Andrew Tay & Stephen Thompson

(Toronto, Canada / Nice, France)

Make Banana Cry

US Premiere in partnership with On the Boards (Seattle, WA)

Community Partner: Liminal Bodies, a publication and collective of QTAPI artists and writers

Masks recommended.

Make Banana Cry is presented in two parts, with a brief intermission between each. Part I is a staged performance, while Part II is a community event offering food, drink, social connection, and communal celebration. Your ticket admits you to both parts. We hope you will stay to experience the full program! Read on to learn more.

DESCRIPTION

Make Banana Cry is a critical and destabilizing dance performance that questions Asian stereotypes while examining the transmission of cultural identity.

In a subversive runway presentation featuring a parade of body politics, Make Banana Cry is designed to trouble the Western gaze.  Attempting to shake off the weight of representation and fetishization, six artists critique, parody, and protest against clichés of “Asian-ness.”  Confronting the tension between their cultural identities and stereotypes, the work is an irreverent happening that contemplates the problematics of “universal” Western popular culture while drawing on the intersectional backgrounds of each of the performers. Mixing the codes of couture and contemporary art, straddling spectacles of consumption and entertainment, the piece is an impressive demonstration of physicality, an unrelenting examination of Western prejudice, and an ingenious show of humor and wit. 

Each night Make Banana Cry is presented in two parts – a performance followed by a special event – with a brief intermission between each. On Friday the 17th, Part II takes the form of snacks, cash bar, and a panel discussion with artists in the show, moderated by writer and scholar Jason N. Le. On Saturday the 18th, Part II features a cash bar, food by Makulít, and Rest | Joy | Play: A Queer API Literaoke, curated by Kelly Novahom and Lilly Do, with readings/karaoke by South and Southeast Asian writers Angela Peñaredondo, Eric Tran, and Ami Patel, and music by Cay Horiuchi. Rest | Joy | Play is a soft launch of Liminal Bodies, a new queer & trans API writing collective that focuses on movement and performance as a practice for evoking writing. Other contributors include PDX Queer Asian Social Meetup and API Pride.

“Make Banana Cry reminds us that we are both products and producers of the society we live in, carriers and transmitters of cultural identities. And that unlike the stereotypes we are bombarded with every day, contemporary identities are never fixed, never frozen, and never one-dimensional.” -The Dance Current

ABOUT THE ARTISTS

Andrew Tay is a hybrid performer, choreographer, curator, and DJ. He is the co-founder of Wants&Needs Danse with Sasha Kleinplatz. Together, they produce the popular dance events Short&Sweet and Piss in the Pool, which take place in non-traditional venues in Montreal. Tay received the Buddies in Bad Times Vanguard Award for Risk and Innovation at the SummerWorks Performance Festival for his work Fame Prayer / EATING (2016). He was named the first artistic curator at Le Centre de Création O Vertigo (CCOV) in Montreal and recently became the Artistic Director of Toronto Dance Theatre (TDT), one of Canada’s oldest contemporary dance companies. Tay actively thinks about community, irreverence, and resistance in his performance and curatorial practices. @choreographyishappening

Stephen Thompson, originally from Calgary, Alberta, is an interdisciplinary artist working between Canada, USA, and Europe. Stephen’s introduction to movement and performing was through competitive figure skating. He received a Bachelor of Kinesiology (art and science of movement) and Dance from the University of Calgary. Stephen received the bronze medal in 2015 at the World “Figure” Championships in Lake Placid. In 2016, he received a Victor Martin-Lynch award from the Canada Council for the Arts. Past choreographic work and collaborations: 2012 Bessie Award-winning Antigone Sr. (Large), The Ghost of Montpellier and the Samurai (2014) with Trajal Harell; Culture Administration & Trembling (2014), Les Etudes (2017), Chaud (2020); Jennifer Lacey, Antonija Livingstone, Dominique Pétrin, whatwearesaying (2014); Public Recordings (2 Dora Mavor awards Toronto), numerous projects with Benoit Lachambre, Relative Collider (2015); Liz Santoro and Pierre Godard, Service #5: Try to keep kids off naturalism and Kein Paradiso with Adam Linder, recipient of the Mohn Prize at the L.A. Bienniale; Stitchomythia with Nadia Lauro and Zeena Parkins; Dramaturge for Such Sweet Thunder (2019); recipient of 8tensions Impulstanz, Compulsory Figures (2019) co-signed with French visual artist Xavier Veilhan. @cliffnotz

VISUAL ARTIST:

Dominique Pétrin is a visual artist living and working in Montreal, Canada. She has been working primarily with silkscreen printing for over 20 years. A former member of the petrochemical rock band Les Georges Leningrad from 2000-2007, she also collaborated with renowned artists such as Sophie Calle, Pil and Galia Kollectiv, and choreographers Antonija Livingstone, Stephen Thompson and Jennifer Lacey in Culture, Administration & Trembling performance. Some of her most featured works include an installation in Banksy’s The Walled Off Hotel (2017) in Palestine, Supernova (2013), and an all-over installation on the Beaudry metro station in Montreal. Her work has been exhibited in many artist-run centers across Canada, at the Musée d’art Contemporain de Montréal, Musée National des Beaux-Arts du Québec, and she was nominated for the prestigious Sobey Art Award 2014.

PERFORMERS:

Based in Montreal, Hanako Hoshimi-Caines is an experimental and socially engaged dance artist, curator, dramaturge and guide. Her works play within the expanded fields of choreography, video and sculpture. She makes multi-scale works that mix high and low fi aesthetics into dense storytelling often probing pluricultural histories, motherhood and the spirit of error. Her collaborative and solo works for theatre and gallery have been shown at the PICA/TBA festival, OTB (US), Moderna dansteatern (SE), Fierce Festival (UK), MAI, OFFTA, Leonard & Bina Ellen Gallery and Galerie de l’UQAM (CA). As the outgoing co-curator at the Centre de Creation O Vertigo (CCOV), Hanako put forward a people centered approach with a focus on experimental gatherings such as Signal Vibrant: ceremony for the dead and Pen pals/Relations épistolaires. Alongside artistic practice, Hanako recently completed a BA in Western philosophy (Concordia University) and training in transformative mediation and collective trauma healing in support of resistance and transformation. @hanakohc 

Francesca Chudnoff, also known as Franz (she/they), is a Tkaronto-based millennial with a BFA in performance who pays rent as a multidisciplinary artist. She is a dance maker, video artist, and photographer who is slowly learning digital illustration. Their work is in conversation with internet aesthetics and shaping a “social aura.” In process, they prioritize improvisation and collaborative creation. Franz recently completed a three-year research residency at Dancemakers Centre for Creation with Driftnote, and has worked as a mentor and dramaturge at the Festival of Recorded Movement and X University. @Franznfriends

Born in 1993 in Seoul, Sehyoung Lee lives and works in Paris. He currently studies at École nationale supérieure des beaux-arts de Paris. His work focuses on the schematization between the world and himself and questions the complementarity surrounding him. He has appeared as a performer in various works, including Happening tempête by Boris Charmatz at Grand Palais in Paris (2021). Sehyoung presented his creation at “Perma-” (sculpture) for the group exhibition Plant B curated by Noelia Portela at Jardin du Directeur Beaux-arts de Paris (2021), and (Ici)divague (performance, sculpture, and sounds) for graduation show at Beaux-arts de Paris and for group exhibition No no fest curated by Thomas Conchou at Maison Populaire in Paris (2021). @o.giyom

Born in Singapore, Cynthia Koppe is a New York City-based performer and teacher. She was a company member with Shen Wei Dance Arts from 2009-2017 and worked in collaboration with Liz Santoro and Pierre Godard of Le Principe d’Incertitude from 2010-2020. Most recently, she has performed with John Jasperse (Visitation, 2022) and Trisha Brown Dance Company (Joyce Season, 2023). In addition, she has had the pleasure of working with Yve Laris Cohen, Mimi Garrard, Heidi Howard and Liz Philips, Nicole Mannarino, Ryan McNamara, Sam Roeck, Adam Weinert, Christopher Williams, Ellis Wood, and Bill Young, amongst others, and was a “reperformer” for Marina Abramovic’s 2010 MoMA Retrospective. Cynthia teaches Yoga, Pilates, and Somatic Movement and practices Craniosacral Therapy. She holds a teaching certification in Female Ejaculation and the G-Spot and has trained in holistic pelvic health with Tami Lynn Kent and Ami Opal. She studies and has taught adult sex education with Isa Coffey of WiseBodies, and holds her own circles for women. Cynthia graduated with a BA in Dance and Sociology from Cornell University, where she was honored as a Merrill Presidential Scholar. @kopcyn

Winnie Ho (Superhova) is an interdisciplinary dance performance artist and curator who was born in Hong Kong and currently resides in Montreal.  Her work embraces multiple disciplines, including immersive installations, sculpture, and dance. Weaving in various materials onto her body and inventing queer folklore/mythologies have been at the forefront of her dance-making practice. Presently, she is working with notions of grief, pleasure, and play as both a personal ceremonial practice and a public performance. Winnie was awarded the Laureate of the Power Prix 2022 scholarship at La Centrale Galerie Powerhouse in Montreal. She also received the 2017 Danceweb Scholarship Program at the Impulstanz Festival in Vienna. Her passion for working in experimental and DIY structures and spaces has led her to create immersive installations and performances at Ponderosa Festival in Stolzenhagan, Germany, MIX Festival in New York City, Out There Festival in Portugal, VIVA Festival, Articule Gallery and La Centrale Galerie Powerhouse in Montreal. @soft_sloth @soft_sloth

TECHNICAL DIRECTOR:

Öykü Önder moved from Istanbul to Montréal in 2014 after a series of happy and unpredictable events, and completed Concordia University's Design For The Theatre program in 2018. Since arriving in Canada she has collaborated with different artists from various backgrounds in theatre, music and dance such as Margie Gillis, Sandeep Baghwati, and Rhodnie Desir in different capacities. Öykü tries to combine her own experiences with that of her collaborators', rooted in the belief that art is a crucial step towards a better understanding among people. @oykutakesphotos

PRODUCTION CREDITS:

Produced by: Andrew Tay & Stephen Thompson

Performed by: Francesca Chudnoff, Hanako Hoshimi-Caines, Cynthia Koppe, Sehyoung Lee, Winnie Ho, & Stephen Thompson

Visual Installation: Dominique Pétrin

Production: Romane de Montgrand

Tour Technician / Lighting Design: Öykü Önder

Photos: Claudia Chan Tak, Richmond Lam, & Manuel Vasson

Original Collaborators: Ellen Furey, Claudia Fancello, Jean Jauvin (Original Lighting Design), Hanako Hoshimi-Caines, Dana Michel, Coman Poon, & Simon Portigal

SPONSORSHIP

We acknowledge the support of the Canada Council for the Arts.

We received support from the Festival TransAmériques as part of the FTA Respirations, MAI, UQAM, and The Stable Creative Residency Centre de Création O Vertigo-CCOV

Thanks to Véronique Hudon, Galerie de l’UQAM, Aaron Wright (Fierce Festival), Dance 4 UK, Miriam Ginestier, & Michael Toppings