Fragments – Volume I
A Sylvain Émard Danse and Canada Dance Festival co-production, in collaboration with the Goethe-Institut.
Patchwork of insistent urgency. In three solos and a duo, Sylvain Émard has crafted for his dancers roles that are adapted to their most pressing needs, establishing four contrasting worlds where the depth and authenticity of gesture convey the complexity and vulnerability of the individual. Intense and often surprising, the actress Monique Miller slips majestically into this work.
Her minimalist movement is touchingly eloquent, offering a troubling counterpoint to the raw energy of the three exceptional dancers Kimberley de Jong, Laurence Ramsay, Manuel Roque. Fragments – Volume I is like a collage of miniatures that places the dancer at the very heart of creation.
Fragments – Volume I premiered at the Canada Dance Festival in Ottawa in June 2010.
CREDIT
CHOREOGRAPHY Sylvain Émard
DANCERS Kimberley de Jong*, Monique Miller, Laurence Ramsay, Manuel Roque
ORIGINAL SCORES Michel F. Côté, Jan Jelinek
ARTISTIC ADVISOR Ginelle Chagnon
LIGHTING André Rioux
SET DESIGN Richard Lacroix
COSTUMES Denis Lavoie
MAKEUP AND HAIR Angelo Barsetti
PRODUCTION DIRECTOR Judith Allen
TECHNICAL DIRECTOR Dave Bourdages
*Kimberley de Jong has reprised the role created for Catherine Viau.
REVIEW EXCERPTS
"Four deeply personal and contrasting responses inform this collective in wich loneliness and vulnerability are given rich expression in a powerful and often poignant production. […] a profound and deeply moving performance." Examiner.com, Dublin, Ireland, May 2015
"[…] a strange, haunting but quietly beautiful and thought-provoking work." thelatest.co.uk, Brighton, United Kingdom, May 2015
"[…] a collage of solos and duets that left a lasting impression." The Argus, Brighton, United Kingdom, May 2015
"[…] Fragments – Volume I was a brilliant and diverse evening of movement that ranged from athletic solos beginning with an upside down body straddling a chair, pure gestural movement that featured the idea of actor as dancer, and a gorgeous same sex duet that ended the evening with acute and engaging characterization." Bateman Reviews, Toronto, Canada, March 2012
"Each [short] piece opens with a striking entrance, has its own dramatic arc and a clean dénouement. The movement is polished, the trajectories are brief and numerous, the phrasing is subtle. We thus often have the pleasant impression that the performers are telling the story of the life course of an individual, with its tensions, frustrations, renewed confidence and moments of calm." La Presse, Montréal, Canada, October 2011
"[…] a great success." Dfdanse, Montréal, Canada, October 2011
"[…] Émard never disappoints, and his latest piece Fragments – Volume I is a masterpiece." paulacitron.ca, Toronto, Canada, June 2010
CALENDAR
May 2015 – Project Arts Centre, Dublin Dance Festival, Ireland
May 2015 – Brighton Dome Corn Exchange, Brighton Festival, England
April 2013 – Glob Théâtre, biennial Danse Toujours, Bordeaux, France
March 2012 – Théâtre Paul Éluard, Escales Danse en Val d'Oise, Bezons, France
March 2012 – Presentation of the solo Émoi, émoi from Fragments – Volume I, Avant-Scène, Danse et Vous, Cognac, France
March 2012 – Auditorium de Gonesse, Escales Danse en Val d'Oise, Gonesse, France
March 2012 – Firehall Arts Centre, Vancouver, Canada
March 2012– Timms Centre for the Arts, Brian Webb Dance Company, Edmonton, Canada
March 2012 – Enwave Theatre, DanceWorks, Toronto, Canada
October 2011 – Cinquième salle of the Place des Arts, Danse Danse, Montréal, Canada
June 2010 – National Arts Centre, Canada Dance Festival, Ottawa, Canada (world premiere)
