DAINA ASHBEE: J’ai Pleuré Avec Les Chiens (Time, Creation, Destruction) 

$10 tickets are available to presenters attending the APAP/ISPA conferences.

To request a ticket, email Yolette Yellow-Duke at yolette@gibneydance.org

January 13-14, 8:00 PM EST

J’ai Pleuré Avec Les Chiens (Time, Creation, Destruction) 

Naked bodies–animal energy–immediate emotional states.

In her first group piece, Ashbee stages a human herd that oscillates between intense physicality and touching tenderness. The full nudity throughout the performance exposes the tension of muscles, but also vulnerability, openness and transformation. The starting point is the exploration of a sensation: seeking solace in the embrace of one’s dog, howling with this companion species. At the same time emerges a ritual of cohabitation and dissolution of boundaries, transitory, fugitive–a space in which beings and things can constantly change. With sober precision, she reveals her unmistakable trademark: the poetics of explosion and the power of trance.

This performance contains nudity.

CAST AND COLLABORATORS

Choreographer: Daina Ashbee
Rehearsal Director: Gabriel Nieto
Performers: Irene Martínez, Greys Vecchionacce, Gabriel Nieto, Audrey Sides, Elise Vanderborght
Mentor: Benoît LaChambre
Lighting Designer: Vito Walter
Musical compilation: Sean MacPherson, Daina Ashbee, Gabriel Nieto
Audio text: Louise Hay
Text (Française): Nayla Naoufal

J’ai Pleuré Avec Les Chiens (Time, Creation, Destruction) by Daina Ashbee is co-presented by Gibney, Springboard Danse Montréal, and EMPAC / The Curtis R. Priem Experimental Media and Performing Arts Center at Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute.

ABOUT THE ARTIST

Daina Ashbee, an artist, performer and choreographer based in British Columbia, Canada, is known for her radical works at the edge of dance and performance.

In 2015-2016, she was a double prizewinner at the Prix de la danse de Montréal, winning both the Prix du CALQ for Best Choreography, and the Prix Découverte de la danse. Daina was named by the prestigious German TANZ magazine as one of 30 promising artists for the year 2017 and named one of 25 to watch by the American publication DANCE in 2018. In 2019, she won a New York Dance and Performance Award, Bessie, for Outstanding Choreographer. In 2021, she had two separate retrospectives of her performance artworks in Montpellier, France and Montreal, Canada.

Recognized as one of the most prolific choreographers of her generation, since 2015 her work has been presented over one-hundred times in 15 countries and over 35 different cities. Her work has been presented in some of the most prestigious festivals The Venice Biennale, Oktoberdans, the Munich Dance Biennale and Montpellier Danse, among others.

FUNDING CREDITS

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. RESIDENCY PARTNERS: KVS Brussels Stadstheater, Harbourfront Centre (TO), Montpellier Danse (FR), CCOV – Centre de Creation O Vertigo. 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 de Québec

ABOUT THE CO-PRESENTERS

Founded by Gina Gibney in 1991, Gibney is a New York City-based performing arts and social justice organization. Gibney’s mission is to tap into the vast potential of movement, creativity, and performance to effect social change and personal transformation.

The mission comes to life through three strategic and interwoven program areas: GIBNEY COMPANY commissions and performs works by renowned choreographers to explore connections between the rigorous physicality of contemporary dance alongside responsive, humanistic storytelling. GIBNEY CENTER, a meeting ground for New York City’s artistic community comprising 23 studios and 5 performance spaces that provide critical space for training, rehearsal, professional development, performances, and convenings; GIBNEY COMMUNITY, programs that use movement to help address a range of social issues with a focus on gender-based violence and its prevention.

Springboard Presents: Springboard Fellow Daina Ashbee
Springboard Danse Montréal, founded in 2001 by Artistic Director Alexandra Wells, is a nonprofit contemporary dance organization that facilitates career development andconnects professional dancers and emerging choreographers with renowned international contemporary companies. Our organization proudly represents Daina Ashbee as one of two 2022 Springboard Fellows.

Springboard’s fellowship program was designed to provide support, residency, financial, marketing, and mentoring resources within our global network to emerging choreographers. The program strives to uplift the Fellow’s artistic endeavors throughout their Fellowship year and beyond. This initiative is supported by our partner Gibney which, through Springboard Presents: Springboard Fellows, graciously extended the gift of their space, production, and collaborative marketing efforts, thus uplifting the creative visions of Springboard artists.

EMPAC / Curtis R. Priem Experimental Media and Performing Arts Center at Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute in Troy, NY is dedicated to the commissioning, production, and presentation of ambitious performances and artworks across music, time-based visual art, theater, and dance that foster deep artistic inquiry and meaningful audience engagement. EMPAC Spring 2023 is made possible by Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute, with additional support from the Jaffe Fund for Experimental Media and Performing Arts, National Endowment for the Arts, and New York State Council on the Arts with the support of the Governor and the New York State Legislature.

COVID-19 Safety Policies at Gibney Center

Masks are required for all audience members attending live performances at Gibney Center. Proof of vaccination is no longer required. Nonetheless, Gibney encourages all who are eligible to maintain up-to-date vaccination status in accordance with CDC Guidelines.

Photo by Stephanie Paillet.