Friday September 20

Feelings of exclusion abound in our modern societies. We have a troubled relationship with old age, death. We would like eternal youth, but do not we grow old each day of our lives?

Medicine has allowed us to live longer than before, but at what cost? A large part of our elders, excluded from everyday life in our atomized cities, are ravaged by chronic diseases that science does not overcome.

Alors que le souci de performance, des apparences préoccupe notre quotidien, des maladies dégénératives comme l’Alzheimer et le Parkinson nous accablent tous.

Au cours de cette seconde journée du Symposium, à travers la projection de documentaires et de films d’art, des échanges entre les artistes et chercheurs invités et le public, un atelier, nous constaterons comment la danse et sa pratique peuvent régénérer des êtres, des communautés, que la médecine et les scientifiques n’arrivent pas à expliquer ces phénomènes, ou à peine. Les artistes dont nous vous présentons les œuvres aujourd’hui et nos invités amorcent une réflexion qui, nul doute, saura permettre de nouvelles perspectives.

Photo: Une jeune fille de 90 ans

This film provides a deep look into the life of a woman suffering from Alzheimer’s, who regains a taste for life after meeting the choreographer Thierry Thieû Niang.

Thierry Thieû Niang has breathed new life into dance in France. A regular at Cinédanse events, Thierry came to Ottawa in the summer of 2017 for the Danser le printemps Quebec tour. Ottawa-Gatineau dance enthusiasts who discovered him on this occasion will be happy to see him again!

Dir.: Valeria Bruni Tedeschi & Yann Coridian IChor.: Thierry Thieû Niang | France | 2016 | 85’

Discussion with Thierry Thieû Niang

Following the screening, there will be a talk-back with the choreographer, Thierry Thieû Niang, via Skype from Paris.

In addition to the program:

Carrying on the Tradition
A short-film by Nimki Peltier (Wikwemikong, Québec)

The young Nimki overcomes his depression by taking up traditional native dancing and renewing his relationship with his culture and family.

Vanitas
A short-film by Vinicius Cardoso (Brésil)

Inspired by Hieronymus Bosch’s The Garden of Earthly Delights, two women dance: one young, the other mature. Their nudity as they dance challenges the unceasing quest for appearances in our time, and the eternal vanity of human beings.

Dir.: Vinícius Cardoso | Chor.: Samuel Kavalerski & Irupé Sarmiento I São Paulo, Brazil | 2017 | 6′

A great pioneer of dance in Acadia, Chantal Cadieux has been working in the field for over 50 years. She was trained by the great actress Viola Léger, who played the lead role in La Sagouine, created by Antonine Maillet. Chantal’s father was the layman who helped found the University of Moncton. Very involved in the community, Chantal is the founder and artistic director of DansEncorps Productions, the first francophone school of dance and professional dance company in New Brunswick.

As part of the Symposium, Chantal invites you to experience something new. A choreographer for more than 40 years, Chantal will explore, in this intergenerational workshop, our relationship with old age and living together, and the ties that bind different generations. The matter of aging together is at the heart of many issues and concerns of modern society. 

Do you have a dancing soul, a young heart, are 60 years old and older, or between 12 and 25 years old, and want to try something new?

Register on the morning of the Symposium. Places are limited to 20 people!

In our contemporary world, we tend to categorize and compartmentalize everything, including the generations. We put children in day-care and seniors in residences. But the human being, a social animal by nature, needs the energy that comes from interacting with others to feel alive, to maximize their potential, even at the end of life.

When you have those afflicted by Parkinson’s dancing with those that aren’t, why can you no longer distinguish one from the other? Why, when you mix a single youth with a group of seniors, does the liveliness and dynamic of the group change completely?

The screenings and discussions of the last afternoon of the Symposium will address the ties between generations, the desire to meet and learn from new people, and the ritual of dance in the era of a society that is never entertained enough.

The program:

FIGURE
A short-film by Lanre Malaolu (United Kingdom)

Inspired by urban dance, this film explores parentage for young boys who grew up without a father figure.

Dir.: Lanre Malaolu | UK | 2018 | 6’3

Habiter le mouvement – un récit en 10 chapitres
A film by Béatriz Médiavilla (Rouyn-Noranda) with Thierry Thieû Niang (Paris), Joséphine Bacon (Montréal) and the late Martine Époque in her last on-screen appearance.

A preview of the film that was based off the intergenerational tour of “Danser le printemps” from Cinédanse in the summer of 2017. Béatriz Médiavilla will offer an exclusive peek at the chapters of the poetess Joséphine Bacon and that of Martine Époque, in the last on-screen appearance of one of the great pioneers of contemporary dance in Québec.

Butterfly Soul
A short-film by Compagnie Humaine / Eric Oberdorff (France)

Like the artist when he creates, the frantic flight of the butterfly has meaning. Whatever his detours, he flies towards a mysterious destination, of which only he knows.

Dir.: Eric Oberdorff Chor.: Eric Oberdorff & Cécile Robin-Prévallée | France | 2011 | 12’20

Diamond Dancers
A short-film by Nicole Bulter (Netherlands)

A group of elders arrives on a Square in Amsterdam and break out into dance. 

Parkinson
A short-film by Marc Hammer (Belgium)

Artists lead dance workshops where people with Parkinson’s are paired with people who are not. A miracle occurs.

Dir:. Marc Hammer | Luxembourg/Belgique | 2015 | 17’07

Projet duo: Un sentiment de solitude
A short-film by Audrée Papineau

We see the feeling of loneliness as a void, an absence. We perceive it in its greatest intensity when we are isolated. We forget that we are always accompanied even when we are alone. With no arguments or attachments, the two individuals on stage understand the deep feelings of each other.

Dir:.Audrée Papineau-Chartrand and Edouard Godbout-Corriveau | Montréal, Canada | 18’19

Artists, visiting researchers and members of the public take stock of their experience. Observations, lines of thought, research and new practices are announced in our public schools, in our communities, our cities, our villages, even within our family. What if aging and our condition were no longer a tragedy?

Friday Afternoon
Short-film by Timothy L. Smith, Mika Posen (Ottawa)

The crazy Friday afternoon dance as you leave work.

Dir: Timothy L. Smith | Ottawa | 2015 | 4’33

The Widow Series presents the gradual disentangling of a woman’s inner world. Created and performed by New York multidisciplinary artist Jil Guyon, this series is a burgeoning collection of solo shorts featuring her character as a bereaved woman. The evolving mystery of her psychological condition unfolds little by little through disturbing calm, sharp gestures and extreme emotion.

Jil Guyon’s Widow films follow live performances, or are shot directly for new media platforms. The artist says that Widow was originally adapted from the femme fatale from Blade Runner, a movie by Ridley Scott. Noémie Lafrance, from the Outaouais, is known for her performances in situ in New York and invited Jil Guyon to join one of her unusual performances.

Precise choreographic movements emerge, with the veil sometimes worn by the beautiful character. Electronic sounds, an Italian aria and overwhelming silences create changing images evocative of the dancer’s inner struggle, where she transcends her broken state, her trials and her disenchantments.

In an endless labyrinth, whether in the heart of Times Square, in the Utah Salt Flats or at the foot of a volcano in Iceland, each of her wanderings is an expression of her lamentations. The movie star, the femme fatale, the solitary vagabond and the survivor, are all female archetypes that appear – symbols for this bereaved woman in search of independence.

Widow

Dir:. Jil Guyon; Perf. Jil Guyon; DP. Valerie Barnes; Comp. Chris Becker | USA | 2013 | 11’57

Desert Widow

Dir:. Dir. Jil Guyon; Perf. Jil Guyon; DP. Valerie Barnes; Comp. Mihoko Suzuki | USA | 2015 | 10’54

Vigil

Dir:. Jil Guyon; Perf. Jil Guyon; DP. Valerie Barnes; Comp. Chris Becker | USA | 2015 | 2’46

Widow|GHOSTS

Dir:. Jil Guyon; Perf. Jil Guyon; DP. Valerie Barnes; Comp. Chris Becker | USA | 2017 | 3:07

Widow’s Walk

Dir:. Jil Guyon; Perf. Jil Guyon; DP. Valerie Barnes; Comp. Chris Becker | USA | 2019 | 6’15

Widow’s End

Dir:.Jil Guyon; Perf. Jil Guyon; DP. Valerie Barnes; Comp. Chris Becker | USA | 2019 | 4’45

Do not miss the closing performance, Sunday, September 22, at 5 p.m., the live performance of Desert Widow by Jil Guyon, as part of the mixed program of screenings and performances titled Modern Woman.

In the program:

The abyss (L’abîme)
A short-film by Pablo Diconca (Montréal)

Adapted from the choreographic creation of Catherine Gaudet, this film by Pablo Diconca has won many awards throughout the world, since its premiere in 2016: everywhere in Latin America, Brazil, Mexico, Colombia, Uruguay, in Toronto and New York, everywhere in Europe, Madrid, Barcelona, ​​Lisbon, Italy, Hungary, really everywhere. “L’abîme” illustrates the ephemeral, fragile and subtle nature of human relationships.

Dir.: Pablo Diconca | Chor.: Catherine Gaudet | Perf.: Caroline Gravel & Dany Desjardins | QC | 2016 | 8’12

The jailer (L’engeôlière)
A short-film by Dominic Leclerc (Rouyn-Noranda)

Dominic Leclerc, one of the most skilled photo directors in Quebec, created the official video clip of this very beautiful Richard Desjardins song, sung here by the Boulay Sisters. A couple dances with a crane in a sand quarry.

Glace, crevasse et dérive
A short-film by Chantal Caron (Saint-Jean-Port-Joli)

In this film, Chantal Caron draws inspiration from the St. Lawrence River and the banks that surround it to question our relationship to life, nature and our environment. Chantal Caron was chosen by the David Suzuki Foundation as an ambassador for her region. Her film has been broadcast in several festivals and won numerous awards, including the Best Screen Dance film at the San Francisco Dance Film Festival.

Dir.: Chantal Caron | QC | 2013 | 9′

Slow Dance
A short-film by Joe Cobden (Los Angeles)

A flawless representation of a struggle and a declaration of love to the urban nightlife. The film is based on the music of Warren Spicer, the singer of the band Plants and Animals.

Dir.: Joe Cobden | Montréal, Canada | 2010 | 3’40

Cycles
A short-film by Joe Cobden (Los Angeles)

The end of a love cycle.

Dir.: Joe Cobden | Chor: Joe Cobden | Los Angeles | 2016 |  3’53

Love Songs for Robots
A short-film by Chris Lavis and Maciek Szczerbowski (Montréal)

This beautiful film is the official video clip for one of Patrick Watson’s best-known songs. It is danced and choreographed by Mistaya Hemingway, formerly from La La La Human Steps, accompanied by her eldest son.

The Oscar-nominated duo Chris Lavic and Maciek Szczerbowski, known as Clyde Henry Productions, produced this film and also work regularly for Cirque du Solei

Dir.: Chris Lavis et Maciek Szczerbowski | Chor.: Mistaya Hemingway | Music: Patrick Watson | QC | 3’54

“Quai n°33” and “Le tunnel”
A short-film by Guillaume Paquin (Montréal)

Based on choreographies by Frédérick Gravel and Virginie Brunelle respectively, these two short films are part of the documentary Aux limites de la scène directed by Guillaume Paquin.

Dir.: Guillaume Paquin | Chor.: Frédérick Gravel | QC | 4’15
Dir.: Guillaume Paquin | Chor.: Virginie Brunelle | QC | 5’19

“Strictement {A}statique”
A short-film by Sébastien Roy (Montréal)

Choreography is by Élise Bergeron and Philippe Poirier. “Hermetic symbiosis and evasive explosions alternate in an ever-changing proximity.”

Dir.: Sébastien Roy | Chor./perf.: Élise Bergeron & Philippe Poirier | QC | 2015 | 1’29

“Crave / Petite mort”
A short-film by Pierre Alexandre Girard based on a choreography by Catherine Gaudet

With music from Dear Criminals, Crave plunges us into a couple’s final date, interpreted by Clara Furey and Francis Ducharme.

Dir.: Pierre-Alexandre Girard | Chor.: Catherine Gaudet & Jérémie Niel | Perf.: Clara Furey et Francis Ducharme | Music: Dear Criminals | QC | 6’33

“Entre les lignes”
A short-film by Gabrielle Simard, José Florès, Sebastien Furtado (Montréal)

Dancing to the sweet tunes of the popular singer with the hoarse voice, Charlotte Cardin, the passion of the young dance company bursts on the screen.

Dir.: Sebastian Furtado | Concept: José Flores & Gabrielle Simard | Danseurs: Danielle Lauzon, Elljay Timm, Gabrielle Simard, Gabrielle Skalak, José Flores | Music: Charlotte Cardin & CrI Remix | 6’4 | Canada

The Return
A short-film by Ludmila Komrakova (Russia)

A soldier comes home from the Afghanistan War to find his wife. A sizzling tango ensues.

Dir.: Komrakova Liudmila | Chor .: Maria Marinova-Vasilieva and Anton Popichenko | Saint-Petersburg, Russia | 2019 | 04’57