Flowers for Pina makes hearts sway in Dorval

Theatre and dance will merge in Pine Beach Park with a free performance of Flowers for Pina, a tribute to deceased German expressionist dancer, Pina Bausch, as part of Dorval’s Sunset Dance Series.

Fighting, loving, drinking, laughing. Dancer Jocelyne Montpetit and her students, actors from the National Theatre School, reach deep into their memories to physically express the nuances of couples and relationships.

“It’s about love, hate, motherhood . . . many things,” said Montpetit. Part of the process had Montpetit asking the ensemble to remember the first time they lived something, like their first love, but not to share it. “It’s their secret garden,” said Montpetit.

During her career, the acclaimed dancer that has inspired the show had forged a style called Tanztheater (dance theatre) that combines stage sets, movement, emotion and collaboration with performers.

When Montpetit introduced her students to Bausch’s work, she warned them not to watch videos of the dancer so that the movements are an interpretation of their own.

“I taught them some sequences, but told them, ‘Don’t try to reproduce her, nobody can.’”

Humble beginnings

The same actors have performed the show together since it was conceived in 2012 up until now. This year, half of the 11-person ensemble will come from current students, as some of the original performers are working at the Theatre du Nouveau Monde.

Montpetit enjoys the emotional availability that comes from working with actors. “I try to open them up to go deeply inside themselves,” she explained. “It’s more difficult with a dancer who has 10-20 years of dance training. It’s hard for them to forget the technique.”

First performed on the street, the original act was lit by the headlights from a car.“It became very, very professional,” said Montpetit.

The piece has now been presented over 40 times in different parks, areas and venues.

Flowers for Pina is at Pine Beach Park, Lakeshore Dr. and Pine Beach Blvd., Aug. 11 at 7 p.m. Entrance is free. In case of rain the performance will be at the Peter B. Yeomans Cultural Centre, 1401 Lakeshore Drive.