J'ai pleuré avec les chiens

by Daina Ashbee

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Bodies in synergy merge in a floating garden. Human sculptures make a quiet appeal for meditation. J’ai pleuré avec les chiens (I Cried with the Dogs), the first ensemble piece by the extreme choreographer Daina Ashbee, unfolds like a ritual celebration dedicated to the female body. Quiet contemplation composed of meditative waves and the rustlings and murmurs of nature.

In a minimalist landscape driven by cycles of change, the dancers fluctuate between possibilities: from animal to woman, mundane to spiritual, from pain and sorrow to ecstasy.Renowned for her intimate solos and duos that probe the turmoil of violence, in this piece Daina Ashbee portrays a resurgence of the power to act in a community of five women aged 24 to 58. Down on all fours, they experience the elation of a new harmony and equilibrium but soon are flipped upside down, eluding the weight of gravity. Alone together, they breathe into the wound.

Written by Myriam Perraton-Lambert
Translated by Neil Kroetsch

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Performers : Élise Vanderborght, Imara Bosco, Areli Moran, Angelique Wilkie, Francesca Frewer

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Lighting Designer : Karine Gauthier

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All rights reserved, copyright Daina Ashbee 2021

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Co-production partners: KVS Brussels Stadstheater, Festival TransAmériques – FTA, Agora de la danse, Rencontres chorégraphiques internationales de Seine-Saint-Denis (FR), BIT Teatergarasjen (NO), National Arts Centre

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Residency partners: Banff Centre for Arts and Creativity, Harbourfront Centre (Toronto) Agora de la danse, Centre de Création O Vertigo – CCOV, KVS Brussels Stadstheater, Cardiff Dance Festival (Wales), The Dance Centre (Vancouver)

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Funding partners: Developed with support from the National Art Centre’s National Creation Fund, Canada Council for the Arts, Conseil des Arts et des Lettres du Québec

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