MURMURATION | DARMSTADT | TANZFESTIVAL RHEIN-MAIN

Huge flocks of starlings twisting and turning across the sky in beautiful, changing clouds. These aerial dances are what ornithologists call "murmurations". For five years, the Montreal collective Le Patin Libre, consisting of fifteen skaters, has been working on bringing this virtuoso flock behaviour to the ice. Always pursuing the questions: Why do we gather? Why do we drift apart again? Why is our collective behaviour so inscrutable? Thus, in Murmuration, Le Patin Libre transforms the traditional ice rink into a stage for contemporary movements. At high speed, they combine precision, athletic virtuosity and complex choreography - without visible effort, like a flock of birds. To explore what everyone experiences when watching a flock of birds: the magic of a collective beauty that embodies the vital energy and fervent hope of survival.

Choreography: Samory Ba, Alexandre Hamel, Pascale Jodoin Original music: Jasmin Boivin, Philippe Le Bon Performance: 15 dancers from Le Patin Libre

Supported by Canada Council for the Arts, Conseil des arts et des lettres du Québec and Conseil des arts de Montréal. Developed with support from National Arts Centre's National Creation Fund. The guest performance is part of the cultural programme of Canada's Guest of Honour at the Frankfurt Book Fair 2020, supported by the Canada Council for the Arts and the Government of Canada.