When I first heard of the jig/contemporary dance fusion, I have to admit that I was sceptical. But dare I say that something quasi-magical happens when these two worlds meet. To put it bluntly, the contemporary dance seems to subdue any potential tackiness that might creep up in the jig, but more importantly, the jig seems to suck any potential pretentiousness right out of contemporary dance.
So after a pleasant visit of this hybrid last year, I was very much looking forward to seeing this year’s 2nd Biennale de gigue contemporaine at Tangente. Far from being disappointing, the four works from the first week proved to be highly entertaining.
The opening work, Marie-Soleil Pilette’s Zone Gigue en solo, is danced only to the sound of her footwork. However, since one of the purposes of contemporary jig is to rethink the connection between the upper and lower body, Pilette is not afraid to throw herself on the ground as she keeps tapping her feet.
For the second piece, choreographer Jean-Philippe Lortie rethought the musical chair game with Pass
