Stand Up/Strip Down - Montreal Part 1

Every minute I spend in Montreal I wonder why it is I ever leave. With so much happening both on the streets and in the clubs it really is an artist's dream city. If one isn't inspired around every corner to create from the everyday, one is soaking up another's latest work or project or idea. I've been couch surfing at a Mile End apartment full of artist types, a dancer, a poet, an arts administrator. We shot some footage for Freed in the kitchen this afternoon, more body fragments on greenscreen, a gros merci to Manou and Cora for lending their limbs to the project! On Friday I popped in to check out Parcours Dance 2009 in the Outremont area, a conference hosted by dance advocacy group La Danse Sur Les Routes (ladansesurlesroutes.com). I didn't attend the conference, but went to check out a "process showcase" of Devorer Le Ciel, the latest work from Daniele Desnoyers and her company Le Carre des Lombes (lecarredeslombes.com), running January 14-16 at Centre Pierre-Peladeau. On Thursday I was lucky enough to stumble into Les Katacombs and caught Stand Up/Strip Down, the comedy/burlesque hybrid conceived by Montreal comic DeAnne Smith (deannesmith.com). Featuring some hilarious stand up and poignant, sexy burlesque this event is a sure winner, with plenty of laughs and nipples to keep the crowd delighted. And it's still only Saturday! 

DeAnne Smith

STRUTTing it in St. Catharine's

The Niagara Arts Centre, based in St. Catharine's, mounted their decade old annual fundraiser STRUTT last night, a wearable art extravaganza. Around 50 artists created pieces for the show which was half fashion and half performance art. Stand outs on the fashion front included a dress made from playing cards, and one made from bike tubes. The NAC has been around for more than 40 years, "serving the working artists and the community of Niagara". (nac.org) Based on last night's spectacle, the NAC serves them well, as the event was both well run and well attended. 

Plasticine Pet Chase

figurines by Traci Cluff

set by Bill Beso

video by Travis Macloud

Hanging with collaborator Bill Beso in Winnipeg this weekend. Audio before lunch, video after dinner. We're being productive. Freed shoot today.

Spinning Wheel

spinning wheel by Bill Beso

background image by Juanita Williams

video by Travis Macloud

Jamming in Saskatoon

After a long and crampy train ride from Vancouver, I breathed a deep sigh of relief when I stepped out of the station onto the wide open Saskatoon prairie. Despite feeling like I just performed teleportation, I had a productive day, first meeting with David Lariviere, artistic director of PAVED arts, a non-profit community-based organization for the promotion and exhibition of the photographic, audio, video, electronic, and digital arts. (pavedarts.ca) Then I wandered not far up the street to meet Kyle from Free Flow Dance for the second installment of the Freed the Puppet Video 3 shoot. Kyle is a wonderful dancer, and captured the essence of the project instantly. Free Flow is throwing a Black Light dance party on Saturday at their space, with DJs and performances and of course, white outfits eerily aglow. (freeflowdance.com). Later on I returned to both spots for some jamming, first to Free Flow for a open contact jam and then to PAVED for their Thursday noise jam. They are, as you'd expect, technical wizards and stream their jams live through their website. Check it out!

PAVED arts noise jam with David, Todd, Laura, Ian, and Travis