Month: October 2019

Categories
Arts

Art criticism doesn’t have to be theoretical

Ground Work offers students a unique platform to showcase their work

The launch of the first edition of Ground Work, an art criticism journal published by the Fine Arts Reading Room (FARR), was celebrated last week.

Artists and writers alike were encouraged to write about art that they encountered on and around Concordia, whether it be at the VAV Gallery, during a studio class, or anywhere else on campus.

“At Concordia, there isn’t a journal dedicated to art criticism within the fine arts community,” said Le Lin, who works at the FARR, noting that the form of art criticism that takes place within the faculty is more theoretical, aimed towards Art History students.

“When you interact with different spaces within Concordia－during critiques, at FOFA, Leonard and Bina－you sometimes have a lot to say,” said Lin, adding that Ground Work aims to offer a place for fine arts students to express themselves through writing. “[We wanted] Ground Work as something to offer everyone, and not just Art History students.”

Five versions of Ground Work are available, described as “collectibles” by Lin. Designed by Van Le, another employee of the FARR, the graphic concept originated from a cracked phone screen. A vibrant red arcade font and black fine line detailing adds an interesting and unexpected pop against the off-white paper, which folds out into a poster.

Each of the five printouts features a single text, ranging from works exploring contemporary art within urban landscapes, to review-type features about art exhibited within the school’s galleries.

Eva Morrison’s “Desire Lines” delves into user experience, in regards to the large “C” sculpture outside Concordia’s Sir George Williams Campus. Hea R. Kim’s “The Inner Presence of Absence: Dominique Sirois’ Sous Verre, Sous Terre III, IV, V” is an article about multimedia artist Dominique Sirois’ works, featured at Galerie Laroche/Joncas in downtown Montreal.

The texts, which are at once academic and personal alongside the DIY-approach assembly of the journal, convey expression and theory in a way that does not feel like an essay.

Despite offering publication grants to students, Ground Work is the first publication by the FARR. “I do see more programming [for the FARR] being done in the future,” said Lin. “We definitely see [Ground Work] being continued… or another FARR publication, maybe.”

The FARR is a student-run library-meets-resource centre, located on the second floor of Concordia’s EV building, offering resources, and publication and residency grants to students and clubs.

“A lot of resources come to us, so that we relay the information out,” said Lin, adding that the FARR’s catalogue is currently expanding to fill gaps of what is missing in the Webster library, and noting that they currently have a wide selection of new resources available from their trip to NY Art Book Fair.

All students interested in submitting work can expect to hear callouts for the next issue during the Winter semester.

Copies of Ground Work can be found at The Fine Arts Reading Room, at EV 2.785. The FARR is open Mon to Thur, from 10 a.m. to 7 p.m., and Fri from 10 a.m. to 6 p.m.

 

Photo by Cecilia Piga.

Categories
Music Quickspins

QUICKSPINS: Angel Olsen – All Mirrors

Riding the success of her recent releases, Angel Olsen takes a new orchestral direction on All Mirrors

Angel Olsen’s All Mirrors is a grand orchestral pop expedition into passion and loss. Just two years since the release of her last album, Phases, and three years since the major critical success of My Woman, Olsen has pivoted from her trusted folk-rock roots to a more bombastic, ambitious route on this newest project.

Olsen’s lyrics are often questioning and timid yet her vocal delivery carries all the power. This is especially apparent on the track “Impasse” where she belts “Take it out on me, I’m too caught up to see […] You know best, don’t you know” over gloomy swelling strings, creating a beautiful yet deeply unsettling atmosphere, a tone that appears often in the album.

Despite a sprinkling of upbeat moments on the album such as “Too Easy,” All Mirrors is incredibly dark. There is a palpable anger running through this project. Whether it’s anger at a past love like on “Lark,” or anger at herself as on the title track, Olsen isn’t letting anyone off the hook. All Mirrors is what a breakup album should be, Olsen’s songs of self-reflection and ire bring us even deeper into this powerful singer-songwriter’s mind.

9/10

Trial Track: “All Mirrors”

Star Bar: 

“It’s easy if you tell the truth

But knowing what it is, it’s not enough

And knowing that you love someone

Doesn’t mean you ever were in love” (“What It Is”)

Categories
Music Quickspins

QUICKSPINS: Danny Brown – uknowhatimsayin¿

Danny Brown

Danny Brown goes back to basics on uknowhatimsayin¿

Danny Brown, hip hop’s resident weirdo, had huge expectations for the follow-up to his acclaimed 2016 drug-fest of an album, Atrocity Exhibition. The album was grand in scope, featuring a nominee for this decade’s best posse-cut that saw Kendrick Lamar, Earl Sweatshirt, and Ab-Soul trade bars with the idiosyncratic Detroit rapper.

Uknowhatimsayin¿, on the other hand, is Brown’s most grounded effort to date. While still strange in comparison to most rap releases, this album is a far cry from what was expected. The intro, “Change Up,” begins with a single guitar string that echoes enough to give it the classic paranoid feeling of a Danny Brown track. His lyrics also reciprocate the eerie feeling of the song, as Brown raps about focusing on his own life (“Gotta keep a grip when the rent is due / N****s tryna get you for every last cent”).

Legendary rapper/producer Q-Tip executive produced the album, which is easy to see when listening to the songs he produced himself, such as standout “Dirty Laundry” and nostalgia-filled closer, “Combat.” This album is partly a love letter to 90s instrumentals, while also trying to add the signature Danny Brown touch to it.

Uknowhatimsayin¿ also stands out with its features as underground darlings Jpegmafia, Blood Orange and Run the Jewels all make appearances. “3 Tearz” sees a lively Killer Mike of Run the Jewels, where he delivers an impassioned verse targeted directly to U.S. president Donald Trump (“I don’t give a fuck ‘bout Trump, who got dump? / Who protesting collections at their garbage dump?”).

Danny Brown’s strangeness continues to flourish even as he approaches 40. The rapper never ceases to innovate in his work and on uknowhatimsayin¿, he does the most with as little as possible. Don’t mistake this project for a lazy return, this is exactly what he needed after Atrocity Exhibition.

8.5/10

Trial Track: “Dirty Laundry”

Star Bar: 

“Work all day ’til the work gone (Step)

Talkin’ back in the day when I had a chirp phone (Boop)

My n***a made a wrong turn, got flipped in the zone

Had to say I was a smoker just so I could go home (Home)”

  • Danny Brown on “Dirty Laundry”
Categories
Opinions

From one phone addict to another

It was the 14th time I hovered my thumb over the empty space where my instagram app used to be, when I realized that my social media addiction was more invasive than I thought.

As I sat on the bus that Monday morning, I felt anxious, bored and fidgety – a recipe that I knew could only be cured by scrolling through my ex-best friend’s homecoming pictures.

I’m weak. Sure enough, I re-downloaded the app on the bus. I did this so I could receive the hit of dopamine that comes with looking at pictures of humans I barely know, getting likes, comments, validation and all that fun stuff we do on our mobile devices. Dare I sit with my own thoughts and self regulate my inner dialogue for 20 minutes straight without distraction?

I often feel like I have little-to-no control over my experience with my technological devices. We have allowed it to be normal for our minds to be constantly interrupted with notifications, messages and funny dog memes.

I wish it was as easy as deleting the apps, but social media and phone usage goes deeper than that. So here I am, still grappling with how to exist in an overcrowded, oversharing world of communication – and I’m assuming you are too.

Here’s the thing: I find researching phone addictions quite frustrating. Often times article headlines will be along the lines of, “Six easy ways to get off and stay off your phone!” or “Three Simple tools to curb your phone addiction!” or even, “I got rid of my phone and my life has never been the same!”

I just don’t buy it. I feel like my phone addiction can’t be fixed with “Seven great tips” because this problem goes beyond life hacks. Similar to false weight loss diets that tell you to drink green juice and rub kale on your temples, these quick fixes are ridiculous. We need to learn more about the psychology behind why we depend on our phones, how the companies make money and how to change our philosophy.

Cal Newport, an associate professor at Georgetown University in Washington, and writer of the book Digital Minimalism, has been researching this epidemic extensively over the past few years and providing practice and frameworks to bring balance to people’s lives.

The movement Digital Minimalism is about living deliberately. Newport says when integrating new technology into your life, one must weigh their costs and benefits. One of the major costs of modern technology is solitude deprivation.

“A state in which you spend close to zero time alone with your own thoughts and free from input from other minds.”

Newport explains that having time alone creates opportunities for problem solving, self regulating, focusing, de-stressing and getting creative. Our discomfort with boredom is an epidemic, and our brains were not built for this constant stimulation. This has caused a mental health crisis. The ubiquitous nature of our cell phone use has been increasingly linked to the rise in anxiety and depression, especially in young people born after 1995.

Now is the part where I would give you a list of strategies to help you with this addiction. But alas, that would be hypocritical.

Instead, we need to educate ourselves on this overpowering issue of addiction and make significant lifestyle changes. Reading books like Newports’, researching, sharing your anxieties with peers and demanding more regulations from Facebook, Google and the powers that be are a few first steps.

Newport writes, “it’s easy to be seduced by the small amount of profit offered by the latest app or service, but then forget its cost in terms of the most important resource we possess: the minutes of our life.”

The most valuable commodity in our economy is your attention – so I hope I have it.

 

Graphic by @sundaeghost

Categories
Briefs News

World in brief: deadly typhoon, Iranian women’s victory and religious violence in Burkina Faso

Oct. 10 became a historic day, as Iranian women were allowed into a football stadium for the first time in 40 years. The decision came after FIFA threatened to suspend Iran over their male-only policy that has been governing the country for decades. The Guardian reported that the death of Sahar Khodayari earlier this September had a major impact on the FIFA directive. The 29-year-old woman set herself on fire in fear of being jailed after dressing up as a boy, trying to attend a football match. Her tragic death fueled a national outcry, but resulted in more than 3,500 women finally obtaining their first ticket to a football game.

Two people were killed and nine remain missing as a result of the biggest typhoon to hit Japan in decades. Since the hit on Oct. 12, more than one million people have been urged to leave their homes. While Japan is frequently hit by typhoons, BBC has described Typhoon Hagibis as the worst storm in 60 years. It was reported that 270,000 homes have since lost power caused by flooding from the heavy rains. The last typhoon to have caused serious damage was back in 1958, killing over 1,200 people.

Sixteen people were shot dead while attending prayers in a northern Salmossi village mosque in Burkina Faso.  As reported by Al Jazeera, the armed gunmen who are yet to be identified entered the mosque on Friday evening and opened fire. It resulted in an ongoing climate of panic as citizens started to flee the area. For the past few years, the region has been struggling with ethnic and religious tensions advanced by armed groups such as Al-Qaeda and ISIS. More than 500,000 people have been forced to leave their homes since January due to extreme violence, the United Nations said on Friday.

 

Graphic by @sundaeghost

Categories
Ar(t)chives

Simply Scientific: Tardigrades

Objectively, humans shouldn’t have survived for so many years. In fact, compared to all other species, humans probably rank as the worst suited for living on our planet.

Cheetahs, for example, can outrun us without effort. Face to face against a gorilla and it’s an easy K.O. Not to mention some of the smallest organisms such as spiders or scorpions that, with a meaningless sting or bite, can lead to a fatal end. And those are only a handful of examples as explained in an Arte documentary.

On the opposite side of the spectrum lives a tiny eight-legged animal almost invisible to the naked eye that is literally invincible. In fact, that tiny beast survived all five mass extinctions! Tardigrades, commonly known as water bears or moss piglets, can thrive in the harshest conditions known to humans.

Measuring a mere 0.4 millimetres, scientists have recorded these creatures’ presence on top of Everest as well as in the deepest parts of the sea. Their physiology enables them to survive in high toxic or saline environment for years. Suppress their food and water supply? No problem! Their small bodies can endure pressures up to 1,000 times ours. Stick them in a 150º C oven and that’s all games. Absolute zero or -271º C is just an ice bath for them.

If that’s not impressive enough, tardigrades can survive the void of space. In 2007, a group of dehydrated tardigrades were brought into space, where they were exposed to non-gravity conditions. Bombarded with solar UV radiation, no source of oxygen, unimaginable temperatures emanating from the sun and freezing cold temperatures from the nothingness of outer space, 68 per cent of the group revived once they were brought back on Earth.

Their survival abilities are an example of perfectly engineered natural creatures. These small creatures make humans look like wimps.

 

Graphic by @sundaeghost

Categories
Sports

Concordia 38 ETS 7: Men’s rugby team keeps win streak going against Piranhas

The Concordia Stingers men’s rugby team notched tonight their 21st consecutive Réseau du sport étudiant du Québec (RSEQ) win, defeating the École de technologie supérieure (ÉTS) Piranhas 38-7 at Concordia Stadium.

The Stingers haven’t lost a game in the league since their RSEQ quarter-final game of 2016 against the Bishop’s University Gaiters. Stingers head coach Craig Beemer said there isn’t really a secret or method that can explain such success.

“We’re not really worrying about the wins or losses,” Beemer said. “It’s not about me [or or any particular player]. It’s about doing things the right way, and having an attitude where there’s no reason to accept anything less than your best.”

Beemer added a lot of it has to do with the team’s culture. He said the team is surrounded by great people who leave things better than they found them.

“I have an amazing coaching staff that offers things I can’t offer,” Beemer said. “We have players, consistently pushing other players to their best. When you’re just worrying about the process on your day-to-day, you end up getting asked why you’re having [such a streak].”

The Piranhas gave the Stingers a rough first half, scoring first and limiting the Stingers to one try at halftime. Beemer said his team knew this would be a tough match, as they didn’t know their opponent that much.

“They played the other teams really hard, and they’re really physical,” Beemer said. “We knew what was coming, but I don’t think our guys were necessarily quite ready for it. We didn’t have that excitement that [we] kind of saw in the last in the last 20 minutes of the game.”

Momentum changed in the second half. Beemer said the conversation at halftime was about getting the right attitude, and make sure things were done the right way.

“There were a lot of physical mistakes [in the first half],” Beemer said. “I think that had more to do with our mental preparation going into the game. There was a lot of negative talk going on the field in the first half.”

Michael Laplaine-Pereira was named MVP of the game with a try and five points. All six tries scored by the Stingers were from different players, and seven players registering points.

The Stingers now have a 4-0 record with two games left to their regular season. They’ll play the Université de Montréal Carabins on Oct. 20 at 4 p.m. at the terrain Vincent-d’Indy.

Feature photo by Laurence B.D.

Categories
Music

Injury Reserve jailbreaks Le Belmont

Photo by Louis Pavlakos

Arizona rap trio Injury Reserve introduce themselves to Montreal in riotous fashion

The lights inside Le Belmont dimmed. A thick fog started to fill up the small venue. Suddenly, three silhouettes appeared on stage as the beat to “Rap Song Tutorial” started playing. The song, while different from the studio version, announces their arrival. The beat shifts and distorts enough to get the crowd riled up.

Silence follows. In an instant, the beat drops as the harsh yelling of “GTFU” begins.

Injury Reserve is here.

Following the release of their debut self-titled album, Injury Reserve, the group saw increased popularity and acclaim as their latest effort was lauded by fans and critics alike. The album took more than two years to complete as the group spent most of their time in Europe developing it. While Floss and Live From The Dentist’s Office showed their unwavering potential and their experimental tendencies, their self-titled project was their true introduction to the world.

In a small venue, the lighting made for a photographer’s nightmare. The three members of the group were barely visible, but their stage presence more than made up for the lack of clear vision. Really, they didn’t need to be seen; they needed to be heard. Ritchie With a T and Stepa J Groggs rapped like their lives depended on it on their live renditions of heavy-hitting bangers such as “Oh Shit!!!” and their most memorable track “Jailbreak The Tesla.”

The group’s internet-heavy aesthetic fit the overall tone of the concert. Their faces never showed and they never properly introduced themselves, allowing for a dark and anonymous concert that probably would have driven off any new listeners. Despite this, Injury Reserve still performed deeper cuts that couldn’t be singles. Songs like “What a Year It’s Been” act as personal reflections of the two rappers in the group.

Producer Parker Corey was the least visible member throughout the set as he mostly stayed at the back of the stage handling the song transitions and beat adjustments. Although he was never seen, his work behind the DJ booth was essential in providing the wild atmosphere they sought out.

The standout performance of the night wasn’t a banger, however. The auto-tune heavy and masterfully produced “ttkt” followed the mood switch-up after “Best Spot in the House.” Ritchie With a T’s auto-crooning is a perfect example of how auto-tune can make someone’s singing more enjoyable. The glitchy effect of Ritchie’s vocals doubled down on the already dark tone of the track.

The balance between bangers and introspective deep cuts shows how versatile Injury Reserve is. Their first performance in Montreal was truly a triumphant success. Having three full-length projects and one EP under their belt, their show expertly combined the best aspects of their music into one concise concert.

 

Feauture photo by Louis Pavlakos

In-text photo by Britanny Clarke

Categories
News

Advanced voting available on campus from Oct. 5-9

“Every voice matters and every vote counts in an election,” said Concordia President Graham Carr in an emailed statement sent to the Concordian. “Concordia is happy to host, like several post-secondary campuses, polling stations for our community and our neighbours.”

From Oct. 5 to 9, those who are eligible can cast their votes ahead of the official Oct. 21 date. Advanced voting is available at several other universities and CEGEPs across the country for this year’s federal election.

According to Pierre Pilon, Regional Media Advisor for Elections Canada, the initiative to make voting more accessible to students began in 2015. The last federal election launched a pilot project involving 40 post-secondary institutions to offer advanced voting to students and staff. Concordia partnered up with the project for a second term this year, along with over 100 other institutions.

Pilon said this partnership is voluntary.

Offered on both the Loyola and downtown campuses, eligible Canadians can vote at the following times: Oct. 5, from 9 a.m. to 6 p.m.; Oct. 6, from 12 p.m. to 4 p.m.; Oct. 7, 8 and 9 from 10 a.m. to 10:30 p.m.

“I encourage everyone, and especially our students, to make their voice heard by taking advantage of the on-campus polling stations at Concordia and the possibility to vote early on certain days even if this is not your assigned polling station,” said Carr.

Concordia student James William Altimas, 22, said he plans to vote. The joint specialization anthropology and sociology student said the climate march on Sept. 27 solidified his decision. Seeing such a large number of people manifesting for change inspired him and made him think that his vote, along with all the others, could change something.

“The big reason why I’m voting is because of climate change,” said Altimas. “Maybe we can make a difference.”

“I voted before but never really thought it was going to make a difference,” he continued. “But this time around, there’s a lot of people realizing that we’re fucked if we don’t do anything.”

How to register to vote

Those who are over 18, have proof of Canadian citizenship, and have an address, can vote.

You must register before voting, otherwise you are ineligible. You can use the Online Voter Registration Service before Tue Oct. 15 by 6 p.m.

You can also register to vote in person at any Elections Canada office across Canada. If you register before the 15th, you will get a voter information card in the mail that tells you where and when you can vote.

Alternatively, you can register to vote on Oct. 21, the official date of the elections. Don’t forget to bring proof of address with you. Before voting, you should know the names of the MPs running in your electoral district.

At Loyola campus, the polling station is located at the Jesuit Hall Conference Centre, RF Atrium. For the downtown campus, it’s located at the J.W. McConnell Building, in the LB Atrium.

 

Graphic by Victoria Blair

 

Categories
Opinions

“You like my body the way it is”

A few weeks ago, at The Link’s launch party (no, there is no feud between our publications) BackxWash performed “You like my body the way it is” off her Deviancy album. In a moment that felt like I was in a movie — as if the camera was behind and panned to a POV of me watching BackxWash perform — I latched onto those lyrics and snapped into journalist mode. A story idea (this one) came alive.

BackxWash starts by saying she had a dream she would die and go to heaven, moving into the second verse with, “If he [Jesus] made me in his image/ It’s amazing how I hate seeing my face up in the mirror”. The rest of the song takes you through this sentiment; the feeling of inadequacy, the idea of wanting to change parts of yourself, either partly or completely. Then the chorus shines through: “you like my body the way it is” — you admire it and cherish it and love it just how it is, regardless of how much I don’t like about it or what I want to change.

There has been a growth in the body-positivity movement over the past few years, with everyone preaching that you should love yourself just the way you are. The thing with body-positivity is that it can take years for some to actually achieve a state of mind of full acceptance.

If someone has years of issues with their body image, just telling them “love yourself” or that there’s nothing wrong with them doesn’t do much. Sometimes, especially if someone has struggled with loving themselves for a long time, it takes more than simple affirming statements from a stranger over the Internet or kind words from your friends to really spark a change of mind.

BackxWash’s song is a reality check that these thoughts of inadequacy and of wanting to change parts of yourself are still on people’s minds, despite the body positivity movement trying to rid the world of negative thoughts people have about their bodies. Her song is also a soft reminder that having another person love the parts of you that you hate can help you learn to love those parts yourself.

There have been times where I didn’t like parts of my body, either because of the perfect body propaganda on social media and in advertising around me, or because of years of feeling inadequate and inferior to everyone else my age, or even because I was comparing myself to others. All of these added to my already not-so-great self-image. But between those times of self-doubt and of feeling inadequate, there have been people who were patient with me, who took the time to learn what I didn’t like about myself and made sure I knew they loved those parts of me. They made sure to tell me they liked my body the way it is, even if I couldn’t see it at first. And soon enough, because of these people, I started liking the parts of myself that I used to not like so much.

The point of this is that, sometimes, we all need a little help loving ourselves, to see ourselves in a new light and to not feel so alone. As BackxWash says: “But when I’m feeling so cold, you don’t get me a coat/ Your touch gives me the warmth, you don’t leave me alone.” While, no, we shouldn’t need to depend on someone’s validation and idolize their opinions about us, having others’ reaffirmations that they love the parts of you that you dislike can help you in loving yourself. By someone telling you they like your body just how it is – without objectifying you, of course – despite all the flaws you point out to them, you may also start liking your body the way it is.

Graphic by @sundaeghost

Categories
Arts

Carmina Burana: redefining the medieval manuscript

A contemporary and refreshing approach to the iconic ballet

The first time I heard Carl Orff’s interpretation of the medieval manuscript, Carmina Burana, was on the soundtrack of Oliver Stone’s 1991 film The Doors. My best friend and I were creating the Blink-182 logo with Hama beads, small hollow colourful cylinders that could be used to create designs on plastic plates covered in little pegs. The design would then be ironed, buffered by parchment paper, leaving it solidified. Before ironing, the design is quite delicate and any movement can cause pieces to fall out of place.

The Blink-182 logo was quite a difficult project, with its arrows and paint splatters, but we were ambitious. The moment we picked up the plate, that very intense part of O Fortuna came on and we quickly, but carefully, returned the plate to the floor before we buckled down laughing ourselves to tears.

O Fortuna is incredibly triumphant and epic. So very different than our childish crafting.

Outside of The Doors’ soundtrack, I wasn’t aware of Carmina Burana, even less so of the incredible power the verses carried.

“Carmina Burana” is latin for “songs from Benediktbeuern,” Benediktbeuern being a district in Bavaria, southern Germany. The original document is a collection of 254 medieval poems which was found in a monastery in Benediktbeuern, dating back sometime between the 11th and 13th centuries. In 1936, 24 of the 254 poems were reinterpreted as cantatas by german composer Carl Orff. These verses have since been performed in orchestras and ballets internationally.

This October, Les Grands Ballets de Montreal presents 150 artists (dancers, musicians, chorists and vocalists) to bring Carmina Burana and Stabat Mater to life once more, choreographed by Romania’s Edward Clug.

Stabat Mater , a 13th-century Italian-Christian hymn, opened the performance on Oct. 3. Forty dancers walked slowly onto the stage, 20 women and 20 men in matching uniforms. The men wore black shirts and pants, and the women wore beigey-pink long sleeve dresses. The fabric was light and emphasised their movements. I was immediately reminded of The Handmaid’s Tale, the young daughters wearing their pink spring dresses and the dark Angels and Eyes opposing them. Stabat Mater rejoices the Virgin Mary, recounting her suffering upon Jesus’ crucifixion.

 

Their first movements were almost silly, exaggerated head tilts while in deep, strong squats, stiff, total vibrations of their bodies. The two groups moved in conversation with each other, as if arguing. Mimicking each others’ movements in response.

I had expected something different from a ballet, not traditional organza tutus, but graceful, soaring leaps and strong men holding equally strong, but delicate women.

Clug’s choreography was so contemporary, so refreshing. Maybe I could move that way if I wanted to. Their movements were performative versions of rather relatable action; sharing an oversized jacket with someone larger than you, lying on your partner’s stomach, trying to melt your body into theirs, waiting in line.

In one moment, so much movement and noise would be happening on stage, and the next, complete silence, low chorus, each dancer frozen but a few. The others would fade out, and the story would continue, focusing on a new couple’s journey.

Orff’s cantatas, selected to represent quarters of the original manuscript, recite tales of romance, morality, spirituality and pleasure. Clug outlined an imaginary village, telling the stories of its occupants, stories of birth, love, loss and moving on.

In one memorable scene, the men and women were lined up on opposite ends of the stage. The men would fall slowly, drunkenly, and the women would chase across to lift them back to their feet. They did this in pairs, then all at once. Jetting across in their striking outfits, they had added thick black pumps and headwraps that matched their dresses.

The second half began with O Fortuna. I expected chaos, but there was none. Instead, there was an incredible synchronicity. The dancers were now wearing red and black ombre dresses and footed leggings, the costumes worn by women faded black to red and men wore the opposite. Over time, they removed their layers, their bodies glistening as if nude. The group moved with power. Supporting each other as one organism, it was mind-numbing and awakening at the same time.

Carmina Burana will be performed at Place des Arts until Oct. 19, tickets are 40 per cent off for youth under 30 all season long.

 

 

 

 

With files from Les Grands Ballets de Montreal and the public domain.

Categories
Sports

Championship doesn’t change men’s Stingers basketball team’s season approach

For the first time since 2011-12, the Concordia Stingers men’s basketball team will start its Réseau du sport étudiant du Québec (RSEQ) season as league defending champions. Yet, the mindset remains the same for the Stingers.

For head coach Rastko Popovic and his team, expectations that come with being the defending champions are more of a cliché in sports.

“We still try to recruit the best players we can,” Popovic said. “We still spend time in the gym with our players to try to make them better. There’s no guarantee we’ll win again this year. We’ll obviously do our best to do so, but it’s a new season and a new challenge.”

Popovic said that last year’s success is the result of many years of work. He explained that some of the players who won last year are the same who went through the pain of losing a semi-final and a final game before winning the championship. Yet, new players will be at their debuts with the team this season and won’t have lived last year’s success.

“It’s part of the process in sports,” Popovic said. “You hear it a lot now with many professional sports team saying to trust the process. If anybody could just do something by snapping their fingers, it would be that easy to coach in any sport, not just basketball.”

Seven months after their championship and nationals participation, fourth-year player Olivier Simon said he and the team finally had time to reflect on what last year meant to them. Yet, he said the focus was turned to this season in a matter of time.

“We worked hard this summer in order to recreate [our accomplishments of last season this year],” Simon said. “Yes, it’s fun to win a championship, as you celebrate for a week or two, but after that you just want to get more. I knew [last season] it wasn’t my last year, so my mindset was more about winning more championships. Of course we took the time to reflect on our season. To get that win and see our efforts pay off was the best feeling we’ve had for a while.”

Some of those players will have bigger leadership roles in 2019-20, as the Stingers lost important pieces this summer, including team captain Ricardo Monge. In his final year with the Stingers, the point guard was named the MVP in Quebec university men’s basketball conference and received all-Canadian honours.

Simon said that after the experience he and the other returning players acquired, he wanted to be more of a leader for this season. The players might have to earn their next championship, but the experience he acquired is invaluable.

“Now I know what’s needed to [win the RSEQ title and go to nationals],” Simon said. “Guys just need to follow and be on board with us because we know what it takes to win. For me, it’s just to bring that energy and effort every day in the gym.”

For Sami Ghandour, also entering his fourth year, last season served him as a motivation this past off-season. Ghandour said that despite winning the RSEQ championship, the loss at nationals hurt and pushed him to get better.

“In my first year, we didn’t get past semi-finals,” Ghandour said. “In my second year, we reached the final, but lost. In my third year, we won, but lost in the first round [at nationals]. We saw that we were good for the RSEQ, but once on the national court, the level [of play] was different. Even after winning all that, it hurts when you lose like that at nationals.”

With the season set to start next month, Popovic said there’s a long process to follow before thinking about championship goals for 2019-20 campaign. He said it’s a long season, and there are many games to win before those in the RSEQ playoffs.

“Yes, we can talk about [the fact that] our goal is to go to nationals, but we don’t get there by just saying it,” Popovic said. “We still have a lot of things to work on before [coming to this moment]. We’re trying to get better one day at the time. We’re trying to get better this weekend than [we were the previous one]. That’s how we see progress, with small steps to get to where we want to get.”

Ghandour said the team wants to win consecutive championships. However, he explained that with this new season, the Stingers and all teams in the league will start at the same point.

“We are the defending champions, which makes people even more hungry to play us,” Ghandour said. “[We] need to keep working, and keep [our] feet on the ground. [We] want to win the championship every single year.”

 

Photos by Britanny Clark

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