Compagnie Flak is a contemporary dance company based in Montreal Canada, under the direction of Venezuelan born choreographer José Navas. Creator of more than 30 pieces, his work can be recognized by his audacity and the usualness of the characters of his creations. Today, the words that best describe his work are: abstraction, sobriety, intensity and depth.

Flak.org > Works > Miniatures

Miniatures

A self-portrait in the form of an impressionist’s mosaic

Photo: Valerie Simmons

Photo: Valerie Simmons

Seven short solos to music chosen by the artist. Exposing the fragility of a soloist who bares his soul, José Navas invites the public to an intimate encounter with the artist and man, in an unveiling of his personal history.

One of the most romantic shows in Compagnie Flak’s repertoire. Touching and exhilarating.

Critical acclaim from the press

  • “He is an engaging performer who wins the audience over not just through his incredible, understated technique, but also through the honest charm with which he lays out his life.
” Irish Times, Dublin
  • “An evening vibrating with emotion by an artist stripped of all artifice and delivering himself up to his art.” Dance International Magazine, Vancouver
  • “With his usual geometric precision, unquestionably virtuosic, he doesn’t just do show. He offers himself. … Navas as we have never seen him.” DF Danse, Montreal
  • “Langorous, ecstatic, carnal, filial, parodic, destabilizing, luminous … a sublime performance” La Presse, Montreal
  • “It’s filled with absolutely fabulous moments, with a great poetry … This show, undoubtedly, will make you fall in love with contemporary dance.” C’est bien meilleur le matin, Radio-Canada, Montreal
  • “Simple, but oh, how sublime! … He gets that less is more.” Le Devoir, Montreal
  • “It’s both chiselled and moving, which is rare. … For the first time in my life, I saw a face dance.” Je l’ai vu à la radio, Radio-Canada, Montreal

Video Clips

A word from the choreographer

The first solo performer I ever saw was Risa Steinberg, back in the early 80’s, performing pieces by Isadora Duncan and other pioneers of dance. The show awed me and shaped my desire and love for the solo format. As a young artist, my first ventures in choreography took the form of solos. Dancing solos is like singing a cappella: as performer you are exposed. It fails utterly unless you connect your body and soul.

In painting, miniatures are fastidiously small, highly detailed representations of reality. At first the naked eye sees a tangle of colours on the tiny surface. But if you look closely, the details reveal a surprising landscape and a whole reality. Miniatures consists of movement landscapes, translations into movement of my own fields of memories. They are short glimpses of love stories and of carnal desire. After twenty-five years as a dancer, with my body changing faster and maturing, these landscapes are my declaration that my love affair with solo work will endure, regardless of age and circumstances.

Credits

  • Choreographer and dancer: José Navas
  • Music: Bach, Bellini, Debussy, Grever, Gershwin, Chopin, Vivaldi (read more)
  • Lighting: Marc Parent
  • Rehearsal director: Ami Shulman
  • Costumes: José Navas/Compagnie Flak
  • Length: 60 minutes
  • Premiere: October 23rd, 2008 at Agora de la danse in Montreal (Canada).

Miniatures is a production of José Navas/Compagnie Flak in coproduction with Agora de la danse.