bODY_rEMIX/gOLDBERG_vARIATIONS

When the dancers of bODY_rEMIX/gOLDBERG_vARIATIONS take the stage it becomes clear that the people you are watching are no longer dancers, or humans for that matter. They have transformed into a species that can crawl on pointe, hop in a split, and sing in exhalations. We witness this world as alien visitors because we do not speak their language of movement and moans, or dress in their fashion of harnesses and metal poles. But we can understand that these beings are experimenting with new ways to cope with their individual crises as we watch them fumble and fall towards personal independence.

The story is set to a four-tiered soundtrack; the base is Bach’s thirty-two piece composition Goldberg Variations published in 1742. Considered to be an extremely complicated work it attracted 23 year-old Canadian Glenn Gould. Gould recorded his interpretation in 1955, which launched his career as an acclaimed musician. Gould would re-record this famous work two years before his death. It is Gould’s versions of Bach’s composition that is the music heard during the performance, remixed by Louis Dufort with Gould’s own voice.

The performers lean on the music as much as they do their ropes, prosthetics and squeaky dolly. One artist gives a superb illusion that he has been possessed by the sound byte and has no control over his precise actions. Another figurative reference to the composition is a performer hanging from five horizontal ropes, like a musical note trapped in the staff.

This eerie world belongs to choreographer Marie Chouinard who has been contributing to the art of dance for half of her fifty years of life. Chouinard, a Montreal native, travelled for 20 years as a solo artist before retiring and establishing her own company, Compagnie Marie Chouinard. As artistic director for the past fifteen years her works have been showcased in France, Italy, Germany, Austria, Denmark, The Netherlands, Israel, Russia as well as Canada and the U.S. Her tour schedule will bring her to Japan in 2006.

Chouinard has a large fan base in Toronto as the one-date performance at the Hummingbird Centre was brimming with admirers. She appeared briefly for rounds of applause. Although a tiny figure she is hard to miss with her waist-length hair of brilliant red.

Chouinard does not limit herself to one medium or a single role. She is a filmmaker whose short, Cantique no. 1, took first place in the Moving Pictures Film Festival 2003 in Toronto. In 2003 Chouinard received the National Arts Centre Award in Ottawa to add to her collection of prizes. She has designed costumes and lighting for her company in the past and also conducts workshops. She is the mother of an eight year-old boy.

If you want to enter Chouinard’s world you will have to wait for the next Toronto date or follow bODY_rEMIX/gOLDBERG_vARIATIONS to Halifax on November 22. But you’re only allowed to visit for a short while before they bring down the curtain and leave you in a different state than when you entered.

For more info visit the website - www.mariechouinard.com

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