Creative notebook
Years of research and creation: 2015-2017, 2021-2022
World premiere: 2022, Agora de la Danse (Canada) during COP15
Specialists encountered: 1 volcanologist, 1 astrophysicist, 1 botanist, 1 entomologist, 1 water specialist
MWON’D, steeped in Creole and French etymology – moun (human, being), world, mwen (me) and anmwe (distress cry) – is a call to lucidity in the face of the dichotomous actions that humans sculpt along their path. The work draws a parallel between the human body and the matter as a body. By matter we mean aluminum, in its processed form, ubiquitous in our daily lives and overexploited, and in its raw state and natural space (AL13). This ode to the intelligence of the environment gives rise, through the body, to an intimate dialogue between what unifies and opposes these pluralistic materials (malleability, oxydation, lightness, transmutation). At the heart of these questions lies accelerating the pace of climate change, to be addressed with urgency and mindfulness, in step with the teachings of nature.
In MWON'D, each element (sound, light, human, aluminum) is an essential voice aligned with the organicity of nature, and it takes place in a sculptural manner, thereby lending itself to a slow and deliberate look at the vulnerability of our being.
"Rhodnie Désir's language is the one we will all soon speak. The language of a blood-red twilight, of a leaden blanket that covers the world with its shadow. But this shimmering material also carries within it the hope of salvation, the premise of transformation." - Iris Gagnon-Paradis, La Presse
Crédits
Co-production
Studio AKÒ
Agora de la danse
Creation partners
Conseil des arts du Canada
Conseil des arts et des lettres du Québec
Conseil des arts de Montréal
Agora de la danse
Place des arts
Créateurs en mouvement (Danse Danse and Arsenal art contemporain)
Choreographer, artistic director, compositor and vocal performer
Rhodnie Désir
Performers
Elisabeth-Anne Dorléans, Aurélie Ann Figaro, Jessica Gauthier, Gregory "Krypto" Selinger, James Viveiros
Lighting designer and scenography consultant
Öykü Onder
*From the original scenography of Hubert Lafore.
Compositor
Engone Endong
Costume designer
Vincent la Kuach
Rehearsal Director
Isabelle Poirier
Senior Artistic Consultant
Philip Szporer
Technical Director
Romane Bocquet
Studio AKÒ would like to thank all the environmental specialists who shared their knowledge during interviews.
Thank you also to all our collaborators present during the first phase of creation in 2016. Performers: Joe Danny “Dingo” Aurélien, Sarah Elola, Gregory “Krypto” Selinger, Natalia Sirdey. Lighting design and technical direction: Jonathan Barro. Scenography: Hubert Lafore.
In the agenda
December
7th
-
December
10th
7:00 pm
Discover our other artistic inventions!
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Symphony of hearts
“There are many beautiful tableaux. The creator knows how to make ingenious use of the scenic elements at her disposal - from almost nothing, she creates universes, fills in the gaps.” - La Presse (Canada)
“What is gained here, in this Symphony of Hearts, is an art of influences and benevolence carried by the multiple identities of bodies and minds that want peace.” - JEU magazine (Canada)
TÈ BIOSPHÈRE
A poetic vocal performance in conversation between two multidisciplinary artists: Rhodnie Désir and Kama La Mackerel.
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