Mouvements... Mouvements... MOUVEMENTS!!!!!

On the 27th November of 2013, in the Schouwburg in Arnhem, The “Compagnie Marie Chouinard” performed an incredible work named “Henri Michaux: Mouvements”. This piece has the hands and mind of Marie Chouinard in the choreography, artistic direction, lightning, set design, costumes and hairstyle. The original music is from Louis Dufort, the Sound environment is from Edward Freedman and the poem/ Post face/ projected drawings are from Henri Michaux, from his book “Mouvements” of 1951. It’s also important to say that this piece was performed by 10 dancers and this work was produced with the support of ImPlusTanz (Vienna) in the 2^nd august 2011.

I think that I have to say to you that I really didn't know what to expect from the performance few minuts before the begining of the same... But let me say to you what did I saw!!  

Marie Chouinard, a Canadian choreographer and dancer, discovered the book “Mouvements” by Henri Michaux in 1980. She read it and brought the book the company’s work as a score for her choreography. It is interesting to see that she used all the book: all the drawings, pages, words of the poem that is also in the book… everything!  

The drawings were projected in the background of the stage one by one, allowing us to also read the book and do a kind of a personal reflection and reading of the images of the author. The dancers were dressed in black and dancing on a white floor just like the white page and the black drawings being projected on the background. Has Gia Kourlas wrote in the “New York Times” at the 9^th November 2013: “They could be shadow puppets.”

For me this work of Marie Chouinard was refreshing and bright, not brilliant, not perfect but it is not really far from that. It is incredible to see how a simple idea, a simple choreographic score can create such a beautiful and challenging performance not just for the dancers/ performers that are in the stage but also for the audience that is sited on their chairs but at the same part being challenged physically and mentally. It was really interesting for me to see something that I think be a contradiction: The aesthetics of the movement are important (because the goal was to be the closer from the images of the book), but at the same time I did not see a preoccupation or a more focus idea of trying to make this aesthetics of the movement beautiful… And that, for me, made all the piece beautiful and honest. It is also important to say that the performers were really good and they were always present in all the peace, you could see the focus that they were putting on they’re performance. This performance also shows that is important to be a complete performer, it is not justmoving the body, it is also important the voice, the mind… everything that a performer can do, it Is a tool to use on the creative process and on the performance. Dance is not just moving the body… I think that everyone that likes to see dance or performances should go to see this piece. The simplicity of it shows us that we don’t need to be complex to appreciate or to do something beautiful, artistic, enjoyable and challenging.

João Santiago