Nest
This was my first full-evening work, made after a month-long retreat at the Banff Centre, filled with epiphanies, during which I discovered a new way to approach my work. Nest, in essence, is about the wonders and hazards of the creative process itself. It was my first collaboration with composer Phil Strong and set designer James Robertson, both of whom had a transformative impact on my artistic practice.
Premiered Toronto, February 15, 2000
Created with and first performed by Lara Barclay, Valerie Calam, Christopher T. Grider, Adam Hougland, Christopher House, Sasha Ivanochko, Kristy Kennedy, Matthew Kwasnicki, Louis Laberge-Côté, Sean Ling, Graham McKelvie, Robin McPhail and Jessica Runge
Sound Design
Phil Strong
Set Design
James Robertson
Lighting
Roelof Peter Snippe
Costumes
Lori Trez Endes
Nuanced, funny, vivacious and achingly poignant, the work goes to the core of what it means to be a choreographer.... Nest has the power of transcendence. It lifts the spirit as it lifts the veil on the mystery of creation... Nest nourishes the audience with new insights.
Globe and Mail
Nest proves him to be intelligent, creative, and particularly adept at integrating many disparate agendas– text, music and movement moods. The result is a refreshing and totally absorbing work.
Backstage, New York
"...Such is the wide-ranging imagery that populates House's fertile mind, sometimes wickedly funny, other times achingly moving, but always standing for layer upon layers of artistic subtext... he has proven that the art form can serve as the basis for audacious intellectual enquiry."
Globe and Mail
"...fascinating from start to finish."
New York Newsday
"Nest is anything but conventional modern dance and with this enigmatic new piece House has achieved a career high."
Ballett/Tanz, Germany
Photos of Christopher House and of Yuichiro Inoue and David Houle by Guntar Kravis