CARTES POSTALES DE CHIMÈRE
An intimate solo in vast imaginary landscapes…
Cartes postales de Chimère has been created by and for Louise Bédard herself. She received the Jean A. Chalmers National Dance Award (1997) for this work and her outstanding contribution to dance creativity and performance in Canada.
Universality, and the memory that lies within a woman’s body compose the raw material from which the choreographer drew to create this complexe and lyrical solo piece. Presented on both sides, the work is inclusive and promises to take the spectator on an intimate journey, a colorful voyage rocked by the music of Brahms, and other intriguing sounds from faraway countries.
Louise Bédard created a tailor-made role for the woman performer and dancer in her forties, to overcome her physical limits and dare to free herself by opening a breach on the side of abandonment. The material of the work is one of a memory, a memory of the body of women. The work of interpretation is demanding and requires the artist to be both fully invested while being in close relationship with the public. Cartes postales de Chimère marked Louise Bédard's dancing career as well as the critics, spectators of the time and the dance community.
PART OF CHOREOGRAPHIC LEGACIES IN QUEBEC
Cartes de Chimère is the subject of a choreographic toolkit produced by the Fondation Jean-Pierre Perreault. A choreographic toolkit is a true treasure troves of information, containing all the necessary elements to understand and reconstruct the dance work. The toolkits play an important role in documenting, preserving and transmitting our choreographic heritage. Learn more about the project
CALENDAR
The solo was first presented at the Théâtre La Chapelle in May 1996 and then broadcast in Switzerland, in several Canadian cities and in Montreal, notably in 1997, as part of the International New Dance Festival (FIND).
ARTISTIC CREDITS
Year of creation : 1996 and 2015
Running time : 70 minutes
Choreography : Louise Bédard
Performers : Louise Bédard (original work) Isabelle Poirier and Lucie Vigneault (for the re-enactment)
Music : Brahms, Kronos Quartet
Original music : Michel F. Côté
Set design : Richard Lacroix
Costumes and make up : Angelo Barsetti
Lighting : Lucie Bazzo
REVIEWS
Louise Bédard’s solo creation is pure enchantment.
Guylaine Massoutre, Jeu : revue de théâtre, Numéro 79, 1996
Louise Bédard is a moving sculpture into space.
Pamela Anthony, The Edmonton Journal, Edmonton - Febuary 28, 1997
Louise Bédard’s Cartes postales de Chimere articulates evocative phrases that she embodies with power and beauty …it enobles dance with a new vocabulary.
Manon Richard, La Presse, Montreal (Canada), April 28, 1996
Cartes postales de Chimere is a rare and priviliged moment; Bédard’s choreographic language is immensely rich and always profoundly personal.
Andrée Martin, Le Devoir, Montreal - May 2, 1996
With Cartes postales de Chimère, the choreographer reveals once again the originality of her signature and the immensity of her talent… Complex and unique, Bédard’s body movement… fascinates as it gives the impression that each gesture is unique in itself.
VOIR