Performance
The Somber Tides
Inspired by the challenges that provoke an oil spill in the ocean, on animals, and on marine ecosystems, Chantal Caron revisits textures, forms, and oppositions.
In a performance that unites two marine goddesses held captive by la Grande Marée noire, struggling, wave-like movements and contractions of the body act as inspiration for a breath, or a wave.
“What a magnificent journey I’ve taken … I was right there with you all in this oil spill. To my great surprise, depths rose from the images, the shadows. I am captivated … always evolving and en route toward something brighter. Thank you Fleuve Espace danse and Carré 150!”
Past shows
- 2025 – Spanish Banks, Vancouver, Colombie-Britannique
- 2025 – Festival Archipel, Kamouraska, Québec
- 2024 – Waterfront Park, Kelowna, Colombie-Britannique
- 2022 – Cégep de Saint-Laurent, Montréal, Québec
- 2022 – Site historique de la Pointe-au-Père, Rimouski. Bas-Saint-Laurent
- 2022 – Péribonka, Saguenay-Lac-Saint-Jean
Details
- Duration 30 minutes
- Recommended audience size 50 to 100 spectators
- Location / format Outside
Artistic direction and ideation:
Chantal Caron
Choreography:
Chantal Caron in collaboration with the performers
Performers:
Marie-Ève Demers and Léa Lavoie Gauthier (Marie-Maude Michaud)
Musical composition:
Pierre-Marc Beaudoin
Musician:
Lévy Bourbonnais
Videographers:
Julia Perron Langlois, Richard Saint-Pierre, and Simon Bélanger
Text:
Emie-Liza Caron St-Pierre (Céline Côté adaptation)
Costumes:
Chloé Giroux-Bertrand and Chantal Caron
Artistic approach
The so-called “nomadic” creation residency related to the development of the work La Marée Noire unfolded in July 2021, in the Haute-Côte-Nord, Charlevoix, and Île d’Orléans regions. This experience brought together a work team of 5 people who lodged in tents, moved by way of virtual reality to remain physically separate during the pandemic period, and endeavored to explore new creative processes.
The artistic approach was anchored in an examination of the river’s ecosystems, and the connections between the communities they reach. It was initially the 2013 Lac-Mégantic tragedy as well as various oil spills in waters across the world that sparked Chantal Caron’s need to create La Marée Noire. It’s through this in situ work, to the meeting of the unpredictable and the living, that the work appeals to the humility of our being, in order to harmonize the different forces of the territory that passes, surrounds, and grounds us.