Fringe News
Fringe News
Following sold-out performances at the 2014 Montreal Fringe Festival and a critically acclaimed run at Tangente Danse during Pop Montreal in 2015, choreographer Helen Simard hits Toronto audiences this August with NO FUN: an interdisciplinary dance performance inspired by the music and movement of punk icon Iggy Pop. This rockstravaganza laughs in the face of failure, reaches out and strangles people, and doesn’t take itself too seriously. For 45 minutes, three dancers and four musicians hit you full force with a giant wall of movement and sound, leaving you feeling somewhere between “F*ck yeah!” and “What the hell just happened?” Grab some earplugs on your way in and leave your expectations in the lobby. We will have a real cool time tonight.
WARNING: This show contains coarse language, bad attitudes, awkward silences, blinding lights, wailing guitars, underpants, and absolutely NO FUN.
Factory Theatre Mainspace (125 Bathurst Street)
Thursday August 4th 9:00PM - 9:45PM
Friday August 5th 10:30PM – 11:15PM
Saturday August 6th 4:15PM – 5:00PM
Sunday August 7th 1:15PM – 2:00PM
Founded in 1991, SummerWorks Performance Festival is Canada's largest curated performance festival of theatre, dance, music, and live art. Learn more at www.summerworks.ca.
Tickets $15, or save up to $30 with a 3-Show, 7-Show, or 10-Show Pass. Available online, over the phone (416-320-5779) or in person.
Connect: @SummerWorks #SW16 #nofun
Created and Choreographed by Helen Simard
Performed by Stephanie Fromentin, Justin Gionet, Emmalie Ruest, Rémy Saminadin, Todd Tolls, Roger White and Ted Yates
Lighting Design by Benoît Larivière
Set Design by Loïc Woehrel
Rehearsal Direction by George Stamos
Stage Management by Holly Greco
What critics are saying:
“Brash, in-your-face movement set to loud rock n’ roll played live on stage. Choreography that isn’t afraid to be weird or disturbing. Delicious rock nerd in-jokes to find and devour. Oh boy, this show. There is so much to like here.”
—Sue Snyder, Bloody Underrated, June 16th, 2014
https://bloodyunderrated.net/2014/06/16/montreal-fringe-2014-insane-dance-
double-feature/
“The dancers are hot, act like epic hot messes and they proceed to hotdog all over the stage in a sheer sex frenzy that leaves you panting and confused. There is sound, there are lights, there is excess in every degree and even a rather memorable onesie. Now if that doesn’t sell it, you are dead inside.”
—Angela Potvin, Montreal Rampage, September 17th, 2015
http://montrealrampage.com/no-fun-and-the-trouble-with-reality-dance/
ABOUT THE CHOREOGRAPHER
Helen Simard is inspired by the beauty of failure and the absurdity of everyday life. From 2000 to 2011, she was co-artistic director, co-choreographer, and performer for Solid State Breakdance, with whom she participated in the collaborative creation of nine choreographic works, which toured around Quebec, Canada, and Europe. Working as an independent choreographer since 2011, Helen has developed a choreographic signature inspired by punk rock aesthetics that is sometimes honest and intimate, sometimes aggressive and difficult to understand. Her works On the Subject of Compassion (2011), Last Song: Live Version (2013), NO FUN (2014), Twenty One Angus Young (2014), and Mouvement sans/100 manifestes (2014) have been presented at Tangente Danse, Studio 303, Quartiers Danses, the Montreal Fringe Festival, and the Guelph Contemporary Dance Festival. She is a member of the Body Slam improv collective, and has worked as an interpreter for a number of dance and theatre companies, including: Les Néos (Théâtre néofuturiste); Marta Marta House of Pride; Wants and Needs; Tusket Dance; Andrée Martin; and Cirque du Soleil's special events department. Helen holds a BFA (Concordia, 2000) and an MA (UQAM, 2014) in contemporary dance, and is currently pursuing a PhD in études et pratiques des arts (study and practice of arts) at UQAM.
Photo: Sébastien Provencher, Stéphanie Fromentin and Emmalie Ruest. ©2013 Helen Simard.
2016-07-05
SummerWorks: No Fun