Pluton – acte 2
La 2e Porte à Gauche upends prejudice toward the elderly by pairing seasoned 30 or 40-something performers with living legends of Quebec dance. An extraordinary challenge.
Past and Present, Peers Together
Incredibly inventive and somewhat subversive, the members of La 2e Porte à Gauche have been giving salutary pokes to the eye of the performing arts over the past decade. Spurred on by the dramaturge Katya Montaignac, they upend prejudice against older people in Pluton by pairing seasoned 30 or 40-something performers with living legends of Quebec dance. A work of memory and extraordinary encounters.
The dancers in these four short pieces of this second act were not born yesterday, but appear here as though newborn, revealed in intimate portraits sketched by younger colleagues. The magnificent Paul-André Fortier engages in dialogue with the hesitations of Frédérick Gravel. The ultra-sensitive Louise Bédard is rendered touchingly vulnerable by Catherine Gaudet. The unsettling Peter James crashes into the absurd universe of Katie Ward. And sensuous Linda Rabin and generous Marc Boivin are thrust into the furious poetry of Mélanie Demers. An extraordinary feat. A beautiful gift.
Created by La 2e Porte à Gauche
Produced by Danse-Cité
Artistic director Katya Montaignac
Choreographed by Mélanie Demers + Catherine Gaudet + Frédérick Gravel + Katie Ward
Performed by Louise Bédard + Marc Boivin and Linda Rabin + Paul-André Fortier + Peter James
Composer Tomas Furey
Lighting design Frédérick Gravel + Caroline Nadeau
Outside eye Marie Béland
Rehearsal director (Opus Mélanie Demers) Chi Long
Production manager Vanessa Bousquet
Co-produced by Festival TransAmériques + Fortier Danse-Création + MAYDAY
Mélanie Demers (Montreal)
MAYDAY
Mélanie Demers has developed a piercing, forceful style with the company she has christened MAYDAY. Fluctuating between reproach and release, her often baroque and theatrical works seek reasons for hope in a world that is plagued by injustice and destruction.
Catherine Gaudet (Montreal)
MAYDAY
Imbued with micro movements and heightened sensitivity, the raw physicality of Catherine Gaudet emerges from discrepancies between emotions and social conventions, tinged with a theatricality that combines dramatic tension with black humour and a sense of the absurd.
Frédérick Gravel (Montreal)
MAYDAY
His festive works with their pop-rock concert ambience have made Frédérick Gravel one of the most fashionable Quebec choreographers on the international scene.
Katie Ward (Montreal)
MAYDAY
Gifted with an absurdist, very British sense of humour, Katie Ward pursues a quest for authentic movement, eschewing preconceived aesthetic codes.
