The top 5 things to do in Montreal: March 27 to April 6
Last month, Concordia launched a partnership with La Vitrine, Montreal’s “cultural window” and premier online events resource. We asked Andy Fidel, arts journalist and Concordia graduate student, to set us up with the best of the best.
This week, it’s going to be hard to keep our feet flat on the floor. We’re either wandering through cultural mosaics and historical representations, or foot-tapping and head-bobbing to the beat.
But hey, with exams and final projects looming, we could all use a breather.
1. TONIGHT: MOVIES YOU CAN DANCE TO
Kraftwerk Pop Art | March 27, 9 p.m. to 3 a.m. | $14
The 32nd International Festival of Films on Art (FIFA) presents an in-depth look at Kraftwerk’s 44-year electronic revolution: a “pop art soirée” on six simultaneously projecting screens, with three DJs. Reminds us of those old Atari arcade games — fun and repetitive.
Who (or what) is this Man Machine? A German synthesized band, to say the least. “Autobahn,” “Tour de France,” “Computer Love” … It’ll be intriguing to explore the band’s creative process and technological influences ahead of their 3D live show on March 30.
Find out more about Kraftwerk Pop Art at FIFA.
Watch FIFA films at Concordia.
2. TOMORROW: CYBER GROOVE
CRASH | March 28, 8 p.m. | $2
Combine Mortal Kombat with "Just Dance" and you get CRASH — where contemporary dance meets video games.
Discover the Elfe with the ultra-powerful hair, the Amazone who powers up on the trampoline, the Coyote whose only objective is to kidnap the Poupée Vaudou, and the Mort Vivante and the Peste who rip out everyone’s hearts and hair.
For this sequence choreographed by Manon Oligny, professional dancers were encouraged to bring in their own background to the floor. With a touch of Donkey Kong. As Marilyn Daoust, interpreter of an elf avatar, says, “We create what we are and what we like to do.”
Find out more about CRASH.
Watch a teaser on Vimeo.
3. LAST CHANCE
Daniel Canty’s Bucky Ball | Till March 31 | Free
Not your ordinary exposition or book. Step into Daniel Canty’s personal representation of the factual and fictional history of Expo 67. Get a glimpse of the people and places in his life, connected beyond the boundaries of space and time.
“A personal outlook that’s general enough to create this memory chamber where people can get lost in their own connections,” Canty says.
Visitors bounce towards the book, then explore the surrounding objects and photographs.
Find out more about Daniel Canty’s Bucky Ball.
My Montreal, Our Values: A chance to get to know one another in a “not extreme” way. | Photo by Valérie Burnet
4. THE CONCORDIA CONNECTION
My Montreal, Our Values | Till April 3 | Free
Give 12 Montrealers a disposable camera and tell them to shoot their day-to-day lives, and you’ll see that despite ethnic, religious and cultural differences, we have a lot more in common than we think. We love food. Coffee. Our friends and family, our cats and smartphones.
“I thought that photography would give people a chance to learn about each other in a not extreme way,” says Salima Punjani, a journalism student at Concordia.
Find out more about My Montreal, Our Values.
See what Salima Punjani has to say about her show.
5. TOTALLY RANDOM AND POTENTIALLY AWESOME
Flash Mob: Clown Reassembly | March 30, 2 to 2:30 p.m. | Free
Look through your closet for that rainbow wig, and your brother’s toy chest for that pair of bowling shoes, mould a Babybel cheese wax to your nose — and you’ll be ready to join this particular flash mob at Espace culturel Georges-Émile-Lapalme de la Place des Arts.
Co-organized by the real and internationally acclaimed Patch Adams. Yes, the man once played by Robin Williams.
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About the author
Andy Fidel is a Montreal-based freelance journalist, photographer and writer with dreams of living on a submarine. She enjoys metro rides, writer's block and cold instant coffee.