A solo performer does not have a partner to draw energy from. In Warm up, Mykalle Bielinski imposes herself in addition to producing it herself thanks to a bicycle. The creator of beauty Myth – choral show brought to life at Espace Libre in winter 2019 and which will be resumed at Espace Go at the end of April – pursues its quest for the sacred. In recent years, she has nourished a growing interest in questions of ecology and for the link with nature in spirituality.
At the same time, she was very concerned about the major oil projects that were being promoted at the time. “I became very protective of my territory and I wondered why. So I delved into that feeling. And one of the first things that struck me was that there is something problematic about our relationship with nature. And that led me to say to myself: “if I really want to put on a show that is aware of this relationship which is out of order, disconnected, I have to try to use nature as little as possible in my show”. »To solicit the minimum of natural resources.
Warm up – a show in French, despite its title – is a demanding project, since, as the only producer, Mykalle Bielinski has imposed herself on transporting the few objects she uses. In addition to the sports performance on the stage of La Chapelle. “But what is interesting is that it works the breath directly. And the breath is a bit my instrument, so it becomes matter too. “
Generating your own electricity on stage by pedaling is a concept that we see especially in Europe. Another Montreal project, 100 seconds before midnight of Pirata Théâtre, will also use it to power the lighting, in January at the Stables. “It’s an idea that tends to spread, because it’s accessible. The prototype is easy to build. The difference is that in Europe, they are a little more aware of the energy weight of their electricity, because it [provient] fossil fuels or nuclear. We have a lot of electricity and we waste it more. “
The artist also accepts his contradictions. “I have a lithium battery on stage. It’s a really crucial resource in sustainable development right now. But there is a flip side to that: these are hard-to-extract resources that have social costs, an impact on the workforce. So there are contradictions in the work and I talk about it, it becomes like the subject of the show. “
Overproduction
In Warm up, the bicycle on stage also becomes a symbol of overproduction. “I made a kind of little power station on stage. And at the start, I really had the good idea, to pedal to succeed in my show. But it quickly becomes a system that exploits me because I have to pedal a lot to do very little. […] So much so that the bicycle, in the end, becomes a kind of metaphor for this great system which exploits us, which exhausts us. […] It also becomes a discourse on performance, on growth. “
The artist believes that the environmental crisis requires a decrease. “We were sold a model that is not viable. We are too much to overconsume, to live beyond our ecological means. And we waste a lot of resources. I think we can raise awareness and, quite humbly, opt for reductions on our own scale, but which could have a rebound effect so that other people get on board as well. It is sure that it will take the collective in there. “
There is also a storytelling issue to be resolved. “What we tell ourselves as possible as a society is too narrow. Cyril Dion, who has [écrit] the documentary tomorrow, was one of the first to say that we have to tell new stories, new things about what tomorrow will be and who we are. What we are saying right now sends us straight into the wall. We have to invent new ways of thinking about ourselves. “She is aware, on the other hand, that this is a” bittersweet “observation:” Of course there will be things that will have to be left behind. “
What is the role of artists in the face of the climate issue? “At the start, I was super optimistic. I said to myself: “I am going to be the intermediary between the scientist and the citizen”. And I put myself under pressure to come up with solutions, because I told myself that it was my role as an artist: to respond to the crisis with options. […] But over the course of the creation, I realized that the individual alone cannot do it, that it is really a collective affair and that it is beyond me. Artists, what we know how to do is to work on the sensitive. So we can just, I imagine, provoke small interior clicks in the spectator, by making him experience sensations and by making tangible, even in the flesh, the climatic emergency. “
Sacred concert
Mykalle Bielinski took advantage of the pandemic to carry out projects in reserve, publishing his first collection of poetry, Myth, preceded by Gloria (Éditions du Passage), based on the scores of his creations. She also recorded an album – she is looking for a record company – of sacred songs, which includes pieces from her three shows: “It makes you think a bit of Jorane, but I also draw from others. influences. I have oriental instruments. “
For Warm up, the musician therefore created songs on Latin texts of the mass, arranged with electronic music. With a single projector for lighting, she takes it for a walk on the stage to create “mini-performance spaces” for each song. “There’s a big part that’s in silence, so it’s captivating. And that makes you think a lot. There is space to enter into oneself. And in the second part of the show, I transform the device and we dive a little more into contemplation. “
At the crossroads of sports performance, manifesto, concert and meditation, Warm up orchestrates an unusual mix of genres. ” I’m happy ! reacts its creator with a spontaneous laugh. At the beginning, I wondered: how to integrate all this? But we managed to put all the pieces together! His goal was to create a “mainstream” show that speaks to everyone. Early performances in front of a few people were enough to reassure Mykalle Bielinski. “I think it’s a show that gives life, hope and the desire to engage. It is a testimony that I received: it makes you want to participate in the rest of the world. “