Mercurial George

Instinctive Intuition

Dana Michel is inimitable. Unique. The choreographer doesn’t dance so much as dare, taking risks and inventing her own body language based on questionings of her roots. Her strange, quirky work, her audacity and her unbridled imagination have won over audiences here and abroad, and she is now a sought-after live artist. Make no mistake – this Montreal artist has captivated the world of contemporary stage performance.

In the wake of the acclaimed Yellow Towel, Mercurial George traces and transforms the banal, provoking a certain malaise. Wading through the heaps of debris that remain after a dig through marginality and cultural heritage, Dana Michel offers a destabilizing solo. The body vacillates as it struggles for balance and a toehold. Stretching out time with minimalist and deconstructed movement, Michel becomes the archeologist of her own persona. Bizarre, but also comical, her universe is bathed in childhood naiveté and sacred mystery. Intuitive, free and dissident, Dana Michel breaks the mould and shifts points of view.

Produced by Dana Michel
Created and performed by Dana Michel
Lighting design Karine Gauthier
Artistic activators Martin Bélanger + Peter James + Mathieu Léger + Roscoe Michel + Yoan Sorin
Sound consultant David Drury

Co-produced by Festival TransAmériques + Tanz im August (Berlin) + CDC Atelier de Paris-Carolyn Carlson + ImPulsTanz Vienna International Dance Festival + Chapter (Cardiff)
Creative residencies Usine C + Dancemakers – Centre for Creation (Toronto) + ImPulsTanz Vienna International Dance Festival + Actoral – La Friche Belle de Mai (Marseille) + CDC Atelier de Paris-Carolyn Carlson + Woop (Douarnenez)

Premiered at FTA, Montreal, June 2, 2016