CDF opening hits bullseye with Jacques Poulin Denis' Cible de Dieu

The Canada Dance Festival opened last night. The National Arts Centre's Studio welcomed Montreal contemporary choreographer Jacques Poulin Denis. His piece, Cible de Dieu (Target of God) was both compelling and a perfect choice to launch this year's program.

Jacques Poulin Denis. Photo: Joffrey Rivard

The choreographer walked on stage and addressed the crowd, introducing his performance. At first, we think that he is truly speaking for himself, but we soon realize that he plays a character who happens to be a dancer. 


The piece speaks of delusion and defeat. How he handles the struggle is what throws us off while reminding us that we all have our  bag of problems. He faces challenges with sound and props, feelings and memories and engages the crowd, every step of the way. For instance, the performer asks spectators to hum his song so that he "can perform anyway". At every turn, something goes wrong, but the show must go on. All he needs is "a little adaptation". He also recounts anecdotes that are either humorous, nostalgic or sorrowful.

Jacques Poulin Denis in Cible de Dieu

He takes the audience through a range of emotion, tracing his character's experience. Jacques Poulin Denis believes that it's important for the crowd to feel something during his piece, rather than to simply reflect on it. In doing so, he feels that the audience accompanies him in getting back to basics, to what is important and to what it means to be human. This charismatic artist's work is brilliant and accessible.