I express the deepest gratitude towards the dancers for their generosity, audacity, devotion and patience throughout this 4 year process. It has been an honor to see your individual imaginations, body archives and desires materialize in the work. I’ve learnt so much about myself and art making through you. We’ve formed a special bond that extends beyond the project. It’s been a true gift.
Thanks to the design team for contributing your craft to realize the vision. Angela, your costumes are a labor of love, constructed in such an alienated time for creation, in the heart of the pandemic. The costumes are a testament of your intuition, whimsy and sensibilities, having a lasting impact on the project despite having to leave halfway through the process. Thank you Jonthan S. for bravely stepping in and putting your twist on the looks and the scenographic environment. You did some serious heavy lifting to get us where we are now. Karine, thanks for your divine, trippy, mood-inducing lighting that has brought the piece into deeper dimensions. I cherish our spicey Cancer meets ascending Scorpio creation dynamic. Sincerest gratitude towards Pascale Girardin for your guiding presence and generous sharing of clay knowledge throughout the creation. Your eyes, hands and heart have left their imprint on every molecule of the project.
Thanks Math for the extensive dramaturgical research done during the conception of the project, as well as those oh-so-important milestone meetings we’ve had throughout the highs and lows of carrying a project over years. Your wisdom, encouragement and tough love has offered me a framework to thrive in. If only people knew the extent of your contributions to my work and my evolution as a choreographer. You truly are the secret third member of Other Animals.
Emmanuelle, you are a gem of a human being. You arrived in the last stretch of the project with such care, warmth and insight. Through your consistent work and devotion towards the show and the team’s well-being, you created an environment for each artist to flourish. You have this precious capacity to inspire others to strive towards clarity without stifling spontaneity, wildness and individuality. Every seam of the piece is laced with your vibrant artistry. Deepest thanks to you.
Thanks to the production team. Florence & Elodie: your support in production management lifted a huge weight off my shoulders and allowed me to breathe again in a crucial moment where tides were turning. All this is thanks to Clara and Claire at Parbleux for extending their generous support. The services you offer to the community are honorable and essential! Sophie R., thanks for coming onboard and tackling all the technical challenges of the project (and boy, there were some!) in an era where it’s the hunger games to find a technical director. Thanks Philippe, Wolfe, Justine and Camil for meticulously caring for the clay and logistics in the theater.
I extend the biggest thanks to Camille Larivée and Olivier Bertrand for programming the show and believing in our ambitious project! This wouldn’t have been possible without your support and the generous platform you’ve offered us. Thanks to the teams at the MAI + La Chapelle in all departments for putting everything in place for the project to find its audience in uncertain times for art making.
Thanks to artists who have generously contributed during research phases over the past four years: Gabriel, Morena, Sophie M. All three of you are eloquent, insightful and precious practitioners in the live arts. Your contributions in movement, stage writing and conversations have kept resonating until this very moment.
Thanks to our residency partners: Fonderie Darling, Circuit-Est, Théâtre Gilles-Vigneault, La Danse sur les routes du Québec, Maison de la culture Rosemont and Maison de la culture Maisonneuve. Thanks to Canada Council for the Arts, Conseil des arts et des lettres du Québec and Conseil des arts de Montréal for the financial support.
And lastly, thanks to my artistic wingman Jonathan. This rollercoaster process has really tested us and revealed our complementary strengths, allowing us to fulfill this monumental challenge of a production. We have come out on the other end transformed, satiated and ready for the next chapter. Plasticity/Desires beautifully embodies the past 7 years of art making together with Other Animals.
— Alexandre Morin (Other Animals), Choreographer and Artistic Director for Plasticity/Desires
