|
Give dance a chance >> Celebrating International Dance Day by MARITES CARINO From my front porch, I recently conducted an informal survey involving a dozen passersby. I found out that most people have never seen a dance show. Some had been only once, with their reasons ranging from "I was dragged" to "my mom took me." The two exceptions were professional dancers who said they'd probably seen over a hundred. And when the non-dancers were asked to name Montreal-based dance companies, the five who could named La La La Human Steps, Les Grands Ballets Canadiens and Arthur Murray(!). Well, this weekend is your chance to broaden your dance experience by not only observing, but participating in, a dance feeding frenzy-- all at the rock bottom price of zip. It's Montreal's fifth celebration of International Dance Day--which takes place over two days. The event is organized by Le Regroupement québécois de la danse, which is made up of 400 people from the domain. Among the events: Saturday afternoon features an open house hosted by Les Grands Ballets Canadiens. Here you'll be treated to rehearsals and a demonstration of how pointe shoes are made. Sunday, when the real action starts, could be your day of dance enlightenment. Several studios--Danse-Cité, Studio 303 and Studio Danse Nyata Nyata--throw open their doors to the public to showcase various creations. Also don't miss the Urban Parade, which includes 18 dancers and four musicians frolicking in the streets. They depart from Agora de la danse at 1 p.m., gallivant south on St-Denis, then traipse west on Ontario towards the Écomusée du fier monde (2050 Amherst). There, young and established choreographers such as Irène Stamou, Harold Rhéaume, Ginette Laurin, José Navas and Julie Beaulieu will be sharing their wares. There are 16 works on this dance buffet: some are sneak previews of snippets of works, others are encore presentations of past choreographies. Says the event's artistic director, Ginette Ferland, "I promise you, of the 16 works, there's something that will touch you." Later that night at the Lion d'Or, you can wave goodbye to spectator passivity syndrome. Roles get reversed as dancers and choreographers become audience, and audience members step into the shoes of the artists. O Vertigo dancers wave their choreographic wands and pair off audience members in a choreography by Ginette Laurin and Hélène Langevin. Then the audience gets a chance to pull some strings of their own: two dance pros, Carole Courtois and Kenneth Gould, will be manipulated by a collective choreography. If you're feeling tired out after all that, you can take a breather and sit back and enjoy a quartet of dance styles including Balinese, belly, break and tap. Last but not least, at the strike of 11 p.m., dancers and regular folk cut loose together to the beats of DJ Pocket, also at Lion d'Or. What could be an intimidating context--sharing the dance floor with dancers and choreographers--should end up being a blast.
International Dance Day, May 1 & 2, various locations, free. Info: 790-ARTS |