Solitudes solo

ByDaniel Léveillé

The choreographer Daniel Léveillé is a free electron of uncompromising artistic choices. An unclassifiable iconoclast, as his previous pieces clearly indicate, Léveillé’s work is never trivial.

His solo here is a return to the essence of dance in spare, minimalist fashion. Five dancers with an imposing presence and impressive technical skills push the body into a corner, exploring solitude as virgin territory that reveals the depths of being. In counterpoint to a rapid series of solos and the brisk liveliness of the Bach violins that make up the musical score, the movement is prodigiously slow, as though each movement were suspended in time and space.

With the austere décor and the forceful lighting accentuating the clinical coldness of the bodies, Daniel Léveillé keeps the spectators glued to their seats. From under the impenetrable mask of each soloist emanates a tenderness that silently comes to the fore. This is a piece of perfect mastery, swimming against the tide of ambient frenzy, preferring instead to present an underlying gentle sweetness.

Created in 2012

CREDITS

Choreography Daniel Léveillé
Dancers at the creation Mathieu Campeau, Esther Gaudette, Justin Gionet, Emmanuel Proulx, Gaëtan Viau
Dancers at the Premiere Justin Gionet, Emmanuel Proulx, Manuel Roque, Gaëtan Viau, Lucie Vigneault
Apprentice Marie-Ève Lafontaine
Light Marc Parent
Music Jean-Sébastien Bach
Costumes Geneviève Lizotte
Rehearsal Director Sophie Corriveau

PRODUCTION

Production Daniel Léveillé Danse
Coproduction Festival TransAmériques (Montréal); Centre chorégraphique national de Rillieux-la-Pape, direction Yval Pick (France); Theater im Pumpenhaus (Münster, Allemagne); Agora de la Danse (Montréal); Fabrik Potsdam (Allemagne); Atelier de Paris-Carolyn Carlson (France); Département de danse de l’Université du Québec à Montréal.
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With the support of Conseil des arts et des lettres du Québec, Canada Council for the Arts and Conseil des arts de Montréal.