BY KIRSTEN BOLTON
FOR ARTSPRING
A curious mystery about exploring the very nature of creativity is afoot at ArtSpring for the young and young at heart thanks to Québec-based dance company Bouge de là in their Nov. 21 award-winning performance of Through My Eyes.
A dancer enters the stage and discovers a larger-than-life ball. Intrigued, she moves towards it, carefully. As soon as she touches it, the magic of the stage is unleashed. The lights go up, the decor appears all around her, shadows play their tricks and transform one dancer into many. Now there are four of her to play together and discover a constantly changing environment — a graphical world made up of forms, colours, textures, sounds and illusions.
A topsy-turvy playground where dance continually shifts with the context, this performance promises to be full of surprises and invites audiences to see the world afresh through the curious eyes of a child.
The work is conceived, directed and choreographed by Bouge de là’s artistic director Hélène Langevin, who has been creating children’s dance shows for nearly three decades. It won the Prix du CALQ for best choreographic work of the 2018-19 artistic season from Prix de la danse de Montréal, the first piece for youth to win the title, and has since been toured across Canada.
While specifically designed for youth, Through My Eyes is sure to delight parents, grandparents, teachers and dance enthusiasts of all ages. The show begins at 7:30 p.m.