PRESS
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"Suites cruelles keeps me on the edge of my seat. I was simultaneously seduced and horrified by its truthfulness. I can easily say that it grabbed me by the gut and it kept me transfixed by its entirety." -
"Blackburn doesn't do dumbing-down. The Ugly Duckling's Dancing Cabaret has serious themes in mind, referencing the familiar Hans Christian Andersen story and the - possibly less familiar - plot of Swan Lake to explore ideas of beauty, difference, self-esteem and the dreams we all have of being the best. "
“[The Ugly Ducklings’ Dancing Cabaret] Wednesday's sold-out crowd of youngsters weren't just paying attention, they were engaged heart and soul and helped out with enthusiastic suggestions whenever prompted. Equally enjoyable for the grownups in the crowd.“
" Blackburn has a finely balanced sense of fun and an ability to convey sophisticated emotions in ways that booth young and older can understand. When the lights and the last candle faded to black yesterday, the youngsters screamed their approval. "
"Montreal troupe Cas Public knocked the socks off an adolescent audience with a performance of Hélène Blackburn's choreography Journal Intime/Diary."
“ Bluebeard is a superb piece; original and poetic... the narrative is integrated into the dance (with ingenuity)... truly beautiful choreography, one whose innovation and sophistication will appeal to children and adults alike. ”
“ Thanks to the dancer’s acting skills, If You Go Down To The Woods Today does for dance what Peter And The Wolf has done for symphonic music. ”
“ Supreme physicality, verbal cues and semi-tender in the right measures Blackburns partnering is highly unusual there is a lot of humanity in it ”
“ Courage mon amour is a major work and well seeing again. ”
“ The rediscovery of a dance capable of combining geometry with emotions. ”
“ When it comes to guts and heart, she’s an expert. ”
“ The song of the body defies space, dialogue with the violins. ”
“ Let us conclude (...this festival wrap up...) with a discovery - much to our liking - of more human proportions. We are referring to Incarnation, by Cas Public from Canada. The title aptly sets the tone: the emphasis in the body, the stylishness, the transparency, the modesty, the concern for formal perfection. In many regards, she (Blackburn) reminds us of Forsythe with her focus on the body’s fine lines, but without the exacerbation and the hypertension that is characteristic of the latter’s work. A mixture of elements as diverse as they are unpredictable are blended together: couple interactions in a ballroom dance style, discreet point work for the girls. What are most striking though, are the interaction and the attentiveness between the sexes, their egalitarian games of seduction. A concern that is too seldom valued, we must add, in what is called contemporary dance. ”
“ [...] Hélène Blackburn’s Cas Public returned to New Moves with Incarnation, a solid hour of body blasting dance bravado. The physicality is relentless, dancers throwing classicism upside down and lunging in angular combat at one another, without the gender violence that too often seems inherent in pseudo-Forsythian efforts. In a festival stronger on visual effects than pure dance, Blackburn’s dancers offered a cornucopia of mercurial movement, to a wonderful blend of 20th century music. This was zero friction dance [...] When the piece comes to an abrupt end, the audience is almost as breathless as the dancers, a revitalizing experience [...] ”
“ Cas Public from Montreal... proved that theatricality need not obscure or overwhelm movement... A distinct vocabulary animated every encounter... explosive power of the hour-long work in a convincingly enduring tableau, replete with meanings and memorable movement. ”