BEHIND: une danse dont vous êtes le héros

Maribé – Sors De Ce Corps /

Montréal

#FTA_behind

Fill in the Blanks
Why would a choreographer direct her dancers without ever seeing how their bodies inhabit the space? Marie Béland imposed that mad constraint in a bold experiment, BEHIND: une danse dont vous êtes le héros, where she invites the audience to view the choreography through the keyhole, as it were. It is up to us to observe the shadows made by the dancers and the diffuse reflection of their silhouettes and then fill in the blanks, piecing together the portrait of a couple’s increasingly forceful back-and-forth by interpreting visual and sound clues that are dispensed sparingly. And when is she going to open the damn panels that obstruct our vision?

One of the most dynamic young choreographers of her generation, Marie Béland asks radical questions in this short piece about codes of representation and the dancers’ relation to the spectator. A whimsical sensory experience alive with the playful and the unexpected.

Marie Béland

Marie Béland, In Search of a Wide Audience
Since graduating from UQAM in 2003 Marie Béland has been working constantly, with 10 choreographies to her credit. Keen on demystifying contemporary dance in order to reach a larger audience, she employs theatricality, humour and live musicians like MC Gilles in Dieu ne t’a pas créé juste pour danser and the group Avec pas d'casque in BEHIND… To further engage the audience, she co-founded the dynamic organization La 2^e porte à gauche. She also co-founded and is a performer with the interdisciplinary collective Le P.I.Q.U.A.N.T., and a dancer in concerts by the group Handclaps.

maribé – sors de ce corps: Expansive Approach
Founded in 2005, the company produces works for the general public such as BEHIND… and Dieu ne t’a pas créé…, as well as pieces for young audiences such as RAYON X: a true decoy story and Twis-manivelle, along with in situ performance pieces such as Les précédents, an outdoor choreographic architecture project. In its approach it questions the very medium of dance, exposing the underpinnings of the form and what goes on behind the scenes, so that the spectator becomes the person spoken to or, at times, the very source of inspiration. A view of dance that serves as a pretext for a delightful study of human nature.

Press Quote(s)

« BEHIND: une danse dont vous êtes le héros s'est révélée un petit bijou de mystère et de subtilité, une pièce qui s'épanouit lentement et sûrement comme une fleur nocturne. (…) La contemplation nous prend, une impression de rêver les yeux ouverts, devant ces formes et déformes mouvantes, nous tient. Plus la pièce avance, plus on s'habitue à cette parcimonie des sens, et plus les danseurs donnent des indices de souffle, de voix et de sons. De l'eau coulée au sol (…) permet, reflet dans l'eau, de voir mieux ce qui se passe de l'autre côté du mur. »

Catherine Lalonde, Le Devoir, 03/12/2010

« Les trucs scénographiques sont ravissants, les Avec pas d’casque craquants et le tout (ahurissant) est doté d’un tempo et d’une jugeote de montrer juste ce qu’il faut au bon moment, à en faire baver les plus habiles strip-teaseuses et la renommée de Mary Higgins Clark. »

Marion Gerbier, Dfdanse.com

“BEHIND's conceit lies in a wall separating audiences and performers (…), barely betraying what's happening behind the separation."People will perceive sounds of voices and flashes of bodies from time to time" says Béland, but the hero of the title is in fact every individual seated in the house. (…) She (…) orchestrates all of the elements, with sensitivity to form and a spray of vibrant colours. Live music on stage is another resonant feature”

Philippe Szporer, Hour, 25/11/2010

Credits

PRODUCED BY MARIBÉ – SORS DE CE CORPS

CREATED BY MARIE BÉLAND ARTISTIC CONTRIBUTOR AND PERFORMER RACHEL HARRIS + PETER TROSZTMER DRAMATURGY KATYA MONTAIGNAC MUSIC AVEC PAS D’CASQUE (STÉPHANE LAFLEUR + NICOLAS MOUSSETTE + JOËL VAUDREUIL) LIGHTING DESIGN FRÉDÉRICK GRAVEL SET DESIGN FRÉDÉRICK GRAVEL + JONATHAN INKSETTER

PRESENTED IN ASSOCIATION WITH MONUMENT–NATIONAL

PREMIERED AT TANGENTE, MONTREAL, DECEMBER 2010

WRITTEN BY FABIENNE CABADO TRANSLATED BY NEIL KROETSCH