DANCEREVIEW
Metamorphosingtosurvive
March11,2016|MélanieCarpentier-Regularcontributor|Dance
PhotoSylvie-AnnParé
Dance
LesChosesDernières
ByLucieGrégoire.WithIsabelle
Poirier.Music:RobertM.Lepage.
March9–12,Agoradeladanse,
Montreal
Tocelebratethethirtiethanniversaryofhercompany,
choreographeremeritaLucieGrégoirehasremountedLes
Chosesdernières,awatershedworkinhercareerwhichshe
presentedandperformedforthefirsttimeatl’Agoradela
dansein1994.Itis,moreover,inthissamevenuethatthesolo
isbroughtbacktolifewithascenographyandcompositionthat
remainfaithfultotheoriginal.
NotedforhavingdancedalongsideMarieChouinardforalmost
eightyears,IsabellePoiriermovessmoothlyintoLucie
Grégoire’sfootstepsinthisrevival.Itisnotthefirsttimethe
performerhasfacedthisparticularchallenge:shewasoutstandinglastyearinthere-creationofCartes
postalesdeChimèreontheoccasionofthetwenty-fifthanniversaryofLouiseBédardDanse.
ThereisaKafkaesqueaspecttoLesChosesdernières,acreationbornfromthestrongimpactthatreadingPaul
Auster’sIntheCountryofLastThingshadonLucieGrégoire.Whatthechoreographerwantedtorecapture
fromthenovelwasthissolitaryfemalefigureinalandscapeofruinsandtheatmosphereemanatingfroma
disintegratingworld.Inhersoloreflectingthestateoftheworldwithitsthemes–evenmorecurrenttoday–
offlightandrefuge,thespectreofAnnaBlumemustundergometamorphosistosurvive.
Running,solitary,throughtheruinedcity
Onstage,thechoreographer’ssilhouette,drapedinblackvelvet,appears,unexpectedbytheaudience,ina
squareoflight.Hermeaningfulgazeandstrongstagepresenceprovideapreludetotheperformance.She
vanishesoff-stage,makingwayforherdoubleinthesolo,IsabellePoirier,whosegownisofsilver-greylamé,
cutlowintheback.
Uponalargecanvaswithagridpattern,thestartingsignalforafranticraceisgiven.Movingincessantly
forwardsandbackwards,keepingwithinastraightline,thedancerbeatsarhythmonthefloorwithherbare
feet.Afeelingofurgencyprogressivelysetsinduringthisrace,sustainedbythestringsintheobsessivemusic
ofRobertM.Lepage.
Herfacestoicandhertorsostraight,herlongarmscutthroughspaceinanimpromptumanner.Stepping
confidentlyandmartiallywhensheadvances,butfleeingandvulnerablewhensheretreats,thedancer
succeedsinreconcilingtwostatesofmindandbodywithinher.
Asensualmutation
Betweentwoaccelerations,weletoutourbreathwhentheperformershiftsintosolitarywaltzes.Arms
stretchedout,herhandstraceundulatingfiguresinspace.Fromitsinitialstiffness,thedancesuddenly
becomessinuousandsensual,engagingthehips,andfromthatpointforward,continuallyoscillatesbetween
thesetwomovementqualities.
Inherraceforlife,flinchingbeforetheobstacleswillnotsaveherfromtheinevitablefall.Thebodyisthrown
ontotheground,markingthebeginningofamutationinwhichthedancer,crawlingandspinningathigh
speedtocoverground,adoptsanimal-likepositions.Herbackarched,herlegsquiveringlikeaninsect’s,she
strugglesforpurchasetobeabletostandupontwolegsandfullyregainherhumanity.
Troublingforthesecontrastingmovementqualitiesandthechangesinrhythmmadebythosepounding
footsteps,LesChosesdernièressucceedsanewincreatingastrongimpressionintheviewers’minds.Isabelle
Poirierisrivetinginthesecorporealstates,where,inherfeverishtrembling,dancecanbereadonherskin,
rightdowntothesmallofherback.Astrikingworkthatprodigiouslyreconcileswithcontraries,andinwhicha
strengthlyingattheheartofvulnerability–resilience–shinesthrough.
Thispresentationdemonstratestheimportanceofrevisiting,reactualizing,andtransmittingvaluableworks
thathavesignificantlymarkedandenrichedtheQuebecdancescene.