But questioning the use of the nudity in La Pudeurs des Icebergs is part of the performance, and it works. After all, contemporary dance has always gravitated towards showing dance with more focus on the skilled controlled movements of the human body, without the distraction of an elaborate production that can occur in a ballet. Choreographer, Daniel Léveillé, explains “By being naked, you are showing your own self and nothing else." Which was the case in Edmonton on October 10^th and 11^th as La Pudeurs des Icebergs was presented by the Brian Webb Dance Company.

Léveillé is a highly regarded Canadian dancer, choreographer and teacher who has created numerous commissioned works and independent projects through his own company, Daniel Léveillé Danse in Montreal. With many past works such as Traces I, II, III, IV, V, VI, which had the dancers spasms and shiver to show the action of emotions, La Pudeurs des Icebergs is a continuation of Léveillé’s efforts to show the human condition in its most organic and truthful form.

The first work he choreographed applying this concept began with Amour, Acide et Noix in 2001, and La Pudeurs des Icebergs is part of the same series. For Léveillé, choreographing is all about intuition. "There are differences in aesthetic, but it’s also about your intuition and thinking to yourself how you can make the performance stay interesting for an hour," he says.

The music played softly and intermittently, as the dancers go from a fervour of erratic movement to standing still in a straight line, is Chopin' Preludes op. 28. Léveillé desired a contrast between music, silence and the sound of the dancers’ movements on stage.

La Pudeurs des Icebergs still tours around the world. Léveillé believes the nudity play a large part in drawing audiences. “It makes sense in the dance and puts a colour on what they are doing that would otherwise not be there."

For those who appreciate dance to those who are interested in watching the avant-garde push the limits, La Pudeurs des Icebergs is a performance not easily forgot. The dancers, with Léveillé carefully constructed choreography, expose the juxtapositions of our bodies that while able to perform powerful feats of strength and endurance are always intrinsically vulnerable.

Title: La Pudeurs des Icebergs
Choreographer: Daniel Léveillé
Venue: Timms Centre for the Arts, Presented by Brian Webb Dance Company
Run of Show: October 10 -11, 2008

To Learn More about Daniel Leveille Click Here

To Learn More about the Brian Webb Dance Company Click Here

Written by :

xcouture

 

TrackBack URI for this entry

Comments (0)

Subscribe to this comment's feed