Charmaine LeBlanc & Marlene Millar
Mediating Intimacy

Mediating Intimacy Mediating intimacy is a workshop centred on finding new points of departure for coming up with a movement vocabulary. Its areas of research include creating a vocal language for each performer as well as exploring spatial disposition and its emotional impact through the use of video en direct. Video and voice are two strong forms to work with when creating a movement piece. They both serve to focus on the intimate details that one is looking to convey. Marlene and Charmaine will present their collaborative work as seen in "Quarantaine 4 x 4", and discuss their approach, process though the different stages- idea, development in studio, production and editing, integration into live performance. Working from both a documentary and an experimental foundation, participants will work in small teams using basic tools - small videocameras, microphones, and simple lighting to explore possible ways of capturing qualities unique to media arts. Through the process of basic editing the sound and visual elements will be composed and edited together to be presented for discussion amongst the participants. Ideas and concepts of how to integrate these sequences into a live performance environment will also be explored. Voice will be taught throughout the process and participants will be asked to use it whether as a narrative, sung or sounded as their main soundtrack. Charmaine LeBlanc Charmaine is a vocalist/ composer/ percussionist who has had the opportunity of crossing over into several artistic fields. She has written scores and performed for dance, theatre, film and television. Charmaine has had the privilege of working alongside some of the worlds most renowned voice teachers and has worked with some of the most internationally acclaimed directors and choreographerssuch as: Margie Gillis, Gerald Casel, Risa Steinberg, Angélique Willkie, Luc Tremblay und Les Gens d’R. Also she is accompyning for many institutions and teachers a.o. at LADMMI Montréal, José Limón Institute, Concorde University, New School for the Arts Amsterdam. She has started her own company THE RED RABBIT PROJECT. Charmaine continues to coach at the CIRQUE DU SOLEIL and FRANCO DRAGONE’s company in Las Vegas. Marlene Millar With a background in contemporary dance, design and cinema, Montreal filmmaker Marlene Millar has worked on productions in the U.S., the South Pacific and across Canada. In 1999 she received a Dance Media Fellowship at the University of California in Los Angeles, and in 2001 founded the arts film production company MOUVEMENT PERPÉTUEL with Philip Szporer. Their dance films and arts documentaries (Moments in Motion, The Hunt, a soft place to fall, Butte, Byron Chief-Moon:Grey Horse Rider, The Greater the Weight, 40) are broadcasted regularly on Bravo! and are featured in festivals internationally. Marlene has collaborated with spoken word artist Ian Ferrier, choreographer Lynda Gaudreau and most recently with Charmaine LeBlanc and illustrator Pol Turgeon on the multidisciplinary performance "Quarantaine 4x4" featuring Ken Roy, Benoit Lachambre, Marc Daigle and Marc Beland. She has taught filmmaking workshops at the National Film Board of Canada, at Main Film and Concordia University in Montreal, Bowling Green University, Ohio and Centre Imagine in Burkino Faso. Ongoing projects include a film adaptation of "Quarantaine 4x4" and a collaborative documentary with Crystal Pite.