BEATS refers to both a collective and a performance melding contemporary dance, visual projections and sound creation.
On the stage before us, three performers are mechanically set in motion. Their movements are meticulous, their rhythm, calculated. Suddenly, a baton lights up and we hear the echoes of a stethoscope’s vibrations. These two elements influence and are influenced by the movements of the performers’ bodies, the visual projections and the sonic landscape, forming a loop in which elements respond to one another in a synchronized fashion.
This bidirectional and interactive approach breaks down the barriers between the disciplines being explored, all while mirroring the endless and oppressive cycle of productivity that work can create, from an intimate perspective.
Over the course of this contrast-rich, 50-minute transmedia performance, we watch as the performers strive to find a balance between themselves and their environment in an effort to catch their breath. Above all, they invite us to do the same.
Its three cocreators – Hamie Robitaille, Yuki Berthiaume and Stefania Skoryna – have created a transdisciplinary performance in which sound, visual and choreographic designs are connected through new media, with humans front and centre in their reflections. Their desire to craft a holistic work designed by women means that each element of its staging and the artists’ diverse disciplines constitute foundational pillars of the project. Inspired by an emotional curve and the notion of contrasts, BEATS Collective took shape as part of an iterative process, creating sound in its own image, from which movement and digital art followed. During the winter of 2021, two new members, Ganesh Baron Aloir and Molly Siboulet-Ryan joined the collective. From there, the pace could only pick up.
The collective met at the offices of OBORO, Eastern Bloc, the Théâtre aux Écuries and at the Maison de la Culture Marie-Uguay. With a recording produced by concert promotor Codes d’Accès under their belt, BEATS also produced three immersive performances for the Society for Arts and Technology (SAT) as part of the Mutek Festival in Montréal. Public response to the performance was immediate, both in the media (Le Devoir, Pan M 360) and throughout the city—all three performances at the SAT sold out. In addition, the collective was given the opportunity to perform on two occasions at the Composite forum on digital creativity.
As a collective uniting the next generation of artists, BEATS Collective has received support from the Conseil des Arts et des Lettres du Québec, the Brigade Arts Affaires de Montréal (BAAM), and the Conseil des Arts de Montréal, receiving the Mécènes investis pour les arts grant (December 2021) from the Conseil des arts de Montréal, an Applied Arts award in the Design/Content-Experimental/Innovative category, and a nomination for the Numix prize under the category Innovation and Adaptation for its interactive baton project.
