In Mixed Company
Parts+Labour_Danse
When designing In Mixed Company I liked the idea of these four characters connecting in a forgotten place. Inspired by the work of photographer Gregory Crewdson, the set was designed to represent anything from an abandoned warehouse to beneath a rail bridge. The suspended and fallen beams used as metaphors for endurance and collapse of these relationships and encounters.
Credits
Choreography: David Albert-Toth & Emily Gualtieri
Dancers & Creative Collaborators: Caroline Gravel, Jody Hegel, Milan Panet-Gigon & Lael Stellick
Scenography & Lighting Design: Paul Chambers
Sound Design: David Drury & David Lafontaine
Choreographic advisor: Mélanie Demers
Dramaturge: Hannah Dorozio
Texts: Caroline Gravel, Milan Kundera & Jacques Brel
Photos: Sandra-Lyne Bélanger & Frederic Chais
«I had the honour of assisting a private rehearsal for In Mixed Company, but seeing the piece at the Monument-National, brought to life by Paul Chambers' skillful lighting and set design, was a jaw-dropping experience. »
- Victoria Laberge | bloodyunderrated | November 3, 2013
«Instead of waiting for a structure to be built, choreographers Emily Gualtieri and David Albert-Toth brought their own construction beams to Tangente. In the ingenious company of Paul Chambers (lighting and set), with the help of Joseph Baugniet and David-Alexandre Chabot for this construction concept, the common contemporary dance goer quickly realized that "those beams aren't usually there"...
One can only imagine the labor it took to lumber the previously looming beams into their new intrusive positions during intermission. Like a pen to paper one now stands tall, touching down in the upstage space and reaching for the rafters higher than we can see, while the second slices the aerial space on a diagonal, imposing a lower and more invasive volume; not unlike a clearance level. I couldn't help but wonder, are these beams somehow representative of the two choreographers who put both their bodies and their ideas into this space, stepping into the work physically or guiding from a close distance? »
- Stephanie Fromentin | Danscussions | November 3, 2013
«Lighting designer for both projects Paul Chambers supports the piece in an astounding way to bring out emotion and mood in his work.»
- Chad Dembski | The Charlebois Post | September 19, 2014