Au naturel

There's a particular tingling feeling that comes from standing in a sun-dappled forest as treetops sway spookily in the wind, or walking barefoot over pine needles in the middle of the night to skinny dip in a still black lake. Untamed landscapes give us the sense of being wonderfully, powerfully alive while simultaneously overwhelming us with some unknowable infinity in which we're just meaningless specks.

Our sometimes-ambivalent relationship to the natural world is the theme of This Side, the first solo show by photographer Elena Willis. Her shadowy, large-scale prints of humans in wild settings evoke the beauty and fear in the forces of nature, often hinting at deeper truths. "I've become very interested in exploring the possibilities of how the inevitability of death gives structure to the way we live our lives," she notes.

Willis doesn't use photography to document moments, instead she carefully stages her shots to achieve a mythical atmosphere. "The work is intuitive," she says. "I want to project the idea of something bigger and greater than ourselves and what we know, surrounding us."

This Side opens tonight, Thursday, April 1, 6 p.m., and runs through April 18 at 372 Ste-Catherine W., Suite 306. » Sarah Musgrave

Vehicular verse

The Vehicule Poets - Endre Farkas, Artie Gold, Tom Konyves, Claudia Lapp, John McAuley, Stephen Morrissey and Ken Norris - were a force for innovation in the '70s, radically reworking the word through the page, the stage, audio and video recordings. Twenty-five years after their first anthology was published, the Musée d'art contemporain is presenting Cabaret Vehicule, a performance event and launch party for Vehicule Poets_Now.

The first set is performed by Step Dans Fuego, directed by Liz Valdez. According to Farkas, "I got the okay from the other poets to take their poems and adapt them to movement and performance. What comes out really is an interesting through-line - you get the sense that there's a journey here, there's a véhicule in motion!" The second set features a rare gathering of the seven original poets reading new works. Thursday, April 8, 8 p.m., (Cinquième Salle, Place des Arts - entry through the Musée), free. » Vincent Tinguely

BSDM megabash

Something you'll definitely want to bring the kids to this weekend is the Fetish Cabaret going down at Club Cleopatra (1230 St-Laurent), Friday, April 2, at 11 p.m. for a mere 10 bucks. Presented by www.attitudes.ca, a totally kick-ass Web site devoted to the local bdsm/fetish scene, the Fetish Cabaret promises to be like no variety show you've seen before. Men sticking sharp things in to their voluptuous fake breasts, naked chicks being lit on fire, the legendary Mr. Chief whacking a few of his many submissive friends around, a portion of the door going to AIDS Community Care Montreal [ACCM]… why hot diggidy dog, this is a night no self-respecting pervert will want to miss! See you there. » Chris Barry

Choreographed critters

For choreographer Namchi Bazar, forest guardians and mystical water creatures were once only imaginary beings, but now the critters have migrated from mind to stage. Her choreography, Phormosis, is part of this year's Les Printemps de la Danse, where, during the annual spring melt, a handful of emerging local choreographers tour the city's culture houses.

"I'm definitely crazy about the forest and nature," says Bazar, who made the move from the Gulf Islands to the urban jungle and has been based out of Montreal since she graduated from the Concordia dance program. However, Bazar says she is looking forward to going home after the tour: "It's good to have a creative escape from the concrete."

Also on the bill, Sonya Biernath and Lük Fleury, who modernizes the traditional jig, starting at MdlC Mercier, Apr. 7, continuing at Frontenac, Apr. 14; Plateau-Mont-Royal, Apr. 15; N.D.G., Apr. 22; Ahuntsic, Apr. 24, and at C.D.N., Apr. 27. See the stage listings for more info.» Marites Carino

Is it Art?

QUEBEC HYDRO: The latest trend on the U.S. relaxation scene is finally shooting into la belle province. D-Stress Automated Massage Center has just introduced the Ocean Wave Massage Bed, a hydrotherapy device that combines flotation, heat and massage into total body bliss. Nine mighty aqua jets propel water at the user, who lies half-sunken into the thing, but conveniently separated from the water by an impermeable surface. That means you get all the hydro benefits without having to take off your clothes. Even more convenient, the makers promise that a 20-minute session gives the same effects as a one-hour session from a human masseuse. Expect Ocean Wave Beds in spas and tanning salons (total beach simulation!) soon, or see www.oceanwavequebec.com for more info.

ArtsHole

GOLDEN ERA GLIMPSES: Last chance to catch Jack Beder's City Lights at the Leonard and Bina Gallery (1400 de Maisonneuve W., room LB-165). Beder (1910-1987) brings back the people and places of '30s and '40s downtown Montreal through his modernist drawings and paintings, which are on display in conjunction with an exhibition of photos from Montreal's jazz and nightclub scene from the same era. It runs until April 3. • HOT SEAT: Toronto pro-cycling activist and erotic photographer Darren Stehr brings his nude shots, gratify, satisfy, click (no word on his bike) to Venez Tels Quels (5427 St-Laurent), where they'll be on display until April 30.

ARTISTAT: Number of weeks dancer/choreographer Mariko Tanabe and director Jan Komarek spent collaborating leading up to Tanabe's solo piece, Narcisse en silence, running at the MAI (3680 Jeanne-Mance) from April 7-10: 12

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