Ten years. This is the time that musician Roger White took to talk to his Jewish grandmother about her experiences during the Holocaust. Initially started to document his own family history, this research finally takes the form of a show, but also of an exhibition. All named Because You Never Asked, will begin on April 19 at the MAI (Montréal, arts interculturels).
“When I was 16 or 17, my mother went to Poland to take part in conferences as a teacher. She then explained to me that, during her free time, she looked for the houses, the apartments of members of our family. She also told me that she would never visit Auschwitz because part of our family had died there. That’s when I knew I wanted to dig in, find out more,” says Roger White when discussing the origins of the piece. Because You Never Asked.
Indeed, although he had lived all his life in Canada, without education in religion or Jewish culture, Roger White quickly became interested in them. “In my thirties, I did the work of finding all the names of our family who were killed. That’s also where I started talking to my grandmother,” he recalls. After she spoke about Kristallnacht in 1938 during a visit to Montreal, Mr. White continued his research work with her each time he visited England, where she took refuge when she was only 16 years old. “I recorded all our conversations. I thought it was important that we keep track of this story, ”he continues.
Supported by choreographer Helen Simard, his wife for more than 20 years, Roger White then decided to make this story “which concerns so many people” public.
Honoring a community and stories
It was during a residency with the Segal Center and its Jewish arts mentorship in early 2022 that the creative process began more concretely. “It was important to have a connection with the Jewish artistic community, just to be sure that we were on the right track, culturally speaking. It may be my family, it’s not my cultural identity to me, ”he underlines.
To respect this culture, the two artists also chose among the performers Maxine Segalowitz and David Albert-Toth, both of Jewish origin. “It was important for us to be able to discuss current community issues,” explains Helen Simard. Marie Lévêque immigrated from France. “We talked a lot about the difference between someone who chooses to live elsewhere and someone who is displaced. We also find on stage Brianna Lombardo, an accomplice in Helen Simard’s shows. “There is text in the show, so we needed people who have a command of words,” she adds.
Alongside the scenic work, spectators will also be able to discover an exhibition. This offers documents from Roger White’s grandmother and her family, photos, passports, letters written during the war. “We can all read the same letter and interpret it differently. Looking at a family story, we try to understand ours too, thinks the choreographer. We also wanted, through these traces, to bring concreteness to this story of displacement. »
According to Helen Simard, Because You Never Asked also serves to remember a piece of history “that might seem far away today”. “Stories must always be remembered and honored, otherwise they are forgotten. And unfortunately, history can repeat itself if we lose this memory and are not careful. »
Empathy through the body
“The first dramaturgy of the work is found in the text and the music, then in the lighting and the scenic space. The choreography comes almost as a support to the rest. In my other pieces, it’s always the opposite! notes the one who is interested in the porosity between dance and other means of expression.
So, Because You Never Asked is played in the MAI gallery, this large room filled with large columns. “They are reminiscent of German Expressionism, but also the raw, industrial side. They are really extra bodies on the stage”, feels Mme Simard. In addition, spectators will be seated on both sides of the room. An “intimate and more immersive” aspect that pleased the two artists. “We didn’t want an Italian-style theatre. It’s too frontal. We wanted everyone to be able to have a different perspective, but also not always be able to see everything, or decide not to see everything,” she adds.
For meme Simard, dance makes it possible to “explore memory”. “How identities, memories, are lost or reconstructed over time and how they resonate in the body, she wondered. Sometimes there are memories that cannot be put into words, but which are visceral, bodily experiences”.
The two artists wanted to bring “more than images” to talk about this tragic event in history. “There are human beings behind these stories, so putting them in body allows them to be humanized, to be re-humanized,” she concludes. I think bodywork helps to develop empathy, even for a story that doesn’t concern us personally. It serves to understand the importance of remaining human, together. »