I'm so glad this contemporary choreography exists

Raw, unpolished. Wade Robson, Pam Chu, Ben Susak. John Mayer's Slow Dancing in a Burning Room. Throw it all together and end up with a contemporary choreography that breaks my heart every single time.

Early Mornings Montreal

The days are getting shorter, but it can be the most beautiful thing. Watch this to understand.

Le Poisson d'Argent - Early Mornings from Alex Labbé on Vimeo.

The Quartier Danses festival presented short films one morning showcasing work from young canadian   filmmakers at the Musée des beaux-arts de Montréal. I almost didn't go, having spent the night before oot and aboot, but you know. Priorities. I ended waking up super early and making cupcakes anyway.

ANYWAY, all that to say, I'm so glad I made it out of bed in time because for those few minutes Early Mornings by Alex Labbé, featuring Claudia Chan Tak was playing, I was enthralled. I'm almost afraid to rewatch this because it's so grand in my memory.

Hope this strikes somethings in you as well.

I promise I'm coming back with an article about Tentacle Tribe. I ended up missing their show in verdun, but something else was coming for me. You'll see!

Passivity - Namjin Kim Dance Theater

I'm so excited to have finally kickstarted my journey into this year's Quartier Danse festival.  Sometimes I feel like I'm so stuck into my own beat that it becomes essential, though I may only realize afterwards, to see other people's work.

Can you tell which one of them is not a real person?!

This evening I went to see Passivity, a work from the Namjin Kim Dance Theater (and a creation from Tentacle Tribe that I'll talk about in another post after I go see them again!!!)

This choreography was playing with my mind! Not only had I not realized initially that the fourth "dancer" was a rag mannequin, but then they started incorporating the rag doll's body parts with their own bodies and I couldn't tell which limb belonged to which. Interesting experience, I must say.

Go see it for yourself and let me know what you think!

Quartier Danse Preview : Sept 11-21

I'm am more than excited that Quartier Danse festival is starting in Montreal. This is a fantastic opportunity to experience dance in Montreal either outdoors, for free, or for a very low cost. In the next few weeks during the festival, I will be posting on twitter the works I will be going to see and I hope you will join me! Here's a preview list of the shows I'd like to attend according to my availabilities (did I say that I'm working three jobs right now -____- , poor idea, I know).

http://tentacletribe.com/new-gallery/    Gorgeous photo, amazing composition!

"When they fall: revisited explore l’influence des subites rencontres humaines qui marquent notre vie. Comme deux inconnus dont les chemins se croisent dans un monde anonyme, les danseurs entrent en collision et partagent une synchronicité intime." - Vendredi 13 Sept. 17h30 - Place Des Festivals

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http://www.quartiersdanses.com/event/passivity/   +++  http://www.quartiersdanses.com/namjin-kim-dance-theater-chang/

Passivity: "Trois danseurs et une poupée de chiffon, véritable partenaire des interprètes, nous livrent une illustration troublante de cette manipulation et stimulent notre désir de reprendre le contrôle de nos vies." - Vendredi 13 Sept. 17h - Place Des Festivals 

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http://bit.ly/14DnXNN 

Soirées Soli - Collection 1 "An actor, director and amazing dancer, Marc Béland gives us a thoughtful solo retracing his moods, his obsessions, his worries; the lights and the shadows on the path he has traveled. With BOX, l’homme au carton, Paul-André Fortier, a mature choreographer with close to 50 works on his résumé, transforms an ordinary box into a poetic object. He opens a door in the spectators’ imagination, giving life to the box and turning this solo into a duet. Finally, Tony Chong brings back to life the imaginary characters and superheroes who peopled his teen years and still reside within the man that he has become. His emotional piece, influenced by both the beauty and the awkwardness of mankind, invites us to explore our own memories in order to find this fanciful being we all carry inside." - Vendredi 13 Sept - Samedi 14 Sept. 19h30

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http://www.quartiersdanses.com/event/courts-metrages-jeunes-realisateurs-canadiens/

Courts Métrages: Jeunes Réalisateurs Canadiens "Afin d’encourager les réalisateurs de la relève québécoise et canadienne, Quartiers Danses présente au Musée des beaux-arts de Montréal et au cinéma Beaubien une série de courts métrages sur la danse. Des talents à découvrir dans une programmation éclectique qui montre une autre facette de l’art chorégraphique." - Samedi 14 Sept. 11h

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http://www.accesculture.com/activite/Bowling_Blues

Bowling Blues: "Heidi Duckler, chorégraphe de Los Angeles, et Claire Gignac, multi instrumentiste et compositeure, joignent leur talent afin de créer une performance unique dans un lieu inusité : le Salon de quilles Darling, situé sur la Promenade Hocelaga-Maisonneuve. Une rencontre inspirante entre musique vivante et danse contemporaine !" -Samedi 21 Sept. 17h30 et 18h30

Enjoy the montreal dance scene and don't forget to check out all the other awesome event/shows going on during the festival at Quartier Danse's website. I'll definitely be going to more shows according to my level of sleep deprivation and last minute scheduling.

See you there!