Paris Duet (excerpt) Creative Process Blog

This is where the entire Paris Duet takes place.  This is the container.  I spent 3 years imagining and modeling it, and finally, in November, put my body in the space to develop the piece in its natural habitat.

The specific section I will share via PROSPECTS is my solo from “Episode III”, which is essentially a duet performed in two adjoining rooms, or two solos performed and superimposed (one in the distance, one in the forefront).  A lot of the movement material and feel is drawn from a video I took of me dancing, finally, with space to move for the first time in 424 days (May 10, 2021).  There was such an insuppressible emotional mix of relief (that I was finally able to dance big again), frustration (that this studio had been sitting empty for the 424 days prior), grief (for what had been lost) and hope (for what might come next).  This content felt like the right tension and volume for the solo I was building.

Which I continued to practice and shape in the studio in my gym, because that’s the only space I could afford:

Beyond the mansion and the galleries shaping the work, I wanted the solo to exist within four polarities, so I worked with my design team from Ryerson including Linda Zhang and Joelle Poitras to create four stations of “ghost furniture”.  Throughout the solo, I cycle from one to the next to the next, enabling me to highlight change over time (because each time I return to the same place, something different happens).  That’s the plan at least.  Here are some images of our planning process:

Of the fabrication:

And of the product:

I also collaborated with costume designer Katharine Mallinson who developed a genius system of layering, so that over the course of the solo, I would be swallowed up by my accumulating gown. Here are some sketches from our initial discussions:

- Belinda

PROSPECTS: an evening of dance and discussion presents

Paris Duet (excerpt)

Choreographed and performed by Belinda McGuire
Friday, March 11th, 2022
7:30PM | Door at 7pm
Burlington Student Theatre
2131 Prospect St, Burlington ON
$25 | PWYC
GET TICKETS HERE!