Something old, something new

>> International flavours shake up Montreal stages

by MARITES CARINO

The old and the new: that's what three female Montreal-based choreographers are offering this week. But don't expect anything borrowed or blue as they revive works from their vast repertoires along with some brand spankin' new creations.

The action starts tonight with Mariko Tanabe at Tangente. This Toronto-born choreographer of Japanese heritage resurrects The Floating Heart, a solo she created last year. It fuses the varied dance traditions in which Tanabe was trained: flamenco, modern and Kabuki. This moving choreography explores the mysteries lurking in the heart's innards.

Making its North American premiere is another Tanabe solo work, The Dark Room. Last year Torontonians were treated to a morsel of this work-in-progress, but us Montrealers will finally get the full meal deal. Against a soundscape of original music by composer Alexandre St-Onge and bathed in lighting by ubiquitous Swiss lighting designer Axel Morgenthaler, Tanabe unveils the multiple sides of her self. That's at Tangente, Nov. 18-20 at 8:30 p.m. and Nov. 21 at 7:30 p.m., $13-15.

Also exploring the theme of resemblances is Guylaine Savoie, ex-member of Carbone 14 and a co-founder of the now defunct Brouhaha Danse. Her work will be shown at the MAI. In her new work Le Portrait, a female character comes across a 19th-century portrait, whose sitter has an uncanny resemblance to herself. Once this unexpected meeting of images occurs, the woman's world embraces her mirror image through the use of video projections by Georges Leonard.

Also on her program is Les Chiens aboient... la caravane passe, another solo repertory piece, set to the lively rhythms of Andre Pappathomas. His music evokes images of gypsies, and the piece features the nomadic world of which they are a part. Check it out at MAI, 3680 Jeanne-Mance, to Nov. 28 (Wed-Sat) at 8:30 p.m., Sundays at 7:30 p.m., $12-15.

Opening the 18th season of Danse Cite is Belgian choreographer Isabelle Van Grimde. Co-founder of Montreal's dance centre Studio 303, the now Montreal-based Van Grimde presents two Montreal premieres in the not-so-traditional dance venue of the Centaur.

Her newest work, Maisons de poussiere, was created this year in both Montreal and in Maubeuge, France. The trio is set on a stark stage, and Van Grimde says the piece is based on construction and letting go. Known for her theatrical choreographies, Van Grimde has been concentrating more on movement in her more recent works.

Her older work, May All Your Storms Be Weathered, was created over a year ago and has toured in Europe. In this quintet, Van Grimde touches on the themes of identity and human relationships. In the spring, look out for Van Grimde's commissioned work for the Ensemble de musique contemporaine de Montreal, which features male soloist Robert Meilleur. From Nov. 24-Nov. 28 at 8:30 p.m. at the Centaur, $12-15.

And finally, after we've been anxiously awaiting their return, they're back... five years later. Spain's Compania Nacional de Danza, headed by dance wizard Nacho Duato, make their second Montreal appearance. For three nights only, you can indulge in Duato's choreographic mastery. There are three works on the program: the critically acclaimed Remansos; Por Vos Muero, which is set to Spanish music of the 15th and 16th centuries and uses the work of a Spanish poet Garcilaso de la Vego; and the choreography Self, which looks at the core of human existence to the music of Alberto Iglesias (who has written scores for the films of Pedro Almodovar). If you can get a ticket, take shelter from the dropping temperatures with some sizzling Spanish dance. At the Centre Pierre-Peladeau, Nov. 23-25 at 8 p.m. :