© : Vanessa Fortin Photographie
“It was with great pleasure and sense of responsibility that I decided to take part of the PROXIMITÉ project with my new creation Approximately Close, performed by Shanna Irwin and Marcel Mejia. The project included a choreography by Yosmell Calderon as well, also an artist of the company, performed by Shanna Irwin.
I decided to create a duet , even though I had to follow the social distancing rules, and I took it as a challenge. A duet is conventionally done on contact and touch and I asked myself “how can I create and find the same tension and connection between the dancers, keeping two meters of distance?”
After research and reflection, I decided to invest a lot in the concept, the music and the costumes, to make the relationship visible yet distanced. I wanted to give to this piece a south European taste, the folk and the retro vibe of where I am from.
I created the first two solos trough Zoom, made modifications on them and developed them more once we were all allowed to step back in the studio again.
It was very special to show this work through the streets of Montreal, to see people smiling and cheering again on watching live performances after a long time of silence and isolation. It was incredibly touching. I’m very proud of what we have presented. I hope I’ll have the chance to do this again very soon.
Thank you Shanna and Marcel to make out of this one of the strongest pieces I’ve created so far.”
A special thank to the Conseil des Arts et des Lettres du Québec, that made this project possible.