In Paradisum
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Soar to the heavens with the breathtaking dancers of Coleman Lemieux & Compagnie's In Paradisum, a program of works by one of Canada's greatest choreographers, James Kudelka.
Featuring Laurence Lemieux (CLC), Gioconda Barbuto (Les Grands Ballets Canadiens de Montréal & Nederlands Dans Theater III ), Kevin Thomas (Les Grands Ballets Canadiens de Montréal & Dance Theatre of Harlem), and Robert Regala (Limón Dance Company ) with Michael Sean Marye, Andrew Giday, Sasha Ivanochko, Kate Alton, Kiri Figueiredo, Jay Gawer Taylor, Laura Bolton, and Peter Trosztmer.
Let yourself be swept up in the swirling, hypnotic work In Paradisum itself, an "outpouring of movement invention", a "maelstrom of anguish, grief and acceptance" (The New York Times), a masterpiece of emotional power and technical brilliance.
On the other end of the spectrum is the haunting, poignant Soudain, l'hiver dernier, a delicate duet that leaves the spectator "spellbound by the emotional drama on the stage" (The Gazette, Montreal).
And finally, Fifteen Heterosexual Duets, one of Kudelka's most beloved dances, "a work of great ingenuity and charm, a plotless comedy that touches on the sublime" (The Globe and Mail, Toronto) - originally commissioned by Toronto Dance Theatre in 1991 and winner of a Dora Mavor Moore Award, the work explores "amorous emotion from passion to tenderness to humor" (Times Argus) and features duets that are "remarkable for their fluency and variety" (The Globe and Mail).
James Kudelka is a prolific artist who expertly and effortlessly blends classical and modern dance. Resident choreographer and artistic director of the National Ballet of Canada from 1996 to 2005, creator of over seventy dances for companies and artists as diverse as the San Francisco Ballet, the American Ballet Theater, Les Ballets Jazz de Montreal, Margie Gillis and Peggy Baker, Kudelka "creates movement so exhilarating, it makes everybody watching wish they could dance" (In Profile, Toronto).
Coleman Lemieux & Compagnie (CLC), led by the husband-and-wife team of Bill Coleman and Laurence Lemieux, is one of Canada's most accomplished and innovative dance organizations, known for its original stage productions, its reconstructions of major modern dance works, its collaborations with avant garde composers and visual artists, and its ground-breaking community-based events. With In Paradisum, they bring together some of Canada's finest dancers for an exhilarating voyage to heights of paradise and the depths of the heart: Coleman and Lemieux, Sasha Ivanochko, Michael Sean Marye, Robert Regala,
Coleman Lemieux & Compagnie in Asia
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CLC have recently returned home from their tour of China and Mongolia. They were presented at the 5th International Beijing Dance Festival amongst a line up including Pina Bausch Tanztheater Wuppertal and Alvin Ailey American Dance Theatre. Their presentation of the highly successful In Paradisum program by James Kudelka was enthusiastically received after a crowd warming speech (in Chinese) by newly appointed Canadian Cultural attaché Bill Siggins.
In Mongolia CLC was hosted by The Mongolian Arts Council and created quite a sensation, not only by being the first major dance company to tour Mongolia, but also by bringing a program of contemporary dance (In Paradisum) to that country. The public's curiosity was aroused by the group of 14 Canadians traveling not only in the capital Ulan Batar but to the small rural town of Zuunmod where they were greeted with overwhelming enthusiasm by whole community. Contemporary dance and what the company's first impressions were of Mongolia, were the topic of questions on morning talk shows, news programs, in print and after show talks.
'Cultural relationships between Canada and Mongolia are developing strongly as a result of artistic and heritage projects in Mongolia. This month, Canadian dance troupe ‘Coleman Lemieux and Compagnie’ (CLC) make their Mongolian debut!' -- The Mongol Messenger (Mongolia's National Newspaper)
'I just love it here! ' -- Graham McKelvie, Dancer
Village Voice Review
The Village Voice reviews the company's appearance at Jacob's Pillow this summer: Try a Little Tenderness: A Canadian company and choreographer keep it small and personal.
Grasslands
Birdsong Communications is producing a movie about Grasslands. Here is a 6-minute clip from the film.
The Kudelka-Taylor Project - Excerpts
The Kudelka/Taylor Project premiered in January, 2006. Coleman Lemieux & Compagnie brought Kudelka together with 11 of Canada’s finest dancers -- Annik Bissonnette, Andrea Boardman, Marc Boivin, Bill Coleman, Andrew Giday, Sasha Ivanochko, Sylvain Lafortune, Laurence Lemieux, Anne Plamondon, Victor Quijada and Mario Radacovsky -- along with the period ensemble The Theatre of Early Music and countertenor Daniel Taylor, winner of the Opus Prize for Artist of the Year in 2000.
In this video are excerpts from the Fifteen Heterosexual Duets and Soudain, l’hiver dernier, and it is as it was.
Press Kit
A brand new Coleman Lemieux & Compagnie Press Kit is now available. The Press Kit contains a complete profile of the company, its founders and its work to date, along with press clippings and reviews.
Reconstructing Fifteen Heterosexual Duets
In celebration of a great Canadian dance work, this book offers a feature essay by artistic director Laurence Lemieux, along with intriguing thoughts and observations by some of the dancers who participated in the reconstruction of James Kudelka's master work. A gallery of 90 photographs taken during rehearsals and performances provides a window on the process and a moving preview of the achievement.
For more information, visit the book's website.
ISBN: 0-929003-66-7
Softcover, 11 in. x 8.5 in.
184 pp., 90 photographs
$30.00 (Cdn), plus M&H, plus 7% GST
ORDER TOLL FREE
1 800 665-5320
(Mon to Fri) 9:00 am to 5:00 pm EST
From Languid Lovers to Hip-Hop Head Spinners
From The New York Times, October 2, 2006, by writer Jennifer Dunning.
Fatigue set in by the end of the overly generous second program in the Fall for Dance festival on Saturday night at City Center. But not before the evening's jewel, an excerpt from James Kudelka's "Fifteen Heterosexual Duets," set to Beethoven's "Kreutzer" Sonata.
Credit should go to Coleman Lemieux & Compagnie of Montreal, whose dancers moved easily and wittily, looking like grown-ups who had lived full lives. Mr. Kudelka's choreography is just as witty, full of ingenious partnering and glancing, perceptive takes on lovers' foibles and the art of the duet.