Preview: CLASH/OFF.T.A.

by Sylvain Verstricht

Ah, insanity… If the dozen dance shows or so that the FTA is presenting over the next two and a half weeks are not enough for you, then you’re in luck. The OFFTA is doing the same thing, and at more affordable prices! Not to mention that the last edition of CLASH is also going on this week.

Karine Denault's Not I & Others

First off, CLASH is a free event happening at Tangente where you get to experience the raw energy of creation in a laidback atmosphere. Two of the same choreographers from last year are presenting their work on the first three days (May 21-23), Norman[n] Darcy and one of my favourite performers and creators, Anne Thériault (and I’m not just saying that because she had a conversation with me in her underwear once). On the next three days (May 24-26), it’s the eclectic George Stamos who presents his work. All shows are at 5:30pm.

The OFF.T.A. is also already underway. Dance kicks the festival off with the premiere of Duets: Wish you were here, three dances choreographed by Andrew Tay, Sasha Kleinplatz, and Thea Patterson. The performers include the talented Dean Makarenko, Lael Stellick, Peter Trosztmer, and Katie Ward. Tonight only, Friday, May 22.

Then we follow some of the best pieces presented at Tangente over the last few years. Marie Béland presents Dieu ne t’as pas créé juste pour danser (May 23 at 4pm and May 27 at 6pm), still one of the funniest dance shows I’ve seen all year. Go and bring friends who usually don’t like dance. If they don’t like it, stop being friends with them; they’re clearly idiots.

Then, Karine Denault presents Not I & Others (May 28 & 29 at 7pm). A few years ago, she presented a half-hour version at Tangente as a work in progress; it was already perfect, which makes this one-hour version all the more intriguing. On the same nights, but at 9:30pm, Nicolas Cantin presents Grand singe, one of my coups de coeur from this past year. Cantin has crafted an economical work that, with a minimal amount of energy, manages to make quite an impact. Dany Desjardins also shows a piece that packs a lot of punch with All Villains Have a Broken Heart (June 1 & 2 at 9:30pm).

Saturday, May 23 (10pm), Sarah Williams performs in Croque Monsieur, a piece choreographed by George Stamos, as part of the Trio 303 show with Alexis O’Hara and Nathalie Claude. On May 30 (9:30pm), the double bill Éponyme (FAKE-Fiction)/Sourire Forcé includes such performers as Marie Béland, Anne Thériault, and Dany Desjardins. (The latter is shown again on the following day at 7pm.) The same night, from 10pm to 3am at Le Gymnase, 20 choreographers (for only 10$) are taking over the club to throw their own kind of pARTy.

There are also a few free dance events. The first is A-maze, a 20-minute dance workshop by Martin Bélanger. He performs it at Espace Libre (1945 Fullum, Frontenac metro) on June 3 and 4 at 6:15pm. The other is Auto-Fiction, an in situ performance of about 25 minutes by Milan Gervais, Christine Joy Ritter, and Andrew Turner that evolves in, on, and around a car. Catch it at the SPAQ parking lot at the corner of Cherrier and Saint-Denis (Sherbrooke metro) on June 4 and 5 at 5:30pm.