MIKE

Dana Michel transforms basic work actions into choreographic experiments. She moves objects from one place to another, arranges them. Many actions are interrupted, at times seemingly losing fluidity, perhaps as if the body has become disoriented by the task load. The Canadian artist from Ottawa favours absurdity over provocation and humour over profundity to deconstruct normative behaviour. And she takes all the time she needs. Michel creates opportunities for a wide variety of modes of being and living, challenging neo-liberal and efficiency-oriented notions. For Michel, “MIKE” is a committed attempt to emphasize the idea that “without trust in myself and others it is impossible to lead a safe life in public that reflects my own inner life”.

Dana Michel’s works interact with the expanded fields of improvisation, sculpture, comedy, hip-hop, cinematography, dub and social commentary to create a centrifuge of experience. Before graduating from the BFA-programme in Contemporary Dance at Concordia University, Michel was a marketing executive, and a competitive runner and football player. In 2014, she was awarded the newly created ImPulsTanz Award (Austria) in recognition for outstanding artistic accomplishments and highlighted among notable female choreographers by the New York Times. In 2017, Michel was awarded the Silver Lion for Innovation in Dance at the Venice Biennale. In 2018, she became the first ever dance-artist-in-residence at the Centre national des Arts (Canada).