'O Vertigo', Trafó House Of Contempory Arts, 20 - 21 March

The dance blends into a series of images depicting the itinerary of several interwining destinies. In the enclosed space, the narrowness of the milk-white walls brings on disequilibrium, fainting spells, and vertigo. 

More than twenty years have passed since O Vertigo’s dazzling beginnings in 1984. With Ginette Laurin, founder, artistic director and choreographer of the company, O Vertigo soon became inevitable and has been in the forefront of contemporary dance ever since. 

La Chambre Blanche is one of Laurin’s most important works. Created in 1992 and opening Montreal’s 5th Festival international de nouvelle danse, The piece - an exploration of theatricality and emotion - has toured extensively in Europe, North America, Israel and Asia. It won the 1992 Grand Prix of the Conseil des arts de la Communauté urbaine de Montréal and the Dora Mavor Moore Award in Toronto.
 
In continuity with her latest work étude #3 pour cordes et poulies where the choreographer explores the theme of constraint and confinement, she is now proposing a new take on La Chambre Blanche. Nine dancers - six women and three men including one from the original cast - occupy the 1992 set. Costumes and lights remain the same. 

The dance on pointe and the play on unsteadiness that characterised the piece are still very present. However, some choreographic sections have been updated and a new musical composition revives the work.

This is not the first time the Hungarian public has a chance to see O Vertigo, they have performed in Petőfi Csarnok in 1996 and in Trafo in 2002, when they brought Luna -, with its moonlike, crystalline atmosphere, and special optical effects that many still remember- to Budapest. La Chambre Blanche is a must see not only for those who haven’t yet seen this outstanding company but also for those who have been following Laurin’s work.

"…a disturbingly violent work tempered, and in some instances highlighted, by moments of real tenderness and sublime elegance." The Scotsman, Glasgow, 1993

„The Canadian choreographer Laurin has developed for these feelings a very charming and insightful language of movement of her own which certainly stretches the dancers’ physical capacities.” Frankfurter Rundschau, Francfort, May 1993

Coproducer: Place des Arts (Montreal, Canada)
Choreography: Ginette Laurin
Rehearsal Master: John Ottmann
Lighting Designer: Martin Labrecque
Original Music: Nicolas Bernier, Jacques Poulin-Denis
Costumes Designer: Jean-Yves Cadieux
Set Design: Stéphane Roy
Technical Director: André Houle

Wardrobe Assistant: Nicole Langlois

Supported by: Conseil des arts et des lettres du Québec, Canada Council for the Arts, Conseil des arts de Montréal, Foreign Affairs Canada, Canadian Heritage, Ministère de la Culture et des Communications du Québec, Emploi-Québec.

Price: 2200 HUF"

Source: Trafó