deborah Dunn presents La Petite Reine. While researching a piece about royalty, she stumbled upon an arresting image of fashionable French aristocrats wearing boats on their heads like crowns to show support for the navy. "I knew that was my crown, so I went out and got myself a boat!" she says. La Petite Reine brings together aspects of the world of a queen and that of a boat on the ocean. And what's it like to wear a boat on her head? "It's restrictive," Dunn responds. "You can't dance around a lot and you have to keep it quite slow. It's works like a crown and then like a boat. It's similar to the queen thing, where you're restricted and repressed by the whole thing."
Love crimes Two choreographers and nine dancers tackle the themes of l'amour and la mort in a soirée entitled LOVE, DEATH et autres détails. Kathy Casey, artistic director of repertory dance company Montreal Danse, says the show is accessible because it explores themes that everyone can relate to: love and death. "I want people to come out of the show talking about the subject matter, and not saying, 'What was that about?'" she says. The first work of the evening is Lettre d'amour à Tarantino by choreographer Paula de Vasconcelos. Inspired by the violence of Tarantino flicks, the work treats love and violence in a sensitive and often comical manner. In contrast, death is the pervasive theme of Enter: Last, a Montreal premiere by Venezuelan-born choreographer José Navas. Navas, known for his solo creations, ventures into group choreography for the first time. Expect brisk, fast-paced action, intermingled with ephemeral moments of serenity. Muscle at Tangente, March 46, 8:30pm; March 7, 7:30pm, $10. LOVE, DEATH et autres détails at Usine C, to to March 6 & 913, 8pm, $1824
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Curious about dance, but never plunged into the murky waters? Well, it's a good week to get wet. Two shows, Muscle and LOVE, DEATH et autres détails, unite the works of several choreographers, introducing the audience to a multitude of dance styles in one sitting.
Wolf's Clothing is a premiere for former La La La Human Steps dynamo Sarah Williams. Anyone expecting to see Williams in La La La mode will be disappointed. "Her own work is very different and she sheds her La La La skin," says Davida.