ODE by Catherine Gaudet

Presented to a sold-out audience at the 2024 edition of the FTA, ODE is an unclassifiable and striking work for eleven performers, oscillating between sacrificial rite and pop-rock spectacle.

Drawing inspiration from pagan processions, the group of performers chant on stage, endlessly repeating a choral hymn that takes the form of an insistent prayer. Under the choreographic pen of Catherine Gaudet—at once disconcerting and electrifying—the tableau, initially harmless and naïve, gradually grows more complex to generate a quasi-psychedelic, hallucinatory effect.

Photo credit © Mathieu Doyon