WE ALL FALL DOWN
INTERDISCIPLINARY CREATIONS
REQUIEM POP
Photo: Susan Moss
A choreographic concert that celebrates and deconstructs the myth of the rock star, through cycles of glory and decline. An intergenerational cast of six dancers and three musicians explore the recent works and life of the pop icon Iggy Pop to distill a universal essence: an embodied, poetic and frenzied reflection on aging and the mythologizing of the artist. The dance is powerful, the music enveloping; the performers move with their always sharp presence. They come together in a strange yet endearing pack, all while affirming their individuality. The spectral presence of the aging rock scan be sensed throughout, in their gestures, words, songs and presence. In a breathtaking requiem delivered without concessions, we are faced with a more intimate, vulnerable portrait of the legendary godfather of punk. The final and most spectacular chapter of the trilogy POP.
REQUIEM POP was created with the support of: Canada Council for the Arts, the Conseil des arts et des lettres du Québec, Agora de la danse, Studio 303, Département de danse de l'UQAM, Mainline Theatre, Playwright's Workshop Montreal, Godberd, Urban Element Zone, In Print.
Creation (Choregraphy, direction, text): Helen Simard (in collaboration with the team)
Performers: Stacey Désilier, Stephanie Fromentin, Jackie Gallant, Justin Gionet, Sébastien Provencher, Roger White, Sarah Williams, Angélique Wilkie, Ted Yates
Text and dramaturgical support: Mathieu Leroux
Rehearsal Director and Movement Coach: Victoria Mackenzie
Lighting Design and Technical Direction: Benoit Larivière
Sound Engineer: Jody Burkholder
Costumes: Tereska Gesing
Stage Manager: holly Greco
Not unlike Iggy, REQUIEM POP does not shy away from self-destruction: the show builds until it self-immolates—and then, weirdly, manages to recover. The deconstruction of many things—Iggy's music, the conventions of dance and storytelling, the boundaries between performer and audience, the use of the space—are the right kinds of envelope-pushing to tick off all the highbrow boxes, while managing the nearly impossible task of also not being boring.
—Tara McGowan-Ross, Broadway World
Requiem Pop’s ragged distortedness of the Iggy spectacle is pitch perfect... Simard did her homework. She traces the personality of these figures, develops a rapport with the audience but ultimately let’s us decide what defines a cult hero.
— Philip Szporer, The Dance Current