Some FIND of wonderful

>> Highlights of the dance festival's week one

by MARITES CARINO

By the time you read this, this city's 10th Festival International de Nouvelle Danse will be in full swing. The following are some things to watch out for in week one.

On the local scene, the Fondation Jean-Pierre Perreault is presenting a world-premiere of Les Ombres. This intimate choreographic installation allows audience members to sit in solitude with their own private view of the show. If you haven't yet visited the company's newly revamped headquarters, the Espace Choréographique, it's worth the trip. And if you want to check out more of this spot's nooks and crannies, there's an open house Sept. 28 and 29, noon-5 p.m.

After the success of La Vie qui bat in 1999, O Vertigo is back with Luna. Artistic director and choreographer Ginette Laurin is once again tackling one of her favourite subjects: scrutinizing the human body. This time she does it with the help of oversized magnifying glasses and a luminous spectacle from lighting-design master Axel Morgenthaler. It's on at the Monument-National Sept. 22-23.

Over at Usine C, local choreographer Lynda Gaudreau presents her Encyclopoedia--Compilation (Sept. 22-23). Over the past years at the festival, Gaudreau has been presenting a series of works (DOCUMENT 1 and DOCUMENT 2), which are part of a long-term project itemizing movement. The work included in the fest this year involves a quartet of dancers and a fascinating video of a choreography for hands.

Also at Usine C, Montreal choreographer Paul-André Fortier performs the duo Tensions, with Robert Meilleur. Patrick Masbourian, former contributor to the now defunct québécois satiric news show La Fin du monde est à sept heures, created a video for the work (Sept. 24-25).

Downtown at Place des Arts, catch Festival regular Mathilde Monnier, a French choreographer presenting Les lieux de là this weekend (Sept. 21-22). For this work, Monnier took inspiration from improvisation experiments and the works of Samuel Beckett.

At the same venue next Wednesday, don't miss the one-night performance of El Trilogy by the Trisha Brown Dance Company. This famous, 31-year-old company became known in the '70s for taking dance to non-conventional spaces like rooftops or building facades in New York City. El Trilogy is set to the tunes of jazz trumpeter and composer Dave Douglas.

Moving over to Tangente this week, there are two FIND shows on the program. Soloist Sarah Chase from Toronto presents Muzz et Lamont and Earth Observatory (Sept. 20-23). The artist known as La Ribot offers Still Distinguished, a work where the audience is invited to take a stroll on stage during the performance (Sept. 25-30).

Upstairs at L'Agora de la danse, there's Portuguese choreographer Vera Mantero, a festival favourite, whose work Poesia e Selvajaria

(Sept. 20-23) also reduces the physical boundaries between spectators and performers. Stage and audience become one in this piece that includes a jumble of everyday objects such as candles, a broom and a washing machine.

And for those who would like to catch some dance on film, there are three flicks screening at Ex-Centris highlighting the works of visual artists Sharon Lockhart, Matthew Barney and Douglas Gordon. :

For more details, call the FIND headquarters at 524-0666