Category Archives: Dance

The EZ Montreal Art Podcast: Tino Sehgal

Howdy!

In season two, episode seven of the EZ Montreal Art Podcast, Eloi Desjardins and Chris ‘Zeke’ Hand discuss the recent exhibit by Tino Sehgal at the Musée d’art contemporain de Montréal.

The EZ Montreal Podcast: Tino Sehgal

Listen (22:59):

Download: Ogg Vorbis 14MB, MP3 28MB, Flac 73MB, WAV 232MB.

Performers of Kiss, 2007 and This Situation, 2007 © Philippe Casgrain
Performers of Kiss, 2007 and This Situation, 2007 © Philippe Casgrain

Some YouTube videos of Tino Sehgal’s work

Some of the local dance companies that are doing similar stuff to Mr. Sehgal, just not in museums:
Paul Andre Fortier, Sylvain Emard Danse, Marie Chouinard, Les Imprudanses, Ballet de Ruelle.

Lucio Fontana is the Italian artist that Zeke could not remember.

And if you want to see Jackie Robinson in The Jackie Robinson Story…

And if you would like to hear (or download) the interview that Eloi did with Asad Raza, click on the appropriate links:
Download: Ogg Vorbis 6MB, MP3 14MB, Flac 46MB, WAV 83MB.

If you have the answer to the trivia question email us at ezmontrealart@gmail.com and you can win fabulous prizes!

And finally, the podcast referred to at the end as season two, episode eight, is actually Season 2, episode 5.5. we recorded it out of order. Apologies for any confusion.

Continue reading The EZ Montreal Art Podcast: Tino Sehgal

La Otra Orilla, HomoBLABLAtus (a ridiculously long and incredibly detailed review)

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Once again, as per normal I’m a little late on this one. Back in January I saw HomoBLABLAtus at La Cinquieme Salle of Place des Arts, the latest performance from La Otra Orilla. I initially thought of trying to do a video review, but then changed my mind. It still took a while to do.

La Otra Orilla, HomoBLABLAtus

Listen (16:50):

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Download: Ogg Vorbis 10MB, MP3 20MB, Flac 63MB, WAV 170MB.

La Otra Orilla, d'HomoBLABLAtus. Photo Lydia Pawelak, courtesy La Otra Orilla
La Otra Orilla, d’HomoBLABLAtus. Photo Lydia Pawelak, courtesy La Otra Orilla

Continue reading La Otra Orilla, HomoBLABLAtus (a ridiculously long and incredibly detailed review)

From the archives: Victor Quijada and Marie-Eve Albert interviewed

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I was recently going through some misfiled stuff of mine at Archive.org, and came across this interview I did with Victor Quijada from Rubberbandance Group back in 2009. It hasn’t gotten much love since then as it was not in the Zeke’s Gallery collection at Archive.org among other reasons. I gave it a listen and still get a big kick out of it. Thought you might like to hear it as well.

Listen (13:45):

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Download:
MP3 14MB, Ogg Vorbis 24MB, Stream

I also rediscovered this gem, also from 2009. where I spoke with Marie-Eve Albert from Imprudanses (and if you like it, they are performing on February 3 at Café Campus – go see them. They are awesome!)

Listen (11:05):

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Download:
MP3 10MB, Ogg Vorbis 8MB, Stream

Two things occurred to me while going through the misfiled stuff, a) sometime this year I am going to upload my 1,000 podcast and b) I have some work to do in order to clean things up.

Les Ballets Jazz de Montréal 40th Anniversary Program. Fuel, Closer and Harry.

Howdy!

This audio business isn’t as easy as falling out of bed… I initially recorded this piece about the performance of Les Ballets Jazz de Montréal that I saw somewhere at the very beginning of October. And here it is, the beginning of November and I’m finally able to post it. Go Figure!

Les Ballets Jazz de Montréal 40th Anniversary Program. Fuel, Closer and Harry.

Listen (34:30):

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Download: Ogg Vorbis 21MB, MP3 35MB, Flac 174MB, WAV 348MB.

The other review that I reference is this one, from Rover by someone named Cerys Wilson. There are also reviews from Dfdanse and Dance News Montreal. If you’d like to hear Fuel by Julia Wolfe click on this link. If you’d like to hear Mad Rush by Philip Glass, click on this link. Unfortunately I do not have the playlist for Harry.

The Ballets Jazz de Montreal’s calendar is here. (From my quick scan, they were last here in January 2011 and I don’t know when before that as it doesn’t go further back than 2008. Their blurbs on Fuel and Harry are here and here. It appears that whomever is responsible for their website doesn’t consider Closer as being in their repertoire.

I initially wanted to list off all the dancer’s names (for what would the performance be without the dancers?) But for the most part, they don’t have individual websites and I no longer have my list of who danced in what. So I’m going to have to settle for a simple list copy/pasted from Les Ballets Jazz de Montréal’s website. Antonios Bougiouris, Morgane Le Tiec, Céline Cassone, Alexander Hille, Christina Bodie, James Gregg, Kevin Delaney, Christian Denice, Youri De Wilde, Alyssa Desmarais, Brett Taylor, Alexandra Gherchman, Andie Masazza. They all were very good. (But what I don’t understand is how they can all simultaneously also be former dancers from Les Ballets Jazz de Montréal. It doesn’tmake sense to me at all).

And lastly the background music during my piece is from Jazz Friends 2012

Seen on Saint Denis, x-mal Mensch Stuhl by Angie Hiesl and Roland Kaiser

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Saw this yesterday in thre alleyway that leads to the library, near the corner of Emory. It’s part of the FTA and called x-mal Mensch Stuhl by Angie Hiesl and Roland Kaiser and is exactly what it looks like. Obviously this was a dress rehearsal because they are really supposed to perform today at 6:00 pm and then on May 25 at 6:00 pm, May 26 at 3:00 pm and May 27 at 3:00 pm, for an hour each day.

x-mal Mensch Stuhl by Angie Hiesl and Roland Kaiser at the Festival TransAmériques
x-mal Mensch Stuhl by Angie Hiesl and Roland Kaiser at the Festival TransAmériques
x-mal Mensch Stuhl by Angie Hiesl and Roland Kaiser at the Festival TransAmériques
x-mal Mensch Stuhl by Angie Hiesl and Roland Kaiser at the Festival TransAmériques
x-mal Mensch Stuhl by Angie Hiesl and Roland Kaiser at the Festival TransAmériques
x-mal Mensch Stuhl by Angie Hiesl and Roland Kaiser at the Festival TransAmériques
x-mal Mensch Stuhl by Angie Hiesl and Roland Kaiser at the Festival TransAmériques
x-mal Mensch Stuhl by Angie Hiesl and Roland Kaiser at the Festival TransAmériques
x-mal Mensch Stuhl by Angie Hiesl and Roland Kaiser at the Festival TransAmériques
x-mal Mensch Stuhl by Angie Hiesl and Roland Kaiser at the Festival TransAmériques
x-mal Mensch Stuhl by Angie Hiesl and Roland Kaiser at the Festival TransAmériques
x-mal Mensch Stuhl by Angie Hiesl and Roland Kaiser at the Festival TransAmériques
x-mal Mensch Stuhl by Angie Hiesl and Roland Kaiser at the Festival TransAmériques
x-mal Mensch Stuhl by Angie Hiesl and Roland Kaiser at the Festival TransAmériques
x-mal Mensch Stuhl by Angie Hiesl and Roland Kaiser at the Festival TransAmériques
x-mal Mensch Stuhl by Angie Hiesl and Roland Kaiser at the Festival TransAmériques

Montreal Completement Cirque – Chute Libre

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Last week I was invited to the press conference for Montreal Completement Cirque. It was a grand affair and lots of fun. This is part six of what you can look forward to…

On July 7, 8 and 9 Chute Libre will present their show La Cuisine de Pan at Usine C. Tickets cost $20.25 to $41.25.

Je Suis Un Autre by Catherine Gaudet with Dany Desjardins and Caroline Gravel

Howdy!

Last month I went to La Chapelle to see Je Suis Un Autre by Catherine Gaudet with Dany Desjardins and Caroline Gravel. According to the press fluff that accompanied the show (and the program) Ms. Gaudet was attempting to show the multiplicity of beings along with the ambiguity that is hidden under the surface (my bastard translation of “cherche à mettre à jour la multiplicité et l’ambiguïté de l’être qui se cachent sous leur vernis.

First off, there seems to be some history behind the concept of “Je Suis Un Autre.” Doing a simple Google search, first tosses up something written by Arthur Rimbaud that is written way to academically for me to even be able to concentrate on it for more than 30 seconds.

By the way, for the squareheads in the house, “Je suis un autre.” Translates as “I am another.” And once you sink your teeth into that concept you can keep running for miles and miles if you so desire. I don’t desire. I’m a big fan of Satchel Paige‘s fifth rule for staying young, so feel free to do with the concept of The Other as you see fit.

But then a little further down on the Google results page I came across this doozy.

I don’t think the Zug Im Veins song has anything to do with anything at all, but can serve as a kind of touchstone about the theory behind Quebecois dance. For the most part, from where I’ve been sitting, they seem to presume that they exist in some kind of bubble. More frequently, the choreographers just explain what they are trying to do and how they accomplished it. Very rarely will you hear or read about where some creation came from. The sources of inspiration, the antecedents, the parallels. Or if they are there and I am just missing them, would someone please whack me upside the head and point them out to me next time? Please and thank you.

Because there is a song by Georges Moustaki which does have everything to do with the performance by Dany Desjardins and Caroline Gravel

Je suis un débutant aux tempes qui blanchissent
Un beatnick vieillissant patriarche novice
Jardinier libertin aux goûts d’aventurier
Voyageur immobile et rêveur éveillé

Je suis de ces lézards qui naissent fatigués
Un optimiste amer un pessimiste gai
Un homme d’aujourd’hui à la barbe d’apôtre
Je peux être tout ça pourtant je suis un autre

Je suis toi je suis moi je suis qui me ressemble
Et je ressemble à ceux qui font la route ensemble
Pour chercher quelque chose et pour changer la vie
Plutôt que de mourir d’un rêve inassouvi

Avec eux je m’en vais partout où le vent souffle
Partout où c’est la fête et partout où l’on souffre
Mais lorsque je m’endors au creux des herbes hautes
Je me retrouve seul et je me sens un autre

Je suis venu ce soir la guitare à mon cou
Partager mes chansons et rêver avec vous
Crier d’une voix sourde toutes mes révoltes
Et parler de mes peines d’un air désinvolte

J’ai laissé au vestiaire un reste de pudeur
Pour mieux me découvrir devant les projecteurs
Et chanter les amours qui sont un peu les vôtres
Qui sont les miennes même si je suis un autre

Which when dumped into Google Translate becomes

I am a beginner at the temples that whiten
A beatnik aging patriarch novice
Gardener libertine tastes of adventure
Stationary traveler and daydreamer

I’m one of those lizards that are born tired
An optimistic pessimist bitter gay one
A modern man with the beard of an apostle
I can be all that I am yet another

I am you I am who I like me
And I like those who make the journey together
To search for something and to change lives
Rather than dying of a dream unfulfilled

With them I go wherever the wind blows
Wherever the party and everywhere where people suffer
But when I fall asleep in the hollow of grass
I find myself alone and I feel another

I have come tonight to the guitar around my neck
Share my songs and dream with you
Shouting in a hoarse voice all my rebellion
And talk about my troubles with an air of casual

I left the locker room a remnant of shame
To better find me in front projectors
Sing and the loves that are a bit yours
Which are mine even if I am another

Sorry, but they haven’t quite figured out how to do machine translations that rhyme.

Anyhows this is just a very long winded way of saying that Ms. Gaudet writes in the program (and in the press fluff that accompanied the show) “…je suis une zone ambiguë et floue, je suis tout et son contraire. Je suis végétal, animal, matière en devenir.” (for the blokes: I am fluid and ambiguous, I am everything and its opposite. I am vegetable, animal, stuff not yet made.) Which if you don’t look too closely is pretty much the same gosh darn thing that M. Moustaki sings (sorry that I wasn’t able to find a copy of the song). I (and by extension the other members of the audience) shouldn’t be having to do research to figure out where a performance is coming from. Heck, maybe even next time, they can figure out some way to incorporate the song into the performance.

Speak of performing, I should at some point get around to talking about it, dontcha think? Judging from the promo videos

and

And how they are not at all related to anything I remember seeing, my guess would be that this was not an easy show to get to stage, and when it is performed at the OFFTA later this year it’s going to be still different.

For the most part, I will take the harsh, rude, nasty and unkind side and say that I don’t think Ms. Gaudet succeeded in showing how bodies react when freed from feelings, emotions and consequences. Which isn’t to say Je Suis Un Autre was a bad performance, quite the contrary. A full month after the fact and I still get all warm and fuzzy when thinking about it. Ms. Gravel and M. Desjardins were extremely tight (I don’t know what it is but when when I see people jumping up and down at the same time and only hear one thump every time they land I get goosebumps on my arms, the hair on the back of my neck stands up and I scrawl in really big letters on my notepad “OMG! They’re AWESOME!!!!” I think it might have something to do with my inability to jump up and down and make only one thump when I land) and there were a bunch, not quite a plethora, but a significant number of tableaus that I thought were quite nice.

My take on the piece is kind of like when I tried to make crab cakes. For some reason, I forgot to strain the (frozen) crab meat. As a consequence when I went to fry the mixture and it ended up being more like a mash than a cake. Everyone, without exception, told me it was delicious and scrumptious. But to me it wasn’t crab cake, it was fried crab mash. Sometimes in a performance you got good dancers doing bad moves precisely. Other times you might have bad dancers doing great moves badly. Then there are still times when you have great dancers doing great moves precisely. That was the case here. The only fault I would find is in the explanation of the moves. Which was like me trying to pass off my mash as cakes. Trying to pass off the movements as giving some concept of “other” just did not come through in any way, shape or form. Even if it wasn’t Rimbaud’s or Moustaki’s concept of the other.

But thankfully there’s this guy Rick Allison.

He also wrote a song called “Je Suis Un Autre.” But his take on being an other, was more pedestrian and simple. In the song he basically outs himself as a liar. While I would not go so far as to call Ms. Gaudet a liar, I do think that she might have worn some blinders while working on the piece that prevented her from seeing it from a distance.

Ms. Gaudet and Fred Gravel, the lighting designer for the show, are members of what I would call a loose collective of choreographers and dancers, 2e Porte à Gauche. From where I sit at their performances, they seem to me to be similar to the cool kids in high school. No matter what they do, everyone thinks it’s amazing and wonderful. Their parties are always the most popular, and your mom always asks you why you can’t be more like them.

I don’t think I’ve ever read a negative or bad review of something done by one of the members of the 2e Porte à Gauche, unless it was one I had written myself. Given the amount of dance that happens here in Montreal, it seems to me that they get an inordinate amount of press (specifically covers on Voir). But then again, I have not done any systematic study, and as I am fond of saying, I have been wrong in the past, and I will be wrong in the future.

So, what’s the upshot of all of this? I dunno. Since Je Suis Un Autre will be performed as part of this year’s OffTA, I’d strongly suggest going to see it. But I also have some sinking suspicion that the performance there is going to be very different from the performance I saw last month. Which means you gotta have faith in M. Desjardins’ and Ms. Gravel’s ability to dance, since if Ms. Gaudet is going to create some kind of new performance each time until she gets it right, and just reuse the name then I’m not really going to have any confidence in what she calls it.

Kind of like Ella’s version of Mack the Knife, where she forgets the lyrics. Yes, the song is a great song, but it is her performance of the song that is absofuckinglutely incredible. And just to hammer home the point; can you name the person who translated the Kurt Weill’s lyrics into English? When you have great performers, just about anything they do is wonderful. It doesn’t matter what the title is, nor the theory behind it.

Didn’t think so.

Lucy Lost her Heart by Mark Lawes at Usine C

Howdy!

I’m real tardy on this one. I don’t know quite exactly what happened, but something like a little over a month ago, I saw this very nicely done performance, from of all places, Calgary. I don’t quite know what happened in between then and now, that caused me to postpone writing this for so long (actually, I’m being disingenuous, I know exactly what was up, I’m just not quite prepared at this time to be completely transparent about it, bear with me, if you will) but this morning I received a copy of Canadian Whisky by Davin de Kergommeaux and I made a solemn vow to myself. I would write up all the other reviews that I had been lollygagging about while reading Canadian Whisky by Davin de Kergommeaux in order to have a completely clear conscience.

So not only will I be catching up on Lucy Lost her Heart by Mark Lawes at Usine C, but there also should (will?) be reviews on Blowing Up the Brand, the Berlinde De Bruyckere show at DHC, The Marcel Brisebois biography, Michael Merrill’s exhibit and catalogue from the Visual Arts Centre, some overly academic book on graffiti that I was sent, Je Suis Un Autre, Bettina Forget’s One Random Year, Soak, Kiss and Cry, Compagnie Käfig, Publicité Sauvage’s catalogue and exhibits and the Alvin Ailey American Dance Theatre.

Hmmmm, I think it might be a good thing that I am a very slow reader. Unfortunately, I’m not a very fast writer. But if you hadn’t figured it out already, “baited breath,” breathless anticipation,” and flat, outright drooling don’t even become close to expressing how much I’ve been anticipating Canadian Whisky by Davin de Kergommeaux.

I also apologize, because I now realize that I might refer to some of the other shows while reviewing the one at hand, and while a month or so might be bad in terms of a performance, my behavior has been completely and utterly unprofessional when it comes to the books (I don’t have exact dates, but I think I might be more than a year behind schedule with regards to things that are bound). But, with some luck (and some understanding PR folk) I’ll be able to get everything back in order in something like two weeks. Bear with me, and I hope that the catching up is entertaining.

But lets get back to business. If you want the short version I liked Lucy Lost her Heart by Mark Lawes at Usine C. If you want the long version, keep scrolling.

A couple of things to point out in advance of me opinionating on things, A) after reading a number of negative reviews of Lucy Lost her Heart by Mark Lawes at Usine C I wondered if anyone had bothered to keep track of the positive versus the negative reviews of shows at Usine C. Usine C is pushing whatever is beyond the edge of the envelope with regards to theatre and dance and performance and that sort of stuff, and while I have not done a systematic study, my guess would be that negative reviews are the norm, and they have become accustomed to it. B) There’s some sort of new hybrid-type of performance that really needs to find a name soon. Because a hybrid performance with some dance, some theatre, some video and some other stuff is not likely to appeal to a dance critic, nor a theatre critic, nor a film critic. C) I wish I would have had the opportunity to ask Mr. Lawes if he knew about Centralia, PA and D) given the current state of affairs here in Canada how can you not just unconditionally love some bilingual hybrid performance art that pushes the envelope and comes from Calgary?

Now that I’ve got that off my chest (especially the part about Centralia, PA – despite reading that Wayne, AB served as the inspiration for the performance, I feel extremely strongly that Centralia, PA echos the concept better) let’s get it on with regards to the actual performance that I saw (or what I can remember about it a month after the fact).

The thing that strikes home hardest, is that in my notes I wrote, “this is pretty cool.” During a performance, when I am writing my notes, I’m never quite certain if I want to be like the Danny Gallivan and try and describe every gosh darn movement that happens on stage, or if I want to be more like Dick Irvin Jr. and just relax and explain why and how things are happening. So when I discover in my notes, that I actually wrote something opinionated, I gotta take a step back and accept it, even if I don’t remember writing it. Because for the most part, I end up writing more play-by-play than color.

Then combine that with the fact that more than a month after having seen the hybrid performance (does anybody else have a better term that can be used? Please!) upon re-reading my notes I can actually remember the performance (and while I wouldn’t quite say the words “Broadway Smash!” I would say “Two Thumbs Up”) leads me to believe that Mr. Lawes and Co. are on the right track.

I guess at this point, it would be as good as any to try and explain the plot: In short; five people are stuck in an abandoned mine and can’t quite find their way out. I’m not quite sure if the plot really is the be-all-and-end-all, From where I was sitting it seemed to me to be more like some sort of vehicle to further Mr. Lawes‘ idea of what should be contemporary performance.

As an example Stephen Turner, playing the part of Pierre; for the most part I have self-identified as a dance critic, and went into Lucy Lost her Heart by Mark Lawes at Usine C as if I was covering a dance, but what are you going to do when one of the performers looks like they have a BMI of 35?

Stephen P Turner, photo courtesy stephenpturner.com
Stephen P Turner, photo courtesy stephenpturner.com

Where I was brought up, dancers were supposed to have BMI’s of 15 or less. And it is exactly this pushing of the boundaries that makes Lucy Lost her Heart by Mark Lawes a success.

I think that for the most part, trying to make sense out of the story ultimately is an exercise in frustration. As far as I could tell, it wasn’t really intended to do more than impart a feeling, a sensation or an emotion depending on where you are in the performance. Letting it flow over or around you kind of like a river is how I ended up dealing with it. Yes, each of the characters has a name and a history, but ultimately it doesn’t really matter. Hence why I identify it more with the history of Centralia, PA instead of Wayne, AB.

I also gotta say that there is a tremendous difference (for the good) when a performance (hybrid, or not) is done with live music. Chris Dadge did a great job as both musician and narrator kind of, not exactly holding things together, but more like making sure that they didn’t stray too far away.

Which is not to say that the other performers, Raphaele Thiriet, Ian Killburn, Isabelle Kirouac and Mike Tan weren’t carrying their weight. Just that they were playing music or painting rocks. In an ensemble piece, like this one, there are certain times when the sum of the individual parts is less than the total of the whole. And that was most definitely the case with Lucy Lost Her Heart.

Whether you decide that it is some kind of post-apocalyptic 21st century hybrid performance, or that it is “a surreal landscape of stories and dreams … in a world where inventing stories makes the future possible.” Or something else entirely, it is an interesting hybrid performance that pushes boundaries in a bunch of really good ways. Some of which don’t even take place on stage.

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