Helen Simard | Papillon
Description available only in French
Combinant les esthétiques des danses de rue et contemporaines avec une bande-son expérimentale live, PAPILLON juxtapose trois solos dans un trio au maillage complexe. Sa composition explorera les limites fines entre ordre et désordre, et les déterminismes qui persistent dans des systèmes à priori imprévisibles. Que peut-on attendre de l’inattendu ? Que peut-on reconnaître dans le chaotique ? Que peut-on anticiper dans un monde régi par l’imprévisibilité ?
Helen Simard is a choreographer, performer and rehearsal director. After working with Solid State Breakdance, an artist collective that combined street and contemporary dance, for 12 years and participating in the creation of 9 shows, she switched gears in 2012 to lead her own artistic projects. As an independent choreographer, Helen collaborates with musicians and dancers to create raw, visceral interdisciplinary shows, including On the Subject of Compassion (2011), Can You Hear Me? (2017) and Dance Side of the Moon (2018). She uses the codes and aesthetics of rock music to challenge the conventions of the theater a space of freedom, a little friendlier than usual. For 6 years, her research was focused on the icon of American punk rock, Iggy Pop. Inspired by the music, persona, and cathartic dances of this legendary performer, she created a cathartic and hallucinatory trilogy of interdisciplinary works— NO FUN (2014), IDIOT (2017), and REQUIEM POP (2019)—, which were presented by Tangente Danse, La Chapelle, Agora de la Danse, Centaur Theater and OFFTA in Montreal, as well as SummerWorks (Toronto) and Dancing on the Edge (Vancouver). Aside from her own choreographic practice, Helen provides rehearsal direction and dramaturgical support for a number of artists, including Tentacle Tribe, Sebastien Provencher, Victoria Mackenzie, and Alexandra Landé. A graduate of the BFA in Contemporary Dance from Concordia University (2000), Helen also holds a MA in Dance from UQAM (2014).
Photo credit: Alain Wong
Performers: Victoria Mackenzie, Rémi Saminadin-Roger, White Ted Yates
Performers: Victoria Mackenzie, Rémi Saminadin-Roger, White Ted Yates