by MARITES CARINO

Over the years, I’ve discovered a definite correlation between how much I enjoy a show and my need to boogie afterwards. If a show’s a dud, I want to crawl into bed and hermetically seal myself from the outside world with my covers. But if it’s a hit, a nervous energy percolates within, and I have to dance. So raindrops on roses, whiskers on kittens: presenting the shows of 2002 that gave me the urge to get into the groove.

L’Agora de la Danse played host to one of my picks of the year, José Navas en solo. Contemporary dance-master José Navas blew me away with his performance, which featured his works created from 1992 to present. Both athletic and graceful, Navas was stunning in the four pieces. He took a breather while Annik Hamel took the stage and performed his always delightful piece Côté coeur, côté jardin. And at the end of it all, a thunderous standing ovation. Word of mouth quickly spread, performances sold out, and the show’s original run was extended.

Speaking of standing Os, there was one at Place des Arts in November that just kept going, going and going. One of the many large-ensemble foreign dance companies that made a stop in Montreal this year, Spanish choreographer Nacho Duato and his Compañía Nacional de Danza lifted people off their feet after the final bars of the program Bach: Multiplicity. Forms of Silence and Emptiness. Duato’s lithe dancers executed their movements with a sharpness, and his beautiful and often witty choreography makes the corner of your mouth turn up when cello bows unexpectedly become swords, or a woman a musical instrument.

The same month, artistic director/choreographer Paulo Pederneiras brought his company Groupo Corpo from Brazil to the city for the first time. The 21-member group finished the evening with a bang in the program’s second piece, O Corpo. Set to a rhythmic and driving electronic soundtrack by composer Arnaldo Antunes, beautifully costumed dancers performed repetitive movements with accuracy and enthusiasm.

Baila Beckett

On a smaller stage this spring at Tangente, as part of Danza! Dança nouvelle danse latine series, two women from Barcelona performed in Una media de dos (o pocas veces más) and left their marks. So much in fact that Montreal Highlights Festival picked it up. So if you missed the show in the spring, don’t fret, you can catch it again this winter. In this theatrical, quirky work inspired by the writings of Samuel Beckett, choreographer Ana Eulate with dancer Mercedes Recacha masterfully tackled the ups and downs of daily life with specks of humour.

In another intimate venue, at the MAI for the Fringe Fest during an uncharacteristic lukewarm summer, the show ZPLASH! by The Wendy Osserman Dance Company and Aszure Barton lifted my spirits. The performance definitely made an unexpected splash in my books, especially a tightly knit choreography by Barton entitled Mais We, where, on stage, a mix of New York City artists and dancers from Les Ballets Jazz de Montréal joined in a coalescence of movement, beats and cultures.

And way back when in January, a certain Roboten Ballet, by choreographer/dancer Jacques Moisan kept me intrigued with its treatment of the theme of humans and machines. Taking movements created from a 3D animation program, Moisan created a duet for himself and dancer Catherine Tardiff. The two performers were separated by a screen onto which videos of the robots were projected, and the audience was free to circulate around the room, giving each spectator a unique perspective of the show. It was set to an excellent soundtrack by composer Michel F. Côté, who was part of the show not only musically, but visually too. Let me tell you, his sound creation was a performance in itself.

And last but not least, 2002 marked a year of loss in the Montreal contemporary dance community with the passings of Robert Duplessis, former general director of Tangente, and choreographer Jean-Pierre Perreault, who this fall received a Governor General’s Performing Arts Award. They and their contributions to the community will be missed. •