Charles-Alexis Desgagnés, introduced to the general public thanks to the show Révolution, is preparing to present his first solo exhibition, L’appel des embraises, at the Agora de la danse from October 11th to 14th. The fiery performer has also been chosen to dance in the new creation of the producers of the immersive show Sleep No More in New York in 2024.
Updated yesterday at 9:00 am.
The dancer is impatiently waiting for his artist visa so that he can take part in the rehearsals scheduled for next November. At the end of winter he will take part in the first performances of the show, about which he cannot say much at the moment. “It is the largest production in which I have ever participated: we are talking about a show with 35 artists that will last a year,” explains the man who presented the critics in the Seul Ensemble, a tribute to the work of Serge Fiori , thrilled 2019.
PHOTO HUGO-SÉBASTIEN AUBERT, THE PRESS
The dancer Charles-Alexis Desgagnés
Three years later, he directed 24 performers in “I Cried on the Metro This Morning,” the first show of his dance company, originally called Les sans-papiers. “With this name I wanted to commemorate the journey of artists who, like me, were not educated in school, but I had not made any connection to immigration. Since I don’t want to be colonialist or have people talk more about the name of the company than the works, I decided to make a change. »
Here he is again with Personne Danse, an allusion to the individual, to anonymity and to the body in motion. A body that will dance in the singular this fall.
I feel ready to take the stage for 55 minutes. From a spatial perspective, it is a completely different challenge than group work. When you have 9 or 20 people on stage, it’s easier to fill it.
Charles-Alexis Desgagnes
Don’t think that his return to his former loves as a soloist comes at the expense of group work. Next February he will take part in Midnight Somewhere at Danse Danse, a multi-headed creation with renowned choreographers such as Marie Chouinard, Virginie Brunelle, Anne Plamondon and Lydia Bouchard.
“The solo helps me define my choreographic style so that I can ultimately share it better with others,” he says. This is my response to several experiences as a performer with choreographers who lacked clarity, often because they didn’t dance themselves. »
If Revolution fans remember the virtuosity of the solo dancer, the main actor does not have the impression that he is in his comfort zone.
Solos are hard because you’re often alone in front of yourself, on good days and bad. You must agree to constantly look at yourself in the mirror. It is a wonderful process for developing self-confidence.
Charles-Alexis Desgagnes
Still, Desgagnés knows what he’s capable of when the spotlight comes on. “I know I’m performing well, but I can’t say I’m alone in a comfort zone because I have no room to crash. It requires a high level of care and great trust in my employees, who are my main audience. »
By placing physicality at the center of his work, the creator invites the audience to follow him in a very simple idea: to witness a person’s journey through time and through space. A way for him to integrate different parts of himself, such as his glow and tenderness, to reconnect with his animality. “When I talk about metamorphosis, I often make a comparison to Mystique in X-Men, the person who can change her appearance and is all blue when she’s neutral. I want to show what I am when no one is looking. »
PHOTO HUGO-SÉBASTIEN AUBERT, THE PRESS
The dancer Charles-Alexis Desgagnés
An exercise that involves a high degree of vulnerability. “I have experienced various forms of separation and grief in recent years, and I use my creation to overcome them. I take it out of myself, I transform it and when the object is created it relieves me. »
The show L’appel des braises will be presented in Montreal from October 11th to 14th, in Ottawa from October 26th to 28th, in Lévis on November 2nd and in Toronto on April 3rd and 4th, 2024.
Also on display
Hedwig and the angry thumb
PHOTO JOSIE DESMARAIS, LA PRESSE ARCHIVE
Benoit McGinnis stars in the series Hedwig and the Raging Thumb
The critically and audience-acclaimed musical theater show Hedwig and the Furious Thumb starring Benoit McGinnis, adapted and directed by René Richard Cyr, will be seen at the Théâtre du Nouveau Monde from October 20th. “The very athletic performance of Benoit McGinnis and the very successful rock-that-moves atmosphere almost make us forget the somewhat dusty side of the text written by John Cameron Mitchell at the end of the 1990s,” emphasized Stéphanie Morin in his review when the show was created in Montreal last January.
At TNM from October 20th to 28th
The Hip Hop Republic of Lower Canada
PHOTO DAVID MENDOZA-HELAINE, PROVIDED BY PRODUCTION
“The Hip-Hop Republic of Lower Canada” is a rap musical playing at the Premier Acte in Quebec.
“The Hip-Hop Republic of Lower Canada” is a rap musical comedy featuring artists from the Quebec region. “The work aims to put people in the mood they have on intoxicating evenings. The piece is freely inspired by the world of the musical group Alaclair Ensemble. “We discover a Lower Canadian culture in which the verb is sharp and the repartee is devastating, as if daily exchanges had become rap battles,” we write in the production’s press release.
Until October 21st in the first act
The LNI makes its cinema!
PHOTO PROVIDED BY LNI THEATRE
The LNI attacks the cinema
The Théâtre de la LNI presents its show “La LNI” as part of CAM on tour in various districts of Montreal. A big challenge with every performance: improvise from cinema to theater in the style of a renowned filmmaker! On stage (and at the same time on screen) three performers, a film team and a musician invite you to (re)discover the world of the seventh art. And the creation of a live film. Based on an idea and directed by François Étienne-Paré, starring, among others, Salomé Corbo, Mathieu Lepage and Joëlle Paré-Beaulieu.
On tour from October 6th to December 7th in Montreal
Mizushōbai (The Water Trade)
PHOTO PROVIDED BY THE TABLEAU D’HÔTE THEATER
“Mizushōbai” (The Water Trade) explores the life of Kiyoko Tanaka-Goto, a mail order bride turned underground businesswoman in 1930s British Columbia.
Théâtre Tableau D’Hôte, known for revealing the other side of Canada’s story, will present Mizushōbai (The Water Trade) at Segal. The play explores the life of Kiyoko Tanaka-Goto, a mail order bride turned underground businesswoman in 1930s British Columbia. The production is notable in part because it brings together an all-female cast of Japanese-Canadian artists from across the country. Additionally, it is the first production in Montreal by Yvette Nolan, an award-winning artist from the Algonquin Nation.
At the Segal Center for Performing Arts October 10-22
The Premonitions by Mikaël Morneau
PHOTO EVA-MAUDE TC, PROVIDED BY PRODUCTION
The actor Olivier Barrette
As part of 5 to 7 at La Licorne, the text “Les prémonitions de Mikaël Morneau” by Frances Poet, translated by Marc-André Thibault, will be staged by Clara Prévost. The story revolves around Mikaël, played by Olivier Barrette. The young man, plagued by nightmarish visions, isolated himself for some time, so much so that he missed the funeral of his best friend Éliane’s mother. But now he faces a bleak future and must change his path at all costs… The play tackles the topic of mental health head-on with humor and nonchalance. It also touches on themes such as complex friendship, grief and fear in the face of societal problems.
From October 17th to November 3rd in the rehearsal room of La Licorne