Godspeed You! Black Emperor

Relish in the euphoric intensity of this dance piece, set to a live performance by Post-Rock band Godspeed You! Black Emperor, with choreography by Dana Gingras & Noam Gagnon.

Lurking in the shadows, Godspeed You! Black Emperor unleash a monolithic sound, tying together snatches of noise, field recordings and muscular riffs, with excerpts from Allelujah! Don’t Bend! Ascend! and their other records. The dance work is similarly extreme, as dancers on pedestals enact movements that go from repetitive and everyday to frantic and confrontational.

monumental was first performed in 2005 by dance company Holy Body Tattoo to recordings of Godspeed’s music, since the band were on hiatus. When the band reformed in 2010, former Holy Body Tattoo directors Noam Gagnon and Dana Gingras remounted the piece as a live music and dance experience with Gingras's company Animals of Distinction. It’s a totally absorbing multimedia work, with lighting design by Marc Parent, video by director William Morrison and text from conceptual artist Jenny Holzer.