My toes striving till the tips of your fingers
(french title : D'arrache-pied jusqu'au bout de tes doigts)
(french title : D'arrache-pied jusqu'au bout de tes doigts)
World premiere of this work was shown during the Montreal Fringe Festival 2023, and we're happy to announce that the piece will be on tour in Montreal (June 2024), Winnipeg (July 2024) and Vancouver (September 2024).
Synopsis :
My toes striving, while my life is falling of my hands...
Shall I still move towards you ?
Shall we seek our freedom or will one of us stay behind ?
Some body parts will relentlessly repeat the initial movements of walk.
Other kinds of limbs will draft gestures of love.
And yet, some bodys will remain aloof and alone...
This piece testifies to Johanne Gour's fascination with the relationship between the forced immobility of those who are sitting and the ability to discover pertaining to all those legs that come and move away. The presence on stage of the choreographer in a wheelchair begets a singular view.
In My toes striving till the tips of your fingers, Johanne Gour brings to light the contrast between the immobility of those who are sitting and the agility of legs free to come and go. As dancers move in unexpected ways, the wheelchair-bound choreographer performs her own part. The audience is pulled into feelings of confinement, and filled with sensations of an unseen world of struggle and of unsuspected mutual aid. Alexandra MacLean and Andréanne Brosseau move with heartfelt sensitivity, a touch of madness, and the essential technical precision called for in this performance.
Synopsis :
My toes striving, while my life is falling of my hands...
Shall I still move towards you ?
Shall we seek our freedom or will one of us stay behind ?
Some body parts will relentlessly repeat the initial movements of walk.
Other kinds of limbs will draft gestures of love.
And yet, some bodys will remain aloof and alone...
This piece testifies to Johanne Gour's fascination with the relationship between the forced immobility of those who are sitting and the ability to discover pertaining to all those legs that come and move away. The presence on stage of the choreographer in a wheelchair begets a singular view.
In My toes striving till the tips of your fingers, Johanne Gour brings to light the contrast between the immobility of those who are sitting and the agility of legs free to come and go. As dancers move in unexpected ways, the wheelchair-bound choreographer performs her own part. The audience is pulled into feelings of confinement, and filled with sensations of an unseen world of struggle and of unsuspected mutual aid. Alexandra MacLean and Andréanne Brosseau move with heartfelt sensitivity, a touch of madness, and the essential technical precision called for in this performance.
|
Distorted classical lines and arbitrary movements that feel intimate, vulnerable and fragile. A new vocabulary that uses technique but is also free of its constraints. - Alexandra MacLean
|
While formal yet sensual movements come and go, some tangible and some unrecognizable visions flow during this dance piece, opening a field for images and dreams.
- Sona Pogossian and Esther Gaudette |
Accompanied by two wonderful dancers, we appreciate the piece with its sensitivity, technical precision, and tone above a little madness.
A must see!
- Jacqueline van de Geer, Montreal Rampage
Vancouver Showtimes
Friday September 6th 6:30 PM
Saturday September 7th 2:30 PM
Sunday September 8th 4:15 PM
Tuesday September 10th 9:00 PM
Thursday September 12th 5:30 PM
Saturday September 14th 6:05PM
TEAM
CHOREOGRAPHER
Johanne Gour is particularly fascinated by the articulation and shape of the human body. Currently completing a Master's degree in dance creation at UQÀM (Université du Québec à Montréal/University of Quebec in Montreal), she is interested in movement for its mechanicity, rhythm and organization, as well as its expressive capacity. Through subtle modulation, Johanne Gour fashions an abstract work that carries a singular atmosphere. She has presented several works over the past fifteen years. Many were shown at the Gesù Theatre of Montreal, for the Liens et Lieux event which she produced and at several festivals such as the Montreal Fringe Festival.
PERFORMERS
|
|
|
Alexandra MacLean studied at the Ailey School in New York with Fordham University and received her BFA in Dance and English in 2012. She danced with the Dakshina/Daniel Pheonix Singh company for two years in Washington, DC and in Quebec, she worked with Eva Kolarova for the show A Fragmented Mind at the Place des Arts and with Valerie Sabbah in Rimouski for a residency of the show Cotillion which was presented at Spect'Art Rimouski. She also worked on a resort in Los Cabos, Mexico as a dancer during 2016. She collaborated with Johanne Gour in two shows: Mon cœur s'allonge comme une éponge and L'imprévisible forme des corps aux lendemains de la vie. She teaches dance for all ages in studios, schools and community centres in Montreal.
|
Andréanne Brosseau began her dance studies at Ballet Divertimento Academy in Montreal, before moving to Vienna, Austria to complete her Bachelor in Classical and Contemporary dance. Andréanne has since worked in several theatres in Europe including the Burgtheater Wien, Staatstheater Kassel and Staatstheater Oldenburg, in dance productions, as well as theatre, opera, and performance for young audience.
In 2023, Andréanne begins her Master studies in Theatre and Orchestra Management at the HfMDK in Frankfurt, while continuing to engage in the dance field as a dancer, teacher and choreographer in Europe and Canada. |
ASSISTANT DRAMATURG
Pauline Berndsen Gervais is a Montreal-based dancer and choreographer. A graduate of the 2005-2017 cohort of the École supérieure de ballet du Québec, she founded her own dance company, Pauline Berndsen Danse. Based in Montreal, Pauline Berndsen Danse is a contemporary dance company founded in 2018 by Pauline Gervais. The company's choreographic work has been presented at Festival Quartiers Danses (Montreal), DANTZAN TZAN Fest (Spain), Plateforme Danse (Corsica), Festival Vue sur la Relève (Montreal), Guelph Dance Festival, (Ontario), Westfest (New York), Festival St-Ambroise Fringe (Montreal) and Festival de danse contemporaine de Sherbrooke (Sherbrooke). Fascinated by the exploration of the body in all its viscerality, fluidity and disarticulation, Pauline Gervais creates original scenic worlds where several states of being cohabit.
|
REHEARSAL ASSISTANTS
|
