TRiANGULAR THEORiES of LOVE
choreography: MELISSA MONTEROS I collaborators: WOJCIECH MOCHNIEJ, KRIS DEMEANOR I video: WOJCIECH MOCHNIEJ I performers: GHISLAIN CAROSIO, MICHAEL CROS, MAYA LEWANDOWSKY, WOJCIECH MOCHNIEJ, NATALIE POISSANT, NATALIA BABANOVA, CHELSEY HIGDON, JARED HERRING I on-screen performance: KRIS DEMEANOR I music: compilation by WOJCIECH MOCHNIEJ with music by Taylor Deupree, Matmos, Juliette Greko, Dead Eros, Hazard, Shuttle 358, Haruka Nakamura, Alva Noto, Frank Bretschneider, Signal, Pogo Text: Leonard Cohen, e.e. cummings, Pablo Neruda, Jared Herring, Kris Demeanor
The first seed of the work was the desire to collaborate with other artists, specifically Kris Demeanor and Wojciech Mochniej, and to explore work with text and video. Later, inspiration came from musings on the strange trappings attached to finding and remaining in a long term relationship, and the idea that pushing against and moving in response to someone else can lead you to new and wonderful things. After developing almost 30 minutes of the work with students from the University of Calgary, we were eager to expand the piece with established artists from Calgary and abroad who provided an opportunity to explore a different voice in approaching the topic. The contributions of each of the performers shape the work-there is no escaping it and it is great to see established artists take these ideas further. Kris Demeanor’s contributions and his presence in the studio gave new direction and depth to the scenes. In this incarnation, the male voice comes into play as the contributions of Mochniej and Demeanor influence the narrative. I want to acknowledge the work of the student performers: Natalia Babanova, Caileen Bennett, Jessalyn Britton, Ali Chaudhry, Lance Duan, Jason Owin F. Galeos, Jared Herring, Liisa Hohn, Mark Ikeda, Erin Lequereux, Natalka Lewis, Miku Tsuchiya, and Riva Whitehouse. Their energy contributed greatly to the process.
The work was supported by an Alberta Foundation for the Arts grant.