Is holding onto one specific sexuality a form of repression? At what cost? At whose cost? It is time to unravel a tangle that maybe you didn’t even know it existed. Canadian artist Dana Michel breaks through conventions with her daring choreographies. By way of dance and performance, she gives shape to different bodies and ideas that leave the well trodden paths of stereotypical physicality and identity. Her work can best be described by its influences: sculpture, cinematography, comedy, psychology and social reflection. In earlier work Michel explored the repression of cultural identity. Her latest creation, CUTLASS SPRING, delves into multiple facets of human sexuality. Michel explores how cultural repression and her life as a performer, a mother and a lover have shaped her sexual identity.
created and performed by: Dana Michel, artistic activators: Ellen Furey, Peter James, Mathieu Léger, Roscoe Michel, Yoan Sorin, Alanna Stuart, sound consultant: David Drury, lighting design: Karine Gauthier, technical direction: Caroline Nadeau, Karine Gauthier, presentation: Kunstenfestivaldesarts, Beursschouwburg, production: Dana Michel, coproduction: Kunstenfestivaldesarts, Arsenic (Switzerland), Bastard Festival (Norway), Black Box Teater (Norway), Centre Chorégraphique National d’Orléans (France), National Arts Center (Ottawa, Canada), Festival TransAmériques (Montreal, Canada), Julidans (Netherlands), Montpellier Danse (France), Moving in November (Finland), executive production: Par B.L.eux, distribution: Key Performance, creative residencies: Beursschouwburg, Centre Chorégraphique National d’Orléans (France), National Arts Center (Ottawa, Canada), CounterPulse (San Francisco, United States), Galerie du Dourven (France), Par B.L.eux (Montreal, Canada), Usine C (Montreal, Canada), Reykjavik Dance Festival (Iceland), Tanzhaus Zürich (Switzerland)
Picture © Fanny Trichet
