Earth dance

>> >> Choreographer Avi Kaiser makes Humus move

by MARITES CARINO

 "I was searching for a title that would be involved with nature," says Avi Kaiser. "As the piece advanced, I found I was talking about the fertility of the earth that allows things to grow. It transforms itself all the time." The Israeli choreographer who now resides in Germany uses earth and wood to decorate the stage in his new work Humus, which was commissioned by Montre#233;al Danse in December '99.

 Besides being that tasty chickpea spread, humus is also a dark, decomposing vegetable or animal material. "From the outside, the earth doesn't move, but if you look inside, it's always moving. And the earth moves through the dancers," Kaiser explains. The dancers even break into a French children's song at one point. But can they sing? "There are some dancers who can't sing very well, but this is what makes it charming," Kaiser chuckles.

 In the Body, a recent piece Kaiser staged in Poland, also played with the theme of transformation, but with food. The work featured a huge pot of boiling water, in which dancers prepared vegetable soup for the audience.

 "If people yawn at the beginning of the show, it's wonderful," Kaiser says of audience reactions. "But they will wait a bit before they leave, to see how it transforms itself and goes in other directions. I think it's like this in life."

 Dominique Porte's reworked short piece Solitudes opens this Montre#233;al Danse soire#233;e. Porte used random words out of a dictionary and the idea of nothingness to create her work for four dancers.

 Switching venues, over at Tangente this weekend will be Out of the Shadows, a high-energy event put together by Kelly Jean Starship and Joe Hiscott. This show combines a dance performance with DJs, female breakdancers and strip-teasers. :

 Humus and Solitudes in Cinquième Salle, Feb. 7-10 and 14-17 at 8pm, $22-35, 842-2122

 Out of the Shadows at Tangente, Feb. 8-10, 8:30 pm, Feb. 11, 7:30 pm, 525-5584