Artist DIY is a series of videos made by artists in collaboration with FACT in response to the COVID-19 pandemic.

FACT edits each episode remotely, while the artist shoots at their home or studio with whatever equipment they have available. In this episode, we meet choreographer Dana Gingras, founder of Montréal-based multimedia dance company Animals of Distinction. 

The choreographer behind last year’s ambitious ensemble show Frontera, made in collaboration with Constellation band Fly Pan Am and United Visual Artists, talks about how music, politics and technology have informed her work over her 30-year career.

Gingras also talks about the ideas and inspirations behind her 2018 piece anOther – an installation of sound, light and image featuring discarded televisions and an original score by Japanese industrial duo group A – and explains how the pandemic has forced her company and the dance community to reevaluate how they work.

Credits:

Footage by: Pascal Huot, Mirka Lugosi, William Morrison, Sonya Stefan, Yannick Grandmont, Mark Loeser, Christian Rivera, Dana Gingras

anOther
Performed by Dana Gingras, Sonya Stefan, group A
Scenography and lighting by Mikko Hynninen

Frontera
Performed by: Robert Abubo, Justin de Luna, Lena Demnati, Stacey Desilier, Caroline Gravel, Louise Michel Jackson, Mark Medrano, Koliane Rochon-Prom Tep, Sovann Rochon-Prom Tep, Lexi Vajda, Fly Pan Am
Scenography and lighting by United Visual Artists

monumental by The Holy Body Tattoo (Dana Gingras & Noam Gagnon) with live music by Godspeed You! Black Emperor
Performed by: Caroline Gravel, Louise-Michel Jackson, Kim De Jong, Shay Kuebler, Louis-Elyan Martin, Sovann Rochon-Prom Tep, Esther Rousseau-Morin, Michael Watts, Jamie Wright, Godspeed You! Black Emperor

Chain Reaction
Performed by: Sarah Doucet, Dana Gingras with animation by James Paterson & Amit Pitaru

Double Bubble
Performed by: Susan Elliott, Shay Kuebler with animation by James Paterson & Amit Pitaru

Heart as Arena
Performed by: Amber Funk Barton, Sarah Doucet, Dana Gingras, Masaharu Imazu, Shay Kuebler, Karen Fennell

Somewhere Between Maybe
Performed by: Sonya Stefan, Jamie Wright

Creation Destruction
Rehearsal footage: Robert Abubo, Amber Funk Barton, Justin de Luna, Mark Medrano, Koliane Rochon-Prom Tep, Sovann Rochon-Prom Tep, Charlie Tremblay Abubo

Watch next: Artist: DIY: Paul White