The top 5 things to do in Montreal: March 19 to April 1
This is your chance to literally dance with the stars. Come alone or with a group of friends and take part in a collective and interactive dance from March 21 to June 21. | Image courtesy of the artists
1. LEARN BODY PERCUSSION
The Sunday Ball | Espace culturel Georges-Émile-Lapalme | March 22, 2 p.m. to 3:30 p.m.
Forgot your guitar? Can’t find your drum? Your body is the one instrument you can play any time.
Learn to use yourself as a percussive instrument at the Place des Arts’ Sunday Ball by hitting, scraping, rubbing and shaking to produce vibrations and sounds.
There are many techniques to choose from: stomp, snap, pat and clap your hands together. Or try out some vocal effects like beat boxing and tongue clicking.
Find out more about dance workshops happening during the Sunday Ball.
Photo by Moyan Brenn (Flickr Creative Commons)
2. TAKE A BREAK
Meditation | Room 05, Z Building (2090 Mackay) | March 24, 12:15 p.m. to 1:15 p.m.
Sharpen your concentration and gain a better understanding of your place in the world through meditation. Look inward while learning to relax the body and mind using body posture and silent contemplation. This ancient practice helps control emotions, cultivate compassion, and even reduce anxiety.
Christine Guest, a teacher trained by Sakyong Mipham Rinpoche and Pema Chodron in the Shambhala Buddhist tradition, will lead the meditation experience.
Image courtesy of Adam Basanta
3. SOUND INSTALLATION
The sound of empty space by Adam Basanta | B-312 Gallery | until March 21
What does an empty space sound like?
An exhibition by composer and sound artist Adam Basanta plays with the relationships between microphones, speakers, and surrounding acoustic environments through controlled, self-generating microphone feedback.
One of Basanta’s installations, Pirouette, includes a rotating microphone brought into proximitiy with seven mounted speaker cones, creating a tuned feedback melody. Listen closely and you’ll be able to make out the main theme from Tchaikovsky’s Swan Lake!
Find out more about The sound of empty space by Adam Basanta.
Images courtesy of Sarah Hatton
4. ART WITH BEES
Bee Works by Sarah Hatton | Visual Voice Gallery | March 12 to May 2
Stand in front of Sarah Hatton’s disorienting arrangements of dead bees to understand how the threatened insects feel after ingesting toxins present in pesticides.
Hatton has organized thousands of dead honeybees into three different, dizzying types of patterns: the Florid, The Circle and the Cluster (Flower of Life). The patterns follow the Fibonacci curve – a sequence found in many spiral arrangements in nature.
The repetitions destabilize the viewer, mirroring how toxins affect the bees’ ability to navigate. This exposition attempts to raise awareness of the use of neonicotinoid pesticides, which affect insects’ central nervous system, and the worldwide decline of bee populations.
Find out more Bee Works by Sarah Hatton.
Image courtesy of the artists
5. CHOREOGRAPHIES FOR HUMANS AND STARS
As part of the event Printemps Numeriques | Rio Tinto Alcan Planetarium| From Saturday March 21 to Sunday June 21
This is your chance to literally dance with the stars. Come alone or with a group of friends and take part in a collective and interactive dance, which will be projected onto the planetarium’s façade.
This exciting digital artwork and public art collaboration was created for the Rio Tinto Alcan Planetarium at the Montréal Space for Life by Mouna Andraos and Melissa Mongiat.
Find out more about Choreographies for Humans and Stars.
Sneak peek.
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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.