Dance Machine

The invitation is unusual: quit the urban jungle for an immersive experience in an invented forest. Time is suspended. Artists and visitors alike are connected to the heart of a machine that intensifies the possibilities of the body for a brief, enchanted moment.

64 pieces of bamboo suspended by cords from a copper disc pierced with holes. A living sculpture that determines the contours of new territory to share. Invited to plunge into this conjured forest, the audience reflects, responds and wanders round this highly sensitive machine. Textures and sounds from this bit of nature restored then act on the senses, unfolding in tune to the movements of the participants. A Canadian choreographer born and raised in Malaysia, Lee Su-Feh is accompanied by thoughtful artists for this interactive reflection on place and belonging.* A playful yet also meditative experience, the sculpture is both robust and fragile, like the human body itself.

Produced by battery opera performance
Concept and direction Lee Su-Feh
Space design Jesse Garlick
Development and construction Justine Chambers + Jesse Garlick + Lee Su-Feh
Guest artists Justine A. Chambers + Natalie Tin Yin  + Adam Kinner + Zab Maboungou + Alessandro Sciarroni + Brian Solomon + Peter Trosztmer

Co-produced by Festival TransAmériques

Presented in association with Agora de la danse 

Written by Diane Jean
Translated by Neil Kroetsch

Premiered at Festival TransAmériques, Montreal, on June 1, 2017