Strictement {a}statique + Diffraction + Nobody likes a pixelated squid

Élise Bergeron
Élise studied at the École de danse contemporaine (LADMMI), where she received her diploma and the Sofia Borella scholarship in 2012. Since graduation she has had the opportunity to work with Emmanuel Jouthe (Cinq Humeurs and Écoute pour voir), Marie Béland (Rayon X: a true decoy story), Alain Francoeur (En quête d’une ville), Lynda Gaudreau (Out of Grace) and Cassiopée Danse (Sa tête a rencontré un mur), among others. She is a choreographer and interpreter with Atypique-Le Collectif, as well as a member of the company Les Imprudanses, where she is a team captain, team member and programming and development supervisor. Her work as a choreographer has been presented several times in Bal[let] de Rue elles (2011- 2012), as well as Zone Homa events (2010-2012). In the summer of 2010, she initiated and directed the event Parcours, marathon d’improvisation (Parcours, improvisation marathon), an annual meeting of site-specific improvisation.

Philippe Poirier
Fascinated by music and the body from a very young age, Philippe Poirier began his studies in dance at Cégep Saint-Laurent in 2004. He pursued his training at the École de danse contemporaine (LADMMI), where he received his diploma in 2010. He currently dances for Emmanuel Jouthe (Cinq Humeurs and Écoute pour voir), Tedd Robinson (Fable and Trembleherd bells), Georges-Nicolas Tremblay (Portraits and Et si c’était tout simple…) and for the Ottawa Dance Directive. He is a member of Atypique – Le Collectif, where he is an archivist, rehearsal director, and from time to time, dancer.

Strictement {a}statique emerged from a shared interest in the notions of density and expansion. These two abstract subjects became concrete through the relationship of bodies in close proximity. From this physical relationship an emotional relationship was born: the will to encounter another within a shared tension of withholding. This unsatisfied desire pulls the body into a state of evasion, escape and explosions in the space. The rhythm of the piece was constructed around these changes of state (desire, withholding and bursting). While this metaphorical duet delves into a confrontation between animal instinct and human rationality, our primary interest involves the communion of two bodies. Here we are interested by sensory acuity, where physical sensitivity is the base of our connection, and the body is placed in a state born from the limit between total abandon and unsatisfied desire. Strictement {a}statique is the story of exchange, fusion, escape, evasion, withholding, transformation and proximity… in sum, it is a purely human story!

Rémi Laurin-Ouellette
It was first in theatre that Rémi Laurin-Ouellette started his training. At the age of eleven, he played in Alice Ronfard’s creation “Les Troyennes”, produced at the Théâtre du Nouveau Monde in Montreal. Next, he joined the theatrical company Carbone 14, working with it for two years and also participated in many other projects with the Conservatoire d’art dramatique and on television. Developing a passion for movement, he did the dance studies programme at l’École de danse contemporaine de Montréal (LADMMI). He then joined the dance company O Vertigo, dancing with it for four years and doing the shows Étude #3, La Chambre Blanche, La Vie Qui Bat et Onde De Choc. In addition, he danced for Jessica Serli in the show Entre Deux. Recently, he choreographed 33 Tours in collaboration with with Evelyne Laforest and presented it at the Danse Buissonnière event as well as at the Collège Saint-Anne Theatre in Lachine.

Evelyne Laforest
Stimulated by the pleasure of pushing her physical limits, Evelyne practiced Rhythmic Gymnastics for 10 years and was a member of Team Canada. After having explored dance, theatre and circus arts in a more recreational context, she started her studies at the National Circus School of Montreal. As soon as she received her diploma in 2007, she was given the opportunity to work with Daniele Finzi Pasca,Maria Bonzanigo as well as the whole team of Teatro Sunil and the Cirque Éloize on the creation of the show Nebbia, with which she toured internationally until 2010. Impassioned by dance, she then embarked upon a programme of dance studies at LADMMI, l’École de danse contemporaine de Montréal while at the same time continuing to participate in various projects, notably with the Cirque Éloize, Finzi Pascal Compagnie and Cirque Fantastique. In addition, she explored her own creative work in collaboration with Rémi Laurin Ouellette, presenting it at Tangente, as part of the Danses Buisonnières event, as well as at other venues. Once more she is working with the compagnia finzi in the creation and the tour of the show La Verità.

Alexis Bowles
Born in Montreal, Canada in 1980. At a very young age he followed his father, traveling around the world with the Cirque du Soleil. As part of the new generation of designers, Alexis has mastered both lighting design and music production, a symbiosis of ambiance, texture, rhythm, and timing. Always in search of new media and technologies, his range of production is vast. His limitless style demonstrates a modern sensitivity, influenced by human nature and the desire for freedom. He is presently Lighting Designer and Technical Director with the Compagnia Finzi Pasca.

Diffraction is a proposal of choreographic material constructed in several layers. Continuing in the footsteps of the piece 33 Tours, the two choreographers/performers build upon a pattern of gestures that is at once dynamic and fluid. This raw material becomes a canvas, backing the creation process and supporting a rich vocabulary of movement. Motion stems from the themes of the trajectory and its deviations, and is examined from varying perspectives. Diffraction is a study of meeting points and crossings; a reflection on detours and shortcuts; and a look at the moments when the influence of one being alters the path of another.

Supporting the gestural states and giving depth to the choreographic sequences is a musical score by Rémi Laurin Ouellette, composed in response to the physical matter.

The structure of movement in space is constructed in direct relation to the viewer, and is deepened through an original lighting design by Alexis Bowles.

These elements clarify the visual aesthetics and strengthen the thread connecting the piece.

Emmanuelle Lê Phan
Ottawa born Emmanuelle comes from a rather unique background of contemporary dance training paralleled with years of activity in the street dance world. As one of Canada’s most prominent b-girls, Emmanuelle, also known as B- girl Cleopatra, has competed and won many breaking competitions throughout Canada, the US and Sweden, and has also been featured in music videos and dance films of all kinds. With her extensive knowledge of various street styles, and her schooling in contemporary dance, she gradually developed her own style of experimental dance. Having obtained her BFA in contemporary dance from Concordia University, she pursued her ambitions of performance and creation by cofounding Solid State Breakdance Collective and dancing for Rubberbandance. In 2005, she was part of Cirque Du Soleil’s creation of The Beatles Love, and performed in Las Vegas for two years. In 2009, she joined Cirque Eloize in the creation and touring of “ID”. In 2010, Emmanuelle returned with Rubberbandance for the creation of “Gravity of Center”. In 2012, she cofounds Tentacle Tribe with Elon Höglund and presents Body to Body in Cirque Du Soleil’s Chemins Invisibles 2012. She presents When They Fall, a Tentacle Tribe creation at Festival Quartiers Danse in September 2012.

Elon Höglund
Born in Stockholm Sweden, Elon grew up dancing and listening to Hip hop. Training martial arts since a young age (Kung fu, Capoeira,Tea Kwon Do) and dance styles (B-boying, Popping), evoked in him a realization of purpose. He went on to find further inspiration in other street styles, theatre and contemporary dance, which lead to the creation of his own movement philosophy. Elon has performed and choreographed fusion style contemporary works since 2001 in Theatre, Dance and Contemporary Circus productions. In 2005, Cirque Du Soleil hired him for the creation of the The Beatles LOVE in Las Vegas, in which he performed and choreographed his own solo, that fused contemporary dance and Hip hop. Elon has since then performed all over North America, Europe and Asia with Bboyizm Dance Company, Rubberbandance, Cirque du Soleil, Cirque Eloize and the Norwegian State Theatre. He has worked with choreographers Dave St-Pierre, Daniel Ezralow, Mourad Merzouki and Victor Quijada. In 2012, he cofounds Tentacle Tribe and presents Body to Body at Short & Sweet and in Cirque Du Soleil’s Chemins Invisibles in Quebec city. He presented When They Fall, at Festival Quartiers Danse in September 2012. Elon is also an active member of Fresh Format b-boy crew.

Yan Lee Chan
Based in Montreal, Yan Lee Chan has worked in the performing arts for over 10 years. He first studied lighting design at the Saint-Hyacinthe School for Theatre Arts, where he earned a degree in stage management and technical direction. After graduation, he worked primarily in Europe, assisting Olivier Duplessis and other artists. Yan has also performed as a sleight-of-hand magician since his early teens, and has consequently developed new lighting concepts to create stage illusion. Yan Lee Chan has collaborated with many Canadian choreographers and companies, including Momentum, Théâtre du Grand Jour, Théâtre du Rideau Vert, Pigeons International, Sonya Biernath, Lin Snelling, Bill Coleman, Andrew de Lotbinière Harwood, Nicole Mion, Phillippe Ducros, David Flewelling, Jenn Goodwin, Pamela Newell and Hélène Langevin. He began collaborating with RBDG for the creation of full-length works in 2003, and as Technical Director since 2009. This extensive collaboration has brought various commissions, notably with Hubbard Street Dance Chicago and the Pacific Northwest Ballet.

Béatrice “Betty” Bonifassi
Béatrice “Betty” Bonifassi is a French-born vocalist based in Montreal, Quebec, Canada. Bonifassi has performed music of many styles in both English and French—from jazz, to traditional music, to blues, to electronica. In 2003 she gained international exposure when she provided the singing voices for the title characters of the animated film Les Triplettes de Belleville. She has collaborated with composer and saxophonist, François D’Amours and has performed and toured with musician Maxime Morin (also known as DJ Champion). Bonifassi appeared as a guest vocalist on Deweare’s album High Class Trauma (2006), and she is one half of the electronic music duo Beast. In 2011, Bonifassi begins to focus more on her solo projects, including a performance at the Festival Montréal en Lumière February 24, 2011. In summer 2012, Betty Bonifassi joins the Cirque Du Soleil event Chemins Invisibles: The Pixel Frontier. She composed the soundtrack with Francis Collard and performed over fifty shows during the summer in Quebec.

Our movement style is influenced by various urban styles of dance, such as breaking and popping but also contemporary dance and tribal dance. We find inspiration for our choreography in everything from animal movements to geometry. And we wish to create work that transcends the boundaries separating movement styles, and pieces that express the embodiment of music beyond technique. The work will experiment with intricate partnering, refined musicality and a saturated dose of physical choreography.