aleks schürmer (artistic direction) is a musician and multidisciplinary artist living in montréal. he has
performed with the tafelmusik baroque orchestra, l’ensemble arion, and les idées heureuses, as well as
performances at indyish’s monthly mess and piss in the pool. he was the musical director for montréal fringe’s
award winning multidisciplinary piece teen sleuth and the freed cyborg choir, which will be reprised during
the 2009 pop montréal festival. his playing has been called “particularily brilliant” (claude gingras, la
presse) and his works have been described as “major discoveries” (stephen ritter, american record guide).
irina lazareanu (host, performance artist) is an international supermodel, actress, poet and singer- songwriter. she has collaborated with sean lennon and peter doherty, and has achieved the status of “official muse” of designers karl lagerfeld and nicolas ghesquiere.
ariane girard (soprano) has quickly made herself known on the canadian scene. having already participated in many opera productions and recitals across canada and the united states, her charisma and the warmth of her voice have allowed her to stand out. in 2003, she won first prize in the canadian music competition in calgary, and was a semi-finalist at the maria callas grand prize in athens, greece. ariane has worked for several years under the direction of canadian soprano adrianne pieczonka. born in lac-st-jean, ariane now calls paris her home.
jonathan sévigny (art director) is one of the rising stars in the montréal art scene. his illustrations deal with the enchantment and disenchantment of youth, past and present. even though most of his time is spent exploring the galaxy, he has managed to take part in several local gallery exhibitions. his prints can been seen (and purchased!) throughout the plateau and mile end. his first collection of paintings, the reckless youth odyssey was published in limited edition this year.
frances mckenzie (assistant art director) is a recent concordia fine arts graduate. though she specializes in painting, her interest in multidisciplinary work helped lead to the creation of the teen sleuth and the freed cyborg choir production featured in this year’s montréal fringe festival, where she served as art director, costume/puppet designer, illustrator/projection artist, co-producer, puppeteer, wigmaster, chorus member, and dancer. when she’s not busy creating something, she’s busy creating something else.
dana michel (choreographer, dancer) is a mover. since 2005 her work has been presented extensively, including ARTV’s mange ta ville, DanceOff! PS122 (new york), the proving ground (salt lake city) and at the festival of choreographic miniatures (belgrade, serbia). she has won the studio 303 best dance production prize at the montréal fringe festival and the montréal hour's “best in dance" (2005). she was named “best emerging choreographer" (2006) by the globe and mail, and by popular vote, she’s been twice listed in the mirror's best of montréal top ten choreographers (2008, 2009). “michel… is a killer soloist who tackles the warped, frenetic and fierce rhythms of her piece with precision and fiery authority…" (InfiniteBody, 2007)
andrew tay (choreographer, dancer) is an avid music lover. he has collaborated with members of the arcade fire and has become known for his intense and emotionally tough creations, set to music by long time collaborator vitaminsforyou. their latest combined effort the space between was performed at the performance mix festival (new york, 2007) and will be reprised as part of the neighborhood dance works festival (st. johns, 2009). his work was shown in video form as part of the cirque du soleil show torrida (2005). collaborating with french visual artists sophie dejode and bertand lacombe, he presented Dancing is Paradise, an absurd musical comedy set inside a giant fridge at the skol gallery (2007). since 2005, andrew and his company Wants&Needs danse (co-founded with sasha kleinplatz) have produced the popular dance events piss in the pool and Short&Sweet.
sasha kleinplatz (choreographer) produces and choreographs dance shows. her work has shown at the national theatre school, studio 303 and espace tangente. in 2004, she conceived of and produced the very successful site-specific dance show piss in the pool, which has now become an annual montréal dance event. as a follow up to piss in the pool, sasha (along with choreographic partner andrew tay) created the series Short&Sweet: choreographies that end quickly, which now takes place twice a year in montréal.
mélissa raymond (choreographer) was born in montréal. as a multidisciplinary artist she creates works involving performances, videos and texts; the expression of the body is central in her creative process. with training in both theatre and contemporary dance, her works have been presented at la société des arts technologiques, la fonderie darling, théâtre lachapelle, and theatre d’aujourd’hui. interested in documentation, archives, and the memories conserved in objects, she often uses familiar elements to put our day-to-day surrounding out of context. in 2008, her work was performed in the OFF.T.A festival and she was invited to attend a residency in puerto rico where she presented the dance piece el contorno de las cosas – a poetic essay on the traces left by the disappearance of things and our attachment to what is now not there.
sam vipond (sound installation) is a composer, drummer, dj, and laptoptician. he is one of the permanent fixtures of the montréal electoacoustic and musique actuelle scenes. he is co-director of l’envers, a mile end concert venue dedicated to the creative spirit. his most recent collaboration, with contortionist adrianne leclerc, was featured on the cover of the montréal mirror during the 2009 montréal fringe festival.
david landry (producer, hairstyling) was born and raised in the mountains of alberta, where he started his career as a hairstylist and makeup artist for runway shows and photoshoots. since moving to montréal, he has quickly cultivated his own unique style and clientele. he has been voted “best hairstylist” for the past three years (2007-2009) in the montréal mirror’s best of montréal. recently, david has begun working behind the scenes in the alternative arts community, producing art shows and musical performances.
irina lazareanu (host, performance artist) is an international supermodel, actress, poet and singer- songwriter. she has collaborated with sean lennon and peter doherty, and has achieved the status of “official muse” of designers karl lagerfeld and nicolas ghesquiere.
ariane girard (soprano) has quickly made herself known on the canadian scene. having already participated in many opera productions and recitals across canada and the united states, her charisma and the warmth of her voice have allowed her to stand out. in 2003, she won first prize in the canadian music competition in calgary, and was a semi-finalist at the maria callas grand prize in athens, greece. ariane has worked for several years under the direction of canadian soprano adrianne pieczonka. born in lac-st-jean, ariane now calls paris her home.
jonathan sévigny (art director) is one of the rising stars in the montréal art scene. his illustrations deal with the enchantment and disenchantment of youth, past and present. even though most of his time is spent exploring the galaxy, he has managed to take part in several local gallery exhibitions. his prints can been seen (and purchased!) throughout the plateau and mile end. his first collection of paintings, the reckless youth odyssey was published in limited edition this year.
frances mckenzie (assistant art director) is a recent concordia fine arts graduate. though she specializes in painting, her interest in multidisciplinary work helped lead to the creation of the teen sleuth and the freed cyborg choir production featured in this year’s montréal fringe festival, where she served as art director, costume/puppet designer, illustrator/projection artist, co-producer, puppeteer, wigmaster, chorus member, and dancer. when she’s not busy creating something, she’s busy creating something else.
dana michel (choreographer, dancer) is a mover. since 2005 her work has been presented extensively, including ARTV’s mange ta ville, DanceOff! PS122 (new york), the proving ground (salt lake city) and at the festival of choreographic miniatures (belgrade, serbia). she has won the studio 303 best dance production prize at the montréal fringe festival and the montréal hour's “best in dance" (2005). she was named “best emerging choreographer" (2006) by the globe and mail, and by popular vote, she’s been twice listed in the mirror's best of montréal top ten choreographers (2008, 2009). “michel… is a killer soloist who tackles the warped, frenetic and fierce rhythms of her piece with precision and fiery authority…" (InfiniteBody, 2007)
andrew tay (choreographer, dancer) is an avid music lover. he has collaborated with members of the arcade fire and has become known for his intense and emotionally tough creations, set to music by long time collaborator vitaminsforyou. their latest combined effort the space between was performed at the performance mix festival (new york, 2007) and will be reprised as part of the neighborhood dance works festival (st. johns, 2009). his work was shown in video form as part of the cirque du soleil show torrida (2005). collaborating with french visual artists sophie dejode and bertand lacombe, he presented Dancing is Paradise, an absurd musical comedy set inside a giant fridge at the skol gallery (2007). since 2005, andrew and his company Wants&Needs danse (co-founded with sasha kleinplatz) have produced the popular dance events piss in the pool and Short&Sweet.
sasha kleinplatz (choreographer) produces and choreographs dance shows. her work has shown at the national theatre school, studio 303 and espace tangente. in 2004, she conceived of and produced the very successful site-specific dance show piss in the pool, which has now become an annual montréal dance event. as a follow up to piss in the pool, sasha (along with choreographic partner andrew tay) created the series Short&Sweet: choreographies that end quickly, which now takes place twice a year in montréal.
mélissa raymond (choreographer) was born in montréal. as a multidisciplinary artist she creates works involving performances, videos and texts; the expression of the body is central in her creative process. with training in both theatre and contemporary dance, her works have been presented at la société des arts technologiques, la fonderie darling, théâtre lachapelle, and theatre d’aujourd’hui. interested in documentation, archives, and the memories conserved in objects, she often uses familiar elements to put our day-to-day surrounding out of context. in 2008, her work was performed in the OFF.T.A festival and she was invited to attend a residency in puerto rico where she presented the dance piece el contorno de las cosas – a poetic essay on the traces left by the disappearance of things and our attachment to what is now not there.
sam vipond (sound installation) is a composer, drummer, dj, and laptoptician. he is one of the permanent fixtures of the montréal electoacoustic and musique actuelle scenes. he is co-director of l’envers, a mile end concert venue dedicated to the creative spirit. his most recent collaboration, with contortionist adrianne leclerc, was featured on the cover of the montréal mirror during the 2009 montréal fringe festival.
david landry (producer, hairstyling) was born and raised in the mountains of alberta, where he started his career as a hairstylist and makeup artist for runway shows and photoshoots. since moving to montréal, he has quickly cultivated his own unique style and clientele. he has been voted “best hairstylist” for the past three years (2007-2009) in the montréal mirror’s best of montréal. recently, david has begun working behind the scenes in the alternative arts community, producing art shows and musical performances.
