Don't Waste Time Reading this...Call for Tickets to Marie Chouinard Immediately

There is a famous retort by Isadora Duncan that gets told in a few different ways. One version goes something like this: “No, I can’t explain it to you. If I could, I wouldn’t have to dance it.” I am put in mind of this quote when trying to reflect on last night’s performance at Springboard Dance’s Fluid Festival. I can’t explain to you what happened, but I can tell you that you need to drop everything and see this show. Twice if you can. 

Marie Chouinard is exceptional in every way. So too, are the members of her company. The two pieces on offer at the Grand Theatre are so profoundly beautiful and challenging that I cannot help but feel that I have been forever changed by them.

The first piece is the staging of a book of ink drawings and poetry by the eccentric Belgian artist Henri Michaux. It is a study in the humanization of information. The second is a preview of a new work that explores the music of Erik Satie. The fact that Fluid was able to get Chouinard to bring this piece to Calgary before its official opening in Montreal is a triumph.

I sat in the theatre last night with tears of joy in my eyes. My body moved spontaneously in reaction to what was being presented on stage. When it was done I had to wander the streets for a while just to come to terms with what had happened. How am I supposed to write about that? If I could, they wouldn’t have to dance it. See this show. See this show. See this show.

Dr. Patrick Finn is a performance expert in the University of Calgary's School for Creative and Performing Arts.