BAGNE Choreographic Toolkit

November 21, 2017
Production

BAGNE is the centrepiece of a ten-year-plus collaboration between two Montreal-based choreographers and performers: Jeff Hall and Pierre-Paul Savoie.

Graduates of the Department of Contemporary Dance at Concordia University, where they met, they both had unique career trajectories: Jeff as a former Frisbee champion and Pierre-Paul as a graduate of the acting program at the National Theatre School of Canada. Their athleticism and shared taste for physical risk would form the basis of their artistic bond, embodied in eclectic choreographic writing that drew on various disciplines in order to innovate and open new avenues in dance. During their collaborative period, in the 1980s and 1990s, this incongruous pair marked the history of dance in Quebec and Canada. BAGNE, created in 1993, is the crowning achievement of their close collaboration.

In 1998, the work was transmitted to two female dancers (Sarah Williams and Carole Courtois) who performed the adaptation brilliantly. To mark the 25th anniversary of PPS Danse in 2015, BAGNE was recreated, this time for two younger male dancers (Lael Stellick and Milan Panet-Gigon). Jonathan Fortin also participated in the research for this recreation. In 2017, Oliver Koomsatira took on the role created by Milan Panet-Gigon in 2015. This recreation was co-produced by Danse Danse, in partnership with Place des Arts.

The creation of this choreographic toolkit has been an act of memory and transmission. It has taken us back to the origins of the production, writes Pierre-Paul Savoie, loosely based on the work of Jean Genet and rooted in the unique creative bond between Hall and Savoie.

The toolkit is also a tribute to a team of inspired collaborators who contributed to the exceptional and lasting success of both the original and re-created versions.

“Confined in a huge metal structure, two men embrace under the watchful eyes of captivated spectators. In this intense and moving amalgam of dance and theatre, a humanly brutal force transforms to a universal tenderness. The imprisoned beings entwine in raw and sensitive movement. It is a hymn to liberty and the power of love.” -Danse Danse

CREDITS (in French)

Rédaction des notes chorégraphiques et des schémas : Pierre‑Paul Savoie et Guy Croteau

Photos et captures d’écran de la captation d’Alejandro Jiménez (sauf si autrement mentionné) : Ariane Dessaulles

Contribution à la documentation : Linda Brunelle, Emmanuel Cognée, Florence Cornet, Guy Croteau, Ariane Dessaulles, Jeff Hall, Bernard Lagacé, Marc Parent, Benjamin Perreault, Isabelle Poirier, Pierre‑Paul Savoie, Hugo Trépanier

La Boîte chorégraphique BAGNE est une production de la Fondation Jean-Pierre Perreault ; elle a été réalisée en collaboration avec PPS Danse.

La Fondation Jean-Pierre Perreault et PPS Danse sont soutenus par

  • le Conseil des arts et des lettres du Québec ;
  • le Conseil des arts de Montréal ;
  • le Conseil des arts du Canada.

La numérisation de cette boîte chorégraphique bénéficie du soutien financier du Conseil des arts et des lettres du Québec, dans le cadre de la mesure d’aide à la numérisation de contenus artistiques et littéraires.

L’assemblage de la boîte chorégraphique ainsi que la rédaction des principaux documents qui la composent ont suivi la recréation de l’oeuvre à Montréal en 2015.

Idée originale des boîtes chorégraphiques : Ginelle Chagnon

Révision des documents : Guy Croteau, Ariane Dessaulles, Céline Flahault, Lise Gagnon, Bernard Lagacé, Vanessa Nicolai, Marc Parent, Benjamin Perreault, Pierre‑Paul Savoie, ainsi que la Fondation Jean-Pierre Perreault

Édition, révision et correction : Romy Snauwaert

Conception graphique et mise en page : Anne-Laure Jean

Photo de la couverture et de la page de titre : Rolline Laporte, 2015

Avertissement – Les chorégraphes ou leurs ayants droit sont les titulaires, cessionnaires ou licenciés exclusifs des droits de propriété intellectuelle de l’oeuvre BAGNE. La consultation ou l’achat de la boîte chorégraphique ne confère aucun droit d’utiliser ou d’exploiter BAGNE en tout ou en partie sous quelque forme que ce soit. Pour toute utilisation de l’oeuvre BAGNE, en tout ou en partie, l’autorisation des chorégraphes ou de leurs ayants droit est requise.

Dépôt légal – Bibliothèque et Archives nationales du Québec, 2018

Dépôt légal – Bibliothèque et Archives Canada, 2018

© Tous droits réservés, 2018. Fondation Jean-Pierre Perreault

ISBN : 978-2-9815499-9-0 (version imprimée)

ISBN : 978-2-924805-00-8 (PDF)

Tous droits réservés pour tous pays. Toute traduction ou toute reproduction sous quelque forme que ce soit est interdite sans l’autorisation de la Fondation Jean-Pierre Perreault.

Events

Launch of the choreographic toolkits Bagne and Les Choses dernières

November 21, 2017

On November 21, 2017, the Fondation Jean-Pierre Perreault launched the choreographic toolkits Bagne, by Jeff Hall and Pierre-Paul Savoie, and Les Choses dernières, by Lucie Grégoire.    Digital collection of choreographic toolkits The toolkits, based on an original idea by Ginelle Chagnon, are a collection…

Documents

Choreographic toolkit - excerpt

BAGNE Choreographic toolkit (excerpts)

Discover excerpts from the BAGNE Choreographic toolkit (in French). The Choreographic toolkit is on sale for 60$ for the digital file + 75$ for the print version (individuals) + shipping and 100$ for the digital file + 75$ for the print version (institutions -schools, companies,…

Excerpt from work

BAGNE restaging-handover – Excerpt – 2015

Bagne restaging-handover is a production of PPS Danse in co-production with Danse Danse. The creation benefited from creation residencies at Théâtre de la Ville, TOHU, Maison de la culture Mercier and Place des Arts. PPS Danse is supported by the Conseil des arts de Montréal,…

Video interview

BAGNE restaging-handover – Backstage (in French)

Discover excerpts from the BAGNE Choreographic toolkit (in French).

Excerpt from work

BAGNE Excerpt – Women version 1998

Created in 1993, BAGNE is the centrepiece of a ten-year-plus collaboration between two Montreal-based choreographers and performers: Jeff Hall and Pierre-Paul Savoie. In 1998, the work was transmitted to two female dancers (Sarah Williams and Carole Courtois) who performed the adaptation brilliantly.

Excerpt from work

BAGNE – Excerpt 1994

Created in 1993, BAGNE is the centrepiece of a ten-year-plus collaboration between two Montreal-based choreographers and performers: Jeff Hall and Pierre-Paul Savoie.

Video interview

Histoire d’une création (in French)

Interview with Jeff Hall and Pierre-Paul Savoie on their work Bagne, conducted by Andrée Martin on April 27, 2017, at the Department of Dance of the Université du Québec à Montréal. The production of this video was made possible through the financial support of the…

Video interview

Histoire d’une création – Partie 2 (in French)

Interview with Jeff Hall and Pierre-Paul Savoie on their work Bagne, conducted by Andrée Martin on April 27, 2017, at the Department of Dance of the Université du Québec à Montréal. The production of this video was made possible through the financial support of the…

Video interview

Histoire d’une création – Partie 3 (in French)

Interview with Jeff Hall and Pierre-Paul Savoie on their work Bagne, conducted by Andrée Martin on April 27, 2017, at the Department of Dance of the Université du Québec à Montréal. The production of this video was made possible through the financial support of the…

Choreographic toolkit - press kit

BAGNE press kit 1998-2017

This document gathers all the press articles surrounding the work BAGNE (1998-2017) by Jeff Hall and Pierre-Paul Savoie (some articles in English).

Choreographic toolkit - press kit

BAGNE press kit 1993

This document gathers all the press articles surrounding the work BAGNE (1993) by Jeff Hall and Pierre-Paul Savoie (some articles in English).