Chiasmata
Premiered Toronto, March 27, 2007
Chiasmata was the first piece I made after working with Deborah Hay in the Solo Performance Commissioning Project in Findhorn, Scotland, a transformative experience that gave me the tools and knowledge to uncover different ways of making and performing. Inspired initially by the films of the Brothers Quay, the dancers and I worked with structured improvisations to make my most collaborative work to date. I revised Chiasmata in 2009 and then again more radically in 2017; the final version is one of the works with which I am most satisfied.
Created with and first performed by Johanna Bergfelt, Valerie Calam, Alana Elmer, Luke Garwood, Yuichiro Inoue, Brendan Jensen, Kristy Kennedy, Sean Ling, Kaitlin Standeven, Matthew Waldie, Naishi Wang and Linnea Wong
Music and sound design
Phil Strong
Costumes and set design
Cheryl Lalonde
Lighting
Roelof Peter Snippe
Rehearsal direction
Rosemary James
"House is a masterful technician, his dancers are impeccably trained, and Chiasmata is always beautiful, even during Ling and Jensen’s toxic flirtation."
Georgia Straight
"...a brave new world of dance...the marvel that House and his dancers have created...Chiasmata definitely calls for a second viewing to mine its riches."
Paula Citron, Globe and Mail
Photo of Sean Ling and Yuichiro Inoue by David Hou / Photo of Danah Rosales and Val Calam by Guntar Kravis