Live show
Alejandro Sajgalik
ÉDIFICE WILDER | Espace Orange
November 7-9, 2024 - 7pm
November 10, 2024 - 4pm
Discussion with the artists on November 8
Alejandro Sajgalik
Nova Express
After the implosion of their planet, six individuals find themselves on a pile of debris from a dismantled organ. Adrift on this raft, these beings gestate in a cosmic fluid where the pipes of the instrument resonate like a distant echo. In this in-between world, their bodies oscillate between reactivity and abandonment, vulnerability and impulsivity, thereby releasing the psychic toxins of a past order.
Among this woodpile, each dancer viscerally listens to the electroacoustic symphony composed by Alejandro Sajgalik from these objects. Their memories still freshly imprinted by the cataclysm, their gestures reflect the fragility of any attempt at coexistence. Lines of unbound ecstatic life force are unleashed and create a true ode to the human potential to re-enchant the world.
With the support of Conseil des arts et des lettres du Québec, Conseil des arts de Montréal
Residency Centre de Création O Vertigo
Technical residency Maison de la culture Janine-Sutto
The artist would also like to thank Circuit-Est centre chorégraphique and the donors of the crowdfunding campaign for their financial contributions.
This project was supported by the Conseil des arts de Montréal and the Caisse Desjardins de la Culture as part of our “Donnez un coup de pouce, déplacez une montagne!” crowdfunding project on the La Ruche platform, a Tangente partner.
Alejandro Sajgalik is a choreographer and composer based in Montréal. His work explores our metaphysical uprootedness and the bewitching power of technology. Coming from a background in architecture, he started creating performances that combine dance, electroacoustic music, and a dramaturgy inspired by epics and mysticism. In Montréal, he presented his solos N’importe où hors du monde (2018), Cantos para los insaciables (2019), and Materia Prima (2022). In 2024, he premiered his electroacoustic sonata Novae I (2024) for organ and voice at SOUNDWICH XVIII, and was selected for the Québec/Bassano del Grappa (Italy) choreographic exchange at the Centro per la Scena Contemporanea. His work has been supported by the Canada Council for the Arts, the Conseil des arts et des lettres du Québec, and the Conseil des arts de Montréal. He is currently studying electroacoustic composition at the Conservatoire de musique de Montréal with Louis Dufort.
Jonathan Girard is a visual artist and theatre designer. In 2021, he completed a master’s degree in theatre, exploring the connections between the creative process and the sacred through immersive spaces. Jonathan works in Montréal, Toronto, and across Canada as a textile artist for the stage and the screen, as well as a costume and set designer. He has participated in several conferences on the performing arts and has published articles on the subject. He is also a lecturer at UQAM and a candidate for the graduate studies program in management of cultural organizations at HEC Montréal.
Lee Anholt moved to Montréal in 1990 after completing a BFA in Contemporary Dance at Simon Fraser University. His work was produced in Montréal, Toronto, and Vancouver. In 1995, he began gravitating towards the technical field. Lee was the technical director and lighting director on tour for Montréal Danse and José Navas/Compagnie Flak for many years and also had the chance to work with many great creators in dance as well as theatre: Peggy Baker, Louise Lecavalier, and Denis Marleau (UBU), to name a few. Presently, Lee is the technical and production director for Danse-Cité. He also creates lighting for theatre, music, and especially dance.
Nova Express is my first group piece. After creating three solos confronting the forces that subjugate the human spirit, my intention with this project is to contemplate the potential of our spring-like intuitions. Music, dance, architecture, and performance are deeply interwoven here.
The piece was born from an organ I recovered in a deconsecrated church in the Eastern Townships of Québec. Many of these instruments are destined for disposal and I wanted to breathe new life into this one. Using recordings from the organ and my voice, I composed music characterized by energetic flows – simultaneously frenetic and restless, ecstatic and melancholic – echoing the group’s journey aboard this timeless raft.
I wanted to portray the bold and intrepid dynamics among the six performers on stage. Each dancer contributes a unique colour that collectively forms a coherent yet delicate whole. I invite the mystery of cycles – of decay and rebirth in worlds – to unfold. Within this archaic and post-cataclysmic universe emerges an embryonic dance, a folk dance of the future. A dance that renews our primal essence.
