Canadian Season 2003 at the Archa Theatre
Organized by the Archa Theatre under the auspices of the Canadian Embassy.
November 7 and 8, 2003
O Vertigo: Luna
LUNA is of an opalescent clarity, where one can see the lunar dreams choreographed by Ginette Laurin, and how she moulds sensual landscapes from the human body: from the infinitely large, under lens which sharpen the details, to the infinitely small within the swirls of diaphanous fabric. In a dynamic succession of choreographic sequences, the nine dancers are, in turn, matter and substratum, swept up in the flow of movements through a refined and complex gestural vocabulary. In a vibrant succession of sequences, the dance is at once smooth and dynamic, intimate and laid bare, flowing from body to body in embraces and contact which infuse Luna with a mixture of softness, frenzy, passion and abandon. Through magnifying glasses scattered across the stage, LUNA reveals the delicate mechanics of the body, including the subtlest facial expressions. The underlying emotion is thus bared for all to see. LUNA, and an unforgettable perspective on the hidden side of dance.
Luna, O Vertigo. Photo: Benoît Aquin. Dancer: Anna Riede and Mélanie Demers.
Founded in 1984, O Vertigo Danse is a cultural organization devoted to creation in new dance and to the presentation of the works of its founder, Artistic Director and Choreographer, Ginette Laurin. Renowned on the national and international scene, O Vertigo has toured extensively in Québec, Canada, the United States, Europe, Brazil, Mexico, Israel and Japan - thus contributing to the reputation Montréal has gained as a focal point in the world of dance today. O Vertigo has been invited to perform at prestigious festivals, such as New York's Next Wave Festival, the Festival Internacional Cervantino, the Tanz 96 of the Wiener Festwochen in Vienna, the Biennale internationale de la danse de Lyon, the Festival de Châteauvallon, the Israël Festival in Jerusalem, the Canada Dance Festival and the Festival international de danse de Montréal.
"Luna is an exhaliring brew, a perfectly orchestrated blend of flights of lyricism, explosive dance, and intense moments of intimacy and communion. A delight from beginning to end." (La Presse, Montreal, September, 2001)
"This is uplifting, heavenly dance, inspired by the moon, but as much about celebrating the cycle of humanity that lives under its pale, magical light." (The Guardian, Glasgow, March 2002)
"...fantastic images like those created by Goya and Füssli." (Frankfurter Allgemeine Zeitung, Düsseldorf, February 2001)
www.overtigo.com
November 13 and 14, 2003
da da kamera
Daniel MacIvor: In On It
A spiraling narrative about a dying man trying to make plans for the end, a pair of lovers trying to make it work and two men trying to make a play. A world where accidents happen. A story about control. A play that keeps its options open.
da da kamera is the company of Daniel MacIvor and Sherrie Johnson and has been producing new work since 1986. The company's focus is on creation, placing no limits on the time it takes for a project's development and eschewing traditional roles in order to focus on what is necessary for an individual project's realization. At da da kamera we believe in the life, breath, and spontaneity of the work and reject the decorative and formulaic in order to develop the essential connection: the clear and simple exchange of energy between the performer and the audience.
"da da kamera are currently at the forefront of English-speaking Canada's dynamic theatre scene and In On It is evidence of what is to be gained from their trademark meticulous months of rehearsal: the actors speak volumes in a few sparse syllables, and the events portrayed seem all the more real for their shadowy complexity." (Hettie Judah, The Times, London, England)
www.dadakamera.com
November 20 - 22, 2003
Jacob Wren / PME: Unrehearsed Beauty
A performance in the form of a rock band. An attempt to turn the theatre into a public forum for the expression of political and personal ideas. An opportunity to find out whether it is possible, over the course of an hour, for us to form some sort of contingent, temporary community with the audience. As all of these things and more, Unrehearsed Beauty combines intense moral ambivalence with a touching desire to live in a world in which ones thoughts and feelings might actually have some genuine societal effect. In a world defined by too much or not enough work and a general sense of virtually meaningless consumer over-stimulation, Unrehearsed Beauty attempts to forge a direct sense of community with the audience - a chance to speak quietly about the things which really matter, play some songs which make us kind of happy even if we don't play them as well as we might, and create a small fissure in the impossible through which something possible might gently emerge.
PME has been recognised throughout Europe with it's last production En français comme en anglais, it's easy to criticize which has been performed in Norway, the Czech Republic, Germany, Portugal, France, England, Wales, Croatia, Sweden and Belgium as well as in New York, Toronto, Quebec City and three times in Montreal at Tangente, Usine C and the Festival de Théâtre des Amériques. So far Unrehearsed Beauty / Le Génie des Autres has been presented in Hamburg, Berlin and Tokyo with upcoming performances scheduled for Cardiff, Glasgow, Manchester, Bergen, Oslo, Trondheim and Prague.
"Part dance, part social critique, part heady fucking around... PME interrogates the idea of performance itself. But it never fails to be that performance, and a damn good one... God Bless Canada." (Brian Parks, The Village Voice, New York)
December 4 - 6, 2003
Holy Body Tattoo & Tiger Lillies: Circa
A celebration of the sensual forces of submission and control, Circa is imbued with the dark beauty of decay and the (unspoken) language of desire. Saturated with smoky tango and cabaret debauchery, it is a raw duet evocative of the tangled rituals of foreplay, unfulfilled desires embraced, the imprints of old lives, and the shadowy yet uncompromising eroticism.
Performed by choreographers Noam Gagnon and Dana Gingras, Circa features original music by England's infamous ensemble "The Tiger Lilies", Australian violinist Warren Ellis (The Dirty three), Steven Severin (formerly of Souixie and the Banshees), film elements by Grammy Award filmmaker nominee William Morrison, set design by acclaimed designer Steven Gilmore and lighting design by Marc Parent. Founded in 1993, The Holy Body Tattoo seeks a performance language, which gathers a sense of humanity through effort, repetition, scale and humility. Co-Artistic director and choreographers Gagnon and Gingras have performed independently for many of Canada's leading choreographers and have danced together since 1987. The company reflects upon (and reflects outwardly) the concerns, ideas and attitudes of contemporary popular culture, locating a sense of conscience and hope through intense physicality and deeply sought courage.
"More art than dance, the highly visual work of The Holy Body Tattoo skyrockets dance theatre into new realms. Like a black and white photo seen as it develops, The Holy Body Tattoo's tight, fast, repetitive movement slowly sears itself onto the mind, clearly and indelibly." (The Washington Post)
www.holybodytattoo.org
December 7, 2003
Tiger Lillies in concert
All performances will take place in the newly renovated Archa Theatre.
