Photo : © David Wong
This will be choreographer Dorian Nuskind-Oder’s third appearance at FURIES, after presenting Memory Palace in 2021 and Speed Glue (co-created with Simon Grenier-Poirier) in 2023!
Looper emerged from an exchange between choreographer Dorian Nuskind-Oder and circus artist Elena Lev, who explore and re-imagine Elena’s classic hula hoop act. Spinning a hoop requires both skill and persistence. How does one continue – for minutes, hours, years? How does one find renewed interest with each revolution? Beginner and virtuoso, both must find their own answers.
Looper is presented in partnership with the Couvent de Sainte-Anne-des-Monts.
Dorian Nuskind-Oder and Simon Grenier-Poirier’s projects reflect their interest in social dynamics, humor and unusual forms. Their past works include: Speed Glue (2019), a choreographic score for two ping-pong players; Orchestrated Accidents (2018) a performance / installation / game about destiny created within the frame of a retrospective exhibition for seminal quebecoise artiste Françoise Sullivan; and Memory Palace (2016), a performance for three dancers with a background in social or folk dance. These performances have been presented in a variety of contexts including the Festival TransAmériques, the Musée d’art contemporain de Montréal, the Chinese National Table Tennis Museum in Shanghai, the Tokyo Performing Arts Meeting, l’Atelier de Paris / CDCN, Chapter Arts Center (Cardiff, UK), and the Centre récréatif de Marsoui (FURIES). (Photo on the left: Dorian Nuskind-Oder © Noire Mouliom. Photo on the right: Simon Grenier-Poirier © Vincent Lafrance)
Elena Lev, born in Moscow, Russia, in 1981, began her training to become a rhythmic gymnast at an early age, assisted and coached by her mother, Elena Lev Sr. She developed a signature hula hoop act incorporating gymnastics and contortion. Her big breakthrough came when she was invited to join one of the iconic touring shows Alegria of Cirque du Soleil, of which she was a member from 1994 through 2000. She also performed briefly with the Quidam troupe in 2002. Lev performed with Cirque du Soleil’s Wintuk at the WaMu Theater at Madison Square Garden in New York City, Zumanity in Las Vegas, The Oscars in 2002 and many more worldwide events and galas. (Photo : Courtesy of the artist)
Concept: Simon Grenier-Poirier and Dorian Nuskind-Oder
Choreography, performance: Elena Lev and Dorian Nuskind-Oder
Dramaturgy: Simon Grenier-Poirier
Production: Le Radeau
Co-production: Danse-Cité
Creative residencies: Maison de la culture Claude Léveillé, MainLine Theatre
Looper was presented in October 2023 during the COSMOS event, as part of Danse-Cité’s programming.
