Montreal Fringe: 7 Pupilles de Feu and SORA

7 Pupilles de Feu

7 Pupilles de Feu is a contemporary dance piece accompanied by choreographer Josiane Fortin’s text on elements of what it means to be human. The choreography begins from the extremities and moves through the rest of the body, employing elements of tension and release. In my opinion the structure becomes predictable and slightly mundane and could be considerably shorter in order to keep the audiences interest. However, it is clear Fortin has put a lot of detail into her choreographic intent and I appreciated seeing a work that had been well researched.

While for the most part the dancers are well grounded I feel they can take more risks, especially when they release into the floor. There is a lot of room for them to push themselves, and as they are technical dancers I think they could accomplish this if they took the movement to further extremes. However, the dancers do perform with a pleasing sensitivity and openness to one another, creating conversational duets and trios. There is potential here for Fortin to play with her structuring and spacial patterns and it could really begin to flourish if she and her dancers moved with a stronger sense of urgency.
7 Pupilles de Feu is playing at Studio Jean Valcourt and is $12 general admission.

SORA

Out of all the dance pieces I’ve seen so far at Fringe SORA is definitely the most professional. The three performers/choreographers are all seasoned, exceptional movers who have created a detailed, intricate modern dance piece. There is a admirable clarity to their movement as they carve through space creating elegant lines and movement patterns. The opening solo performed by Magaly Gates, a sensitive and athletic dancer, sets a warm energy that the other dancers continue to build on throughout the piece. After seeing a lot of self-referential work it was refreshing to watch a movement based piece that stayed inside the realm of performance.

The moment between Emilie Barrette and guitarist Philippe da Silva was the only section that I felt was out of context and could have existed as a separate piece all on it’s own (and I actually think they could create an interesting dialogue with more room to explore their relationship). Aside from that this is a tight, satisfying show that is impressive and well paced. It’s great to watch dancers who have the capability to succeed at what they set out to deliver and  have a humble approach to both their technical abilities and pefrormance presence.
Definitely worth your time! SORA is at Studio Jean Valcourt and is $12 General Admission.

-Heather