Habitations
Since taking up residence in the Wilder, we have responded to the milieu’s need for research, creation, and rehearsal spaces by welcoming and hosting artists so they could explore. Above all, we believe that being a presenter means giving artistic works the opportunity to reach an audience. But, to get there, it is necessary to provide a context that is ripe for innovation, where creative work can take place. Our research and residency projects allowed us to stay in touch with artists and took different forms. The Habitations ended as a result of the COVID-19 pandemic and the restructuring of the programming models imagined by the curatorial team. Here are traces left by the artists who inhabited the space.
“Occupation, squat, space for free expression” are some of the terms that have characterized our Habitations. Made possible by our move into ÉDIFICE WILDER – Espace danse, the Habitations allowed artists to gather for a week or two to imagine laboratory work.
Coming without any pressure to produce a finished work, these low-tech residencies were meant to respond to the need and desire of the dance milieu to explore together, occupy the space, and create temporary communities of experimentation and reflection.
Habitations Calendar
- Victoria Mackenzie – March 20 to 26, 2017 – Content
- Katie Ward – April 17 to 30, 2017 – Content
- Marie Mougeolle & Liane Thériault – May 8 to 14, 2017 – Content
- Karen Fennell – June 7 to 13, 2017 – Content
- Thea Patterson – September 25 to October 1, 2017 – Content
- Annie Gagnon – October 2 to 15, 2017 – Content
- Nate Yaffe – April 16 to 22 + June 11 to 17, 2018
- Sasha Kleinplatz – April 23 to 29, 2018 – Content
- Jesse Orr – April 30 to May 6, 2018
- Marie-Denise Bettez – November 5 to 11, 2018 – Content
- Hannah Sybille Müller – December 3 to 16, 2018 – Content
- Gabriel Beck – January 28 to February 3, 2019 – Content
- Emmalie Ruest – March 11 to 24, 2019
- Marc Boucher – June 3 to 16, 2019 – Content
- Sébastien Provencher – July 1 to 7, 2019 – Content
- Stacey Désilier – September 2 to 15, 2019
- Victoria Mackenzie – September 30 to October 6, 2019
- Alejandro Sajgalik – December 2 to 8, 2019
- Sandy Bessette – December 9 to 15, 2019
- Nate Yaffe – February 3 to 9, 2020
- Noémie Roy – February 10 to 23, 2020
- Stephen Thompson – May 4 to 17, 2020 (cancelled)
- Erin Hill – June 8 to 14, 2020 (cancelled)
- Kelly Keenan – November 1 to 5, 2021
- Alanna Kraaijeveld – March 21 to 25, 2022
- Victoria May – April 18 to 22 + May 16 to 20, 2022
Sara Hanley
Performer, rehearsal director, teacher
“The Habitation residency offered a time to be in a physical and mental creative space alongside peers...
” The Habitation residency offered a time to be in a physical and mental creative space alongside peers I share a connection with on different levels. It was a time of permeation between our individual practices and a precious time for open-ended research.”
Hanako Hoshimi Caines
Performer and Choreographer
“The Habitation was an opportunity to test out a communal work space as dancers...
“The Habitation was an opportunity to test out a communal work space as dancers. This is a very familiar way of working these days, i.e. laptop-cafes and communal office spaces, but sharing a studio is I think still rather rare in the way dance thinks about work space and time.”
Maria Kefirova
Performer and Choreographer
“The time we spent together in non-direct communication, everyone working...
“The time we spent together in non-direct communication, everyone working with their own process/problem, was a catalyzer for new choices and ideas, feeding my own search.”
Victoria Mackenzie
Performer and Choreographer
“From sitting in the corner and spying on all of the rehearsals with outside eyes, I learned about...
“From sitting in the corner and spying on all of the rehearsals with outside eyes, I learned about process, empowering artists, various ways to augment choreography without changing the blueprint.”
