For her creation, RAYON X: a true decoy story, Marie Béland and her collaborators put the elements that make up a dance performance through a sieve; the performers, the music, the set, the lights, the choreography, the ideas, but also the image that we make of it all, be it formal or fantasized. Games of true or false, the desire to hide or to reveal, intentions that are authentic or manipulative; the structure of a show reflects the social codes we experience on a daily basis. What are the stakes lying hidden behind the decorum of a show ? With this new creation, the audience is invited to dive into an autopsy of a performance: to reflect on what we perceive, what touches us, and on how we navigate the notion of falsity in our own lives.
Directrice artistique et chorégraphe : Marie Béland Dancers who took part of the creative process : Anne Thériault, Simon-Xavier Lefebvre, Marilyne St-Sauveur, Andrew Turner et Zoey Gauld. Dancers on tour : Corinne Crane-Desmarais en alternance avec Anne Thériault, Laurie-Anne Langis, Simon-Xavier Lefebvre, Marilyne St-Sauveur, et, en alternance, Andrew Turner et Lael Stellick. Musical direction and performance : Philippe B
Video and stage set : Jonathan Inksetter
Dramaturgy : Katya Montaignac
Rehearsal director : Thea Patterson et Sophie Michaud
Light designer : Frédérick Gravel
Costumes : Ève Lambert
Length : 65 minutes Premiere : November 24th, 2010 at Tangente, Montréal, Canada, with Festival Les Coups de Théâtre maribé – sors de ce corps would like to thank the Conseil des Arts du Canada, the Conseil des arts et des lettres du Québec, the Conseil des Arts de Montréal, the CRÉ de Montréal, the Cirque du Soleil, the Place des Arts, the Agora de la danse, the Maison de la Culture Villeray-St-Michel-Parc-Extension, Tangente et the Festival Les Coups de Théâtre for their support.
VIDEOS
EXCERPTS OF THE SHOW
FULL-LENGTH
INTERVIEW WITH MARIE BÉLAND ABOUT THE CREATIVE PROCESS OF RAYON X (in French)
PHOTOS
Photos taken during the shows at Tangente, Montréal
Photo-documentary of the creative process by Julie Taxil
THE TEAM :
Zoey Gauld
Initiated into modern dance in London (Ontario), N. Zoey Gauld pursuited professional training at LADMMI in Tiohtià:ke/ Montréal (Québec). Zoey is a white Anglo-Canadian woman who lives, works and studies in the unceded territory of Kanien’kehá:ka. In parallel with the pursuit of her master’s degree in dance at the Université du Québec à Montréal, Zoey is currently collaborating with Audrée Juteau, Ellen Furey and Catherine Lavoie-Marcus/L’Annexe-A, Sasha Kleinplatz, Créations Estelle Clareton and Marie Béland/maribé – sors de ce corps, and co-produced with Emmanuelle Bourassa Beaudoin a series of videos documenting Angélique Willkie’s teaching practice. Over the past fifteen years, Zoey has worked with artists Marie Béland, Allie Blakley, Johanna Bundon, Estelle Clareton, Manon De Pauw, Paula De Vasconcelos, Deborah Dunn, Thierry Huard, Laurel Koop, Dean Makarenko, Pierre-Marc Ouellet, Bee Pallomina, Dominique Porte, Jacques Poulin-Denis, Harold Rhéaume, Michèle Rioux, Paul-Antoine Taillefer, Andrew Tay, Ashlea Watkin, Nate Yaffe. Zoey studied choreography with kg Guttman at Concordia University. She creates solos and dances in private, in public and on the Internet.
Simon-Xavier Lefebvre has always been prone to sports hyperactivity and developed an interest in movement and space from his first contact with martial arts. In his early twenties, when he was completing his undergraduate degree in biology, his thoughts were still rooted in the rehearsal studio. He decided to turn definitively towards dance following a meeting with Daniel Léveillé. After a year of study at the École de danse contemporaine de Montréal, he was invited into the creative process of Un peu de tendresse, bordel de merde by Dave St-Pierre. To date, there have been numerous collaborations: Marie Béland, Andrew Turner, Anne Thériault, Virginie Brunelle, Sasha Kleinplatz, Estelle Clareton, Pierre Lecours, Hélène Blackburn, Estelle Clareton, Martin Messier, Milan Gervais, Frédérick Gravel and Parts & Labour. Simon-Xavier has also appeared on stage for some theatre projects, notably with Éric Jean, Mani Soleymanlou and Jérémie Niel. In 2020, Simon-Xavier participated in the revival of La vie attend (Parts and Labour), and was part of the touring team for Some Hope for the Bastards (DLD/Frédérick Gravel).
A graduated of the Cégep de Saint-Laurent and Université du Québec à Montréal, Marilyne St-Sauveur danced in the works of Marie-Julie Asselin, Marie Béland, Lynda Gaudreau, Frédérick Gravel, Emmanuel Jouthe, OSEZ! /Karine Ledoyen, Dean Makarenko, Andrew Tay and Katie Ward. These projects have taken her everywhere on the Quebec and Canadian stages, but also in the United States, France, England and Belgium. Marilyne has taught dance at UQAM, Collège Montmorency and has taught at the Dance Department of Cégep de Saint-Laurent since 2004. She also works as rehearsal coach in dance and theatre. Thanks to her Ageless Grace certification, she shares her dance with seniors with the company Danse Carpe Diem.
A singular creator and performer, Anne Thériault has been weaving collaborations with artists from multiple backgrounds for more than ten years: with composer Martin Messier, she co-created Derrière le rideau, il fait peut-être nuit (FTA 2011) and Con grazia (FTA 2016) ; the performance Doux (Actoral 2016) with visual artist Julie Favreau, and with the company BOP, Quatuor pour la fin du temps (OFFTA 2017) alongside Karina Champoux, Frédéric Tavernini and Dave St-Pierre. In particular, she approached the theatre on the occasion of Ainsi parlait… by Frédérick Gravel & Étienne Lepage, and La Fureur de ce que je pense by Marie Brassard. She is a founding member of Lorganisme, a structure for choreographers. She is also an associate artist at Usine C, where she recently presented her latest opus: Récital (FTA 2018). Currently, Anne Thériault is working on new research projects, collaborating with several artists as an artistic advisor and is invited to curate the COMPAGNONNAGE 21 event by Danièle Desnoyers/Le Carré des Lombes, which takes place in winter 2021. The artist is invited for a period of 3 years, as a researcher at L’L, an experimental research structure in the living arts, located in Brussels.
Photo : Lucie Rocher
Leaving studies in history and philosophy behind him, Andrew Turner was inexplicably accepted to Concordia University’s Dance Program in 2001. He has since performed extensively both in Montreal and abroad, with such companies as Par B.L.eux, O Vertigo, Human Playground, PPS Danse, Trial and Eros, Pigeons International, maribé – sors de ce corps, Bouge De Là, Cie La Tourmente, and others. As a choreographer, with seven works under his belt, he has received several awards (including Prix OQAJ, Prix OQWBJ among others), as well as creation residencies in Switzerland, Sweden, and at the Banff Art Center. He has presented his works in three languages in Europe, Mexico, the United States, and over 20 Canadian cities. He received a Master’s Degree in Dance, with distinction, at Université du Québec à Montréal in 2020.
Graduate from LADMMI, the school of contemporary dance, her experiences have greatly stimulated her, among others, the repertoire of Crystal Pite, Marie Chouinard and Jean-Pierre Perreault. Upon leaving school, she was hired as a dancer-designer for Sasha Ivanochko and as an interpreter for Marie Béland. In addition to her deep desire to dance, she decides to go to India for three months to learn Kalarippayattu and yoga, which will lead her to push her physical limits while awakening her spirituality. This will give him the chance to expand his vision of the world to be fulfilled and invested as a human being in his community.
Lael Stellick graduated from the John Abbott CEGEP Theatre Program in 2001 and the Unversité Concordia Dance Program. As an interpreter/dancer, Lael is currently collaborating with choreographers Sasha Kleinplatz, Lara Kramer, Aurélie Pedron, Catherine Lavoie-Marcus and Michael Montonaro while continuing to perform with the improvisation-movement league, Les Imprudanses, since 2006. As a choreographer, Lael has worked with Dix Tempsdix (2008) and has two collaborative projects Division (April 2011) and Breakaway (April 2012). Lael is currently working on his new creation, Waiting, for 2013.
Known for his talents as an author, composer and performer—notably at the request of Pierre Lapointe—PHILIPPE B puts forward a hybrid folk music in which acoustic and electric sonorities bathe and astute sampling. Wanting to explore other avenues, he recently wore the hat of musical director and musician on stage in the dance show RAYON X: a true decoy story. In September 2009, the multi-talented artist presented, alongside Sophie Cadieux, the multidisciplinary show Pheromone(s): an intimate evening of words set to music and interpreted on stage in various ways. Philippe B has been seducing the critics and the public ever since he arrived on his own in June 2005 with his eponymous album based on minimalist folk. With his poetry both earthly and lunar, he captures characters, places, moments, and freezes them on timeless songs. From his second effort released in 2008, Taxidermie «a beautiful record that highlights all the talent of author and melodist of Philippe B» according to Bande à Part, emerges a classical pop sound putting forward his voice and remarkable arrangements. Both solo and as a guitarist, Philippe has performed regularly on the Quebec stages, notably at the Francofolies de Montréal and the Festival de musique émergente d’Abitibi Témiscamingue. With the release of his third album, Variations fantômes in May 2011, Philippe B agrees with the 2008 review of Le Voir: there is no doubt that the singer’s next albums will be even more daring. Audacity is at the rendezvous, inventive creativity too.
Jonathan Inksetter / videographer and set designer
The work of Jonathan Inksetter focuses on process and time and recognizes the body as the receiver of sensory experience – often with the intention of changing the perception or physical state of the viewer or performer. His work on installations, sound, and digital film is exhibited internationally in galleries, festivals, and alternative spaces. As an extension of his artistic practice, he has created performance, scenography, and contemporary dance videos related to various collaborations he has made with notably Meg Stuart, Benoît Lachambre, Antonija Livingstone, Louise Bedard, Dominique Porte, K.G. Guttman, and Marc Boivin.
From 1995 to 2002, Katya Montaignac danced in Paris for the company La Gorgone directed by Vincent Lahache. Since 1998, she has contributed as a dance critic to several publications, including the journal JEU. In 2001, in Paris, she conceived the project Raymond, a solo for n interpreters that has brought together around fifty individuals, dancers or not. This project has been presented in France and Quebec more than thirty times. Member of La 2e Porte à Gauche since 2006, she regularly signs the artistic direction of her productions (Blind date,9 ½ apart., the pARTy, 4quART, Danse à 10, Rendez-vous à l’hôtel and Pluton). Since 2007, Katya has created «Unidentified Dancing Objects» (Danses invisibles in 2007, Corps anonymes in 2009). As dance doctor, she treats the ailments of choreographers as a dramaturge, notably with Marie Béland, Frédérick Gravel, Milan Gervais and Isabel Mohn. She teaches in the dance department of UQAM and is also involved as a curator, notably for the OFFTA during 7 years.
Choreographer, Thea Patterson is inspired by a desire to share, create and excel through collaboration and the infinite possibilities of multiple voices rather than one. She works on a wide variety of projects with a group of dancers and choreographers who share a similar vision. She is more often seen wearing the hat of a choreographer for her own work or as a director or creative assistant in the works of others. From time to time, she leaves her role of external eye for that of performer in her own solos or in the plays of David Pressault, Bill Coleman, Erin Flynn, Peter Trosztmer and Chien Perdu. Her work has been presented in Australia, Cuba, Quebec, Toronto, Ottawa and Victoria. Her play A Collection Letters, named “Best of 2005” by THE MONTREAL MIRROR, was adapted into a film by Bravo! fact. Directed by Philip Szporer and Marlene Millar under the title: A Soft Place to fall, it has been presented at several international film festivals. She was one of seven choreographers and the artistic assistant in Peter Trozstmer’s Painful and unequivocal Truth. This show was selected as one of the ten best dance pieces of 2006 by LA PRESSE. Her most recent project, a collective creation of the <The Choreographers>, is entitled Man and Mouse and has been presented in Halifax, Montreal, at the Joyce Soho in New York and will soon be seen in St-John’s, Lennoxville, and some Maisons de la culture de Montréal.
Sophie Michaud began her dance career in the early 1980s. After exploring dance through the means of interpretation and choreography, she made her own the profession of «repeater». By juxtaposing graduate studies (UQAM) and praxis, she deepened her reflection on the role she plays alongside choreographers and dancers. For more than 20 years now, she has worked as an artistic advisor, choreography assistant, rehearsal director and mentor. His main engagements include long collaborations with the companies Cas Public, Manon fait de la danse, Sinha Danse, Corpuscule Danse and Bouge de là. In addition, he collaborated with Lucie Grégoire Danse, Fabrication Danse, maribé – sors de ce corps, Caroline-Laurin Beaucage and Catherine Gaudet, to name a few. At UQAM, she has assisted several teachers and has accompanied many students in their creative process to the baccalaureate, the master’s in dance and the doctorate in artistic practice. Since 2008, the Regroupement Québécois de la Danse has entrusted him and David Pressault with the training program for emerging choreographers. This involvement is one of the actions she favours to renew her practice and contribute to the evolution of the discipline.
Frédérick Gravel graduated in 2009 from UQAM’s (Université du Québec à Montréal) dance faculty with a thesis on “The role of the dance artist in a democratic society’’. The choreographer, dancer, musician and lighting designer Frédérick Gravel has been active on the Montreal scene for the past fifteen years. He turns the structures of choreography upside down, merging into his work various elements from rock and performance art. He joined DLD as an associate creator in 2010 and was appointed artistic director of the company in 2018. His productions – Gravel Works (2009), All Hell is Breaking Loose, Honey (2010), Usually Beauty Fails (2012) and This Duet That We’ve Already Done (so many times) (2015), Some Hope for the Bastards (2017) and Fear and Greed (2019) – have received great national and international reviews. He co-created with the author Étienne Lepage Ainsi parlait… (2013) and Logique du pire (2016). The works of Frédérick Gravel are created in close collaboration with all members of Grouped’ArtGravelArtGroup/GAG, a shifting collective of dancers and musicians actively involved in the creation process. More and more active as a teacher, Frédérick Gravel regularly gives creative workshops as well as teaching at CÉGEP Saint-Hyacinthe’s theater department, at Université du Québec à Montréal and at l’École de danse contemporaine de Montréal. Frédérick Gravel is a member of Circuit-Est centre chorégraphique.
Holder of two college degrees in dance (Collège Montmorency 2006 and LADMMI, the school of contemporary dance 2009), Corinne Crane-Desmarais has been involved since her graduation from school, in many projects as an interpreter for different emerging choreographers. She also worked with Lynda Gaudreau (Compagnie De Brune) for Out of Grace in 2010 and with Mélanie Desmers for the FLY 2011 project. In 2009, a collaboration with the composer and videographer Hugues Clément led her to explore, many times and in different contexts, the media/movement relationship. Since January 2011, she has been teaching adult classes at the École de danse contemporaine de Montréal and coordinating the École du soir. In November and December 2012, she danced Roleplay by Raphaëlle Perreault and Cake by Audrey Rochette, both presented in Tangente. In 2013, she was part of Marie Béland’s RAYON X: a true decoy story tour and Andrée-Anne Ratthé’s show Branché? presented at Tangente.
