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ODE When & Where October 23rd & 24th, 2026 at 8pm | Vancouver Playhouse, 600 Hamilton Street Choreography Catherine Gaudet Composer Antoine Berthiaume, with the Voice of Myriam LeBlanc, Lighting Design Alexandre Pilon-Guay Costume Design Marilene Bastien Dancers Rodrigo Alvarenga-Bonilla, Stacey Désilier, Clara Biernacki, Lou Amsellem-Mamelonet, Aurélie Ann Figaro, Charlotte Mégardon, Jimmy Gonzalez, Chi Long, James Phillips, Motrya Kozbur, Ariane Levasseur Reviewer Nancie Ottem |
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DanceHouse opened their 2026/2027 season last night with Catherine Gaudet’s ODE. The Compagnie Catherine Gaudet was last in Vancouver offering Les Jolies choses in 2024, a piece where the vitality of movement was matched with flowing music and chanting voices. In ODE Catherine Gaudet further explores a dance style of synchronized movement with a rhythmic sound to which the dancers move. The dictionary definition of ‘ode’ is a poem that expresses strong emotion, praise or respect for an idea, for example. Gaudet explores the idea of love in ODE. The piece starts with a beating sound. The sound could be interpreted as the sound of a beating heart. The dancers synchronize their movements in time with the beat. There is an hypnotic effect created by this combination of rhythmic sound and movement that draws the audience into the movement on stage. The love that Gaudet explores in ODE is a love that initially is expressed as positive. Through the course of the 55 minute piece the many faces or phases of love are exposed. Love in Gaudet’s eyes is not always loving. The words LOVE, NO, HELP are repeated as a constant refrain. The dancers express the faces of love through mime like movements. Movements that open the eyes of the audience to the journey that love can take us on. In Gaudet’s remarks at the pre-talk before the opening performance she talked about sacrifice. She expressed the idea that we sacrifice in order to keep a social balance. In order to achieve emotional balance we need to sacrifice something. There is a lot of tension in ODE. The dancers are dancing an ode to love but there is little connectivity between the individual dancers. The frenetic pace of the dance seems an expression of desperation. Pain is mimed in many movements of the dancers. Is Gaudet saying that we sacrifice too much of our selves to be loved? The dancers were extraordinary. ODE demands incredible athletic ability as well as exact timing to a fast-paced tempo that is unrelenting. It takes courage as well as experience to dance such a demanding program. They deserved the standing ovation the audience gave them. Leonard Cohen says,"There ain’t no cure for love". Gaudet’s ODE explores this sentiment. © 2026 Nancie Ottem |
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