Dance Review : Paradoxe Mélodie is Too Beautiful For Words
Le Carré des Lombes' Paradoxe Mélodie. Choreographed by Danièle Desnoyers.
On April 30, the dance company Carré De Lombes presented their newest piece Paradoxe Mélodie. Ten dancers, a harpist, no over the top costumes, and no crazy makeup made for an outstanding performance. Danièle Desnoyers choreographed yet another mysterious show starring incredible dancers and beautiful, but at times dark, music.
The show begins with a young lady playing with a harp in the middle of the stage in a beautiful gown. After a few minutes of confused silence in the room, she leaves the stage. A dancer comes on stage and walks in circles. A second dancer joins her, then a third and a fourth. With out saying one word, the performers tell a story.
The dancers demonstrate amazing dance technique, entertaining tricks, and — oh — they also make it look so easy and effortless! I truly can’t get over how beautiful they are. They move so gracefully, yet with such assurance and strength, letting their movements slowly melt and become one with the music. Each and every one of them has something remarkable and exclusive, however during the few in-sync moments they have on stage, I could swear they all became one.
Despite how outstanding the artists are, I would be lying if I said my stupefaction with the show ended there. Stating that Danièle Denoyers’ choreography is brilliant is a huge understatement, but I’m afraid no word in the English dictionary could describe the genius that this woman is. The performance was avant-garde, unique, raw, everything a contemporary production needs to be and so much more. It was a perfect mixture of strength and vulnerability. Her concepts were such an enigma and every single step had a meaning, or a hundred meanings. With out any doubt the 25 years Denoyers spent in the business are evident, to say the least.
Le Carré des Lombes’ Paradoxe Mélodie. Choreographed by Danièle Desnoyers.
The show as a whole was a very interesting learning experience for both my companion and I. Being used to classical ballet, this was something fairly new to me and Denoyers’ amazing choreography made me so eager to know more about this strange, yet beautiful and limitless world of contemporary art. Of course, the beauty of the show was not limited by the choreography. The amazing dancers and Éveline Grégoire-Rousseau’s exceptional harp music greatly contributed to the final result.
True artists are far too rare, and when there’s a dozen in a room with you, that’s a once in a lifetime opportunity.
Paradoxe Mélodie took place April 30-May 2 at Théâtre Maisonneuve by Danse Danse. For upcoming shows, click HERE.
