Compagnie Marie Chouinard: bODY_rEMIX/gOLDBERG_ vARIATIONS
Montreal based Compagnie Marie Chouinard is a firm fixture on the international dance scene, renowned for artistic director Marie Chouinard’s distinctive choreographic style, which explores the poetics of the body in immediate, intelligible and ever-surprising ways.
In this hypnotic work the company’s 14 dancers explore themes of beauty and freedom, often appearing en pointe: on one, two, and even four at a time. Chouinard uses different devices – crutches, rope, horizontal bars, and harnesses – that by turns liberate, restrain and define the dancers’ movements. This use of accessories gives rise to playful explorations of body shape and gestures, painting a startling metaphor for the human condition.
Set to a soundtrack by electroacoustic musician Louis Dufort, which mixes Johann Sebastian Bach’s Goldberg Variations with vocal extracts of Canadian pianist Glenn Gould (famed for his interpretations of Bach’s music), bODY_rEMIX/gOLDBERG_ vARIATIONS is a highly emotive, visually stunning work of stark contrasts – subtle and extravagant, sumptuous and wild.
"Some people are born with an innate ability to think outside the box and let their imagination run riot. Marie Chouinard is one of those people" - The Scotsman
"It’s not very night you see something on a dance stage that you’ve never seen before. With Chouinard, you can count on it’ " - Toronto Star
"A work cut with jewel-like precision’ " - Le Figaro, Paris