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Group of seven >>Dance collective celebrates its first birthday
by MARITES CARINO Photo by Magalie Guérin
So these seven grads from the class of '98 formed a dance collective that would allow them to develop and grow. "We had an image of building our careers together," says Stephane Deligny, the only male in the collective. "It's nice to work with friends and we have fun working together." In a brainstorming session, they came up with the name Fabrique Rouge. Translated from German, it comes from an old fabric factory in Zurich which was converted into a flourishing cultural venue for both artists and the public. After a year of hard work, this newborn septet is putting on their first production at the Théâtre la Chapelle next Thursday (June 10). The show features two works by collective members and a group piece by invited choreographer Parise Mongrain. Mongrain's piece Corte opens the evening, and features Deligny and Fueter, along with collective members Nathalie Blanchet, Anna Bozzini, Audrey Lehouillier, Marie-Ève Nadeau and Julie Simeon. Mongrain, also a LADMMI graduate, was inspired by the film La Reine Margot for this work. "There's a duality in the piece," says Fueter. "From the outside, you look like you're strong, but on the inside you're breaking." She lengthens her neck and upper body in a proud, aristocratic stance, a position dancers assume throughout Mongrain's work. "It's like you're on a cliff, looking over the sea or over a crowd of people," she explains. Brique Collage is the second work of the evening. Originally, the group had the idea of creating seven solos for seven dancers, but it was too much "like seven cooks in one kitchen," laughs Fueter. So they decided to put their names into a hat, and each picked a person for whom they would choreograph a solo. The final product consists of seven short solos in different physical and musical settings, all smoothly strung together. "It's like a fabric and we're making one whole out of it," says Deligny. Closing the evening is an intimate quartet by Deligny, called Andrea Zumaker. In this piece, he explores the world of women and the different kinds of love that one can feel and express for the people who surround you. He explains that the four female dancers could represent four different sides of the same person, or equally four entirely different people. And who exactly is Andrea Zumaker? "She doesn't exist!" says Deligny. "Maybe there's someone in the world with that name, but I don't know her--she exists for me in my mind." So if you're out there Andrea, this one's for you.
Fabrique Rouge at Théâtre la Chapelle |
A year ago, seven students graduated from Les Ateliers de danse moderne de Montréal and faced the prospect of starting a dance career, which is often an arduous and discouraging process. But misery loves company, according to recent grad Elinor Fueter. "We wanted to continue working together," she explains, "but dancers usually get offers to join a company. So instead of waiting around for someone to offer us something, we turned that around."