Moving memories

>> Personal-space invasion, orange slices and best of butoh

by MARITES CARINO

When I close my eyes and plow through my snowy memory for traces of dance shows from 2000 that have left their prints, a couple of spectacles come to mind.

Rewinding back to this summer, one show that made a very visual and tactile mark on me was Berlin choreographer Felix Ruckert's Schwartz, which made its North American premiere in Montreal. This show put the audience on stage and made them into dancers. The audience was paired off and seated in two lines of chairs facing a partner. Surrounded by ambient music and lighting, half of us were guided by directions projected onto a wall in front of us. Half of us were designated "doers," the other half "receivers" of action.

As a doer, I had mini missions to accomplish, like whispering compliments into my partner's ear, listening to the beating of their heart, or covering their body with kisses. The receiver had no idea what the instructions were, as their back was to the wall. This must have been the ultimate torture for squeamish types with personal- space-invasion issues. The most compelling part of this game was watching people's reactions to being manipulated and fondled by strangers. By intermission time, some people couldn't take the heat and had to leave.



Japanese gestures

Skipping to this fall at Place des Arts, another highlight of the year was a project called CJ8. This Canada-Japan dance partnership paired up Canadian choreographers with Japanese dancers, and vice versa. Of the eight works presented in the evening, solo dancer Robin Calvert amazed all with her mastering of both fluidity and control. Other memorable moments included a duo à la Holy Body Tattoo, a solo, set to the soundtrack of The Birds, featuring Dominique Porte and a trio by local choreographer Louise Bédard.

Continuing in the Japanese vein, there was All Moonshine, a solo butoh work by Yumiko Yoshioka, at Usine C this past spring. The piece opened with Yoshioka's naked back under a moonlit glow. Gradually this captivating dancer transformed into multiple savage creatures. Her solo culminated with a romp in a pile of rice, as she stuffed her mouth and chomped down on the crunchy grains.

Of all the shows I've seen this year, the one that holds the most vivid images for me was Wim Vandekeybus' In Spite of Wishing and Wanting. Inspired by Argentinean Surrealist short stories, this show combined theatre, film and dance to passionately convey the themes of danger, sleep and fulfilment of desire, all laced with Vandekeybus' tongue-in-cheek humour. As bedlam and chaos reigned, choreographer Vandekeybus sat in a chair on stage, scrutinizing and occasionally exploding into maniacal laughter. At one point, he got up to cut oranges into strange shapes on a chopping board. Then each of the 11 male dancers meticulously chose a piece and milled about trying to find their other half.

And last but not least, a special mention to Axel Morgenthaler, set creator for Jocelyne Montpetit's Vol d'âme, which premiered at the Danses à l'Usine fall series. The breathtaking stage featured a shimmering illuminated aluminum foil backdrop, floating candles, and an inflatable dress-like costume by Japanese designer Issey Miyake, into which dancer/choreographer Jocelyne Montpetit disappeared.