Review: Dieu ne t’a pas créé juste pour danser

I was intrigued by the catchy title that this week’s show at Tangente is sporting, Dieu ne t’a pas créé juste pour dancer, but not being familiar with Montreal choreographer Marie Béland’s work, I went in with no expectations. I was however looking forward to seeing four of my favourite young dancers perform in the show: Dany Desjardins, Zoey Gauld, Simon-Xavier Lefebvre, and Anne Thériault. Now that I’ve seen the show – and given its title – maybe this reaction is appropriate: holy shit.

Dieu ne t'a pas créé juste pour danser, photo by Katya Montaignac

As it turns out, Dieu… is an 80-minute purging session of the worst clichés in contemporary dance, and a hilarious one at that. It appropriately begins with “my first choreography.” It follows the music in every melodramatic burst, taking itself completely seriously. In other words, it’s amateurishly tacky and it sets the humorous tone for the evening.

In the second section, Béland explores the dreadful gimmick of the accessory, in this instance a white sheet that folds and unfolds to different uses. Follows a horribly pretentious spoken word that is really just a series of loaded words put together under the guise of meaningfulness. It’s complete garbage and very funny.

But something different happens in the following section, “Les Incontournables.” Béland is still interested in exploring dance clichés, yet we cannot help but be genuinely affected by the aesthetic beauty of the choreography. We are reminded of choreographer Deborah Dunn, who pushed the melodramatic gesture so far it became a stunning dance movement in Nocturnes. And Béland has a point: we do enjoy tackiness.

The improvised section is set to a cover of Radiohead’s “Paranoid Android” offered by a pan flute (really a synthesizer). Which raises the question: why are covers so prevalent in music yet there is no real equivalent in dance? Béland remedies the situation with her cover band dance group. They treat us to a pot-pourri of the leading figures of Quebec dance, from Marie Chouinard to Édouard Lock.

A most clever section has to be the one about themes. Whether their choreography is about “absence” or “a mobile cell,” it looks awfully similar, which makes sense since dance is not a good medium to tackle topics. When they deal with the poor financing of dance by incorporating product placement in their piece, the effect is priceless. It becomes obvious that contemporary dance cannot be a commercial medium and it’s a blessing in disguise. Freed from the pressures and limitations of commerce, it is able to be a true art form.

A similar road is taken with “3:05 avant la fin,” but this time dealing more explicitly with symbolism through the use of props. Undeniably, symbolism in dance often leads to utterly ridiculous results.

The show ends with a wonderful recap by MC Gilles in a democratized dance number. If you know people who’ve never been to a dance show, this is the one you need to bring them to and get them all caught up. How often do you see a contemporary dance show where the audience claps during the show?

There are two more shows of Dieu… you can catch: Saturday, October 18 at 7:30pm, and Sunday, October 19 at 4pm. Tickets are 17$, 13$ for students. For more information, call 514.525.1500 or visit www.tangente.qc.ca.