Female emotion and physicality powers La Goddam Voie Lactée by MAYDAY's Mélanie Demers
Award-winning choreographer from Montreal shares her latest work at Scotiabank Dance Centre February 4 to 6 at the PuSh fest
Post Sponsored by The Dance Centre
MAYDAY’s La Goddam Voie Lactée is dark yet celebratory. Photo by Mathieu Doyon
Vancouver audiences will have the chance to see the work of Mélanie Demers, one of Montreal’s most exciting choreographic voices, in February when her company MAYDAY comes to town.
La Goddam Voie Lactée (The Goddamn Milky Way) is a response to the harshness of the world: a ritual of sorts, a pagan mass, both celebration and challenge, inspired by the constant mourning that marks our current age.
Five charismatic women deploy their bodies, voices and musical instruments in a series of visceral scenes—solos, duets, and ensemble performances—that are full of raw physicality and emotion.
The work’s vision is dark, but ultimately celebratory. Reflecting on the need for solidarity in the face of adversity, La Goddam Voie Lactée is an exercise in self-imagination and creativity, and a means of finding our bearings in this imperfect world.
After the premiere last year, La Presse described it as a “work that is at turns dramatic, humorous, grotesque, and poetic, forming a fragmented but solid artistic whole that exhibits total commitment.”
Choreographer and multidisciplinary artist Mélanie Demers founded her company MAYDAY in 2007. Her work is dedicated to exploring the overlap between the poetical and the political; she is known for audacious and experimental works which fuse dance, theatre, literature and music.
In 2021, Demers received the prestigious Grand Prix de la danse de Montréal which recognizes the unique impact of her work. To date, she has choreographed 30 pieces and has been presented in some 40 cities across Europe, America, Africa and Asia.
La Goddam Voie Lactée is presented by The Dance Centre with PuSh International Performing Arts Festival, through a partnership that dates back to the very first edition of the festival almost 20 years ago.
Find info and tickets here.
Post sponsored by The Dance Centre