download printable versionFIFTY-ONE PIECES OF SILVER
...ravishing full length work...a collaboration with composer Henry
Kucharzyk and the dancers themselves, this is a dance in which sound,
setting and movement form a symbiotic relationship of such intensity they
literally merge.
-- Paula Citron, The Globe and Mail, April 26, 2002
... in fifty-one pieces of silver, the time is filled with so many shifts
of tone, texture, imagery and sound that it adds up to a very substantial
sixty minutes....Chartier is also witty.. she has produced something that
, while abstract, could never be called bloodless.
-- Michael Crabb, The National Post, April 25, 2002
EXILES: A BOOK OF QUESTIONS
...Exiles maintains an aesthetic coherence throughout, never compromising
its integrity with the impulse to please or entertain. Like certain
novels, it communicates the tangible experience of an individual's inner
world... in its coherence and the clarity of its realization, it is an
exceptional work of art.
-- Rebecca Todd, The Globe and Mail, October 13, 2001
éTUDE POUR DEUX MAMMIFèRES / MAMMALIAN STUDY
...the work is visually extravagant, emotionally complex and absurdist in a
marvellously theatrical way. Bravo.
-- Deidre Kelly, The Globe and Mail, April 21, 2001
...most striking contribution...Chartier uses the inspiration of Bacon's
often stratling images to forge a mysterious, intriguing work with poweful
emotional reverberations.
-- Michael Crabb, The National Post, April 23, 2001
SOUS NOS YEUX
...masterfully crafted and performed, this moving dance is a naked work
performed without an ounce of exhibitionism. Sous Nos Yeux is a complete
experience in itself.
-- Rebecca Todd, The Globe and Mail, August 18, 2001
...dans la pénombre, la voix de Marie-Josée Chartier transperce la scène de
Tangente et vient frapper notre espace émotionnel... un tour de force. En
cette nuit montréalaise glaciale, nous ressortons, bouleversés.
-- Izabel Barsive, Arts Liaison Magazine, automne 2001
VUS SUR L'INFINI
... ( Vue) stands stark and lean, with the emotion practically squeezed
out of it...She creates density by frequently changing speed and direction.
But always there is a sense of balance, with Chartier as the auteur of an
integrated choreographic design.
-- Deirdre Kelly, The Globe and Mail, May 3, 1997
FIGURES IN STILLNESS AND IN MOTION / SILHOUETTES IMMOBILES ET EN MOUVEMENT
...anyone who has sat and contemplated the serene beauty of a Japanese
garden ...will sense what she has achieved in dance.
-- William Littler, The Toronto Star, January 10, 1996
STUDY FOR A CROUCHING FIGURE / éTUDE POUR SILHOUETTE ACCROUPIE
... Chartier's powerful solo....It's impossible to imagine this majestic
work without the dance artist who inspired and performs the piece, the
remarkable Benoit Lachambre.
-- Kathleen M. Smith, Dance Connection Magazine, Winter 1995
... study is the operative word for this serious and admirable
collaboration of dancer, choreographer and composer Rodney Sharman.
-- Kathleen M. Smith, Eye Magazine, August 18, 1994
...equally extraordinary was Marie-Josée Chartier's solo ...the utterly
controlled performance by Lachambre was riveting.
-- Lewis Hertzman, The Globe and Mail, August 15, 1994
FIVE SEATED FIGURES / CINQ SILHOUETTES ASSISES
...Chartier's five seated figures uses a mix of props, text, narrative and
movement to great effect.
-- Paula Citron, The Toronto Star, May 1, 1992
SEATED WOMAN / FEMME ASSISE
...seated woman shows her to be in command of the little gesture with a big
punch.
--Deirdre Kelly, The Globe and Mail, October 20, 1990
... seated woman, a work that conveyed emotions and fragility, was
terrifyingly humane, performed from the confines of a chair....Chartier
twitched, tensed and contorted herself in movements that played on the
mind's fears, suggesting images of aging and loss of self-control.
-- Steptext Magazine, Fall 1992
R.E.D. THE MENS CLUB
...Chartier is sly and impishly indirect...In RED the disparate parts hang
together for an evening of performance that's wild, whacky and wet.
-- Deirdre Kelly, The Globe and Mail, May 3, 1988
...Chartier's work was filled with symbolism, yet the images were strictly
controlled, as was her strong central focus. She brillantly has the piece,
for five male dancers, move backwards from the cold and indifferent
businessmen to the natives who could drum and dance their feelings without
the barriers of polite society.
--Paula Citron, Dance in Canada Magazine, Summer 1988
MATA HARI TERBENAM
Choreography: Peter Chin
...Chin's drowning day is a time to be emotionally naked, and Chartier
takes great risks. Vocally she runs from piercing screams to lyrical
chants, while her body tortures itself through an articulation of gestures,
lunges and balances that demand excessive feats of control.
-- Paula Citron, The Globe and Mail, November 2, 2002
...Chartier delivered a gut-wrenching and brave performance.
VOTED IN THE TOP 10 SHOWS OF 2002
-- Glenn Sumi, Now Magazine, January 1, 2003
DESCENT
Choreography: Allen Kaeja
...high on my list of favourites...is Descent, a finely honed solo for
Marie-Josée Chartier...she appears both vulnerable and heroic, limited and
liberated.
-- Michael Crabb, The National Post, August 13, 2001
BROADCAST REVIEWS
IN STILLNESS AND IN MOTION
30 MINUTE DOCUMENTARY BROADCAST ON CBC, BRAVO!, RADIO-QUEBEC
... a compelling portrait that reveals itself as languidly as one of
Chartier's own pieces....In Stillness and in Motion remains an expressive
and strangely hypnotic film that demystifies Chartier's stark visions
without sacrificing their inherent appeal...
-- Henry Mietkiewicz, Toronto Star, Dec. 6, 1996
...dance tribute is beautifully filmed... Chartier an artistic master of
contemporary dance... It's a piece that stays with you long after the film
has ended.
-- Bonnie Malleck, The Record, Nov. 25, 1996
GENERALLY SPEAKING...
...fascinating choreographer...with every piece she does Chartier digs her
teeth deeper into the elusive core of dance, noting different flavours and
textures with each meaty bite.
-- Deirdre Kelly, The Globe and Mail, May 3, 1997
Chartier has been proving herself a deft hand at
choreography...particularly in weaving dance and real people into art
installations.
--Paula Citron, Toronto Life Magazine, January 1996
Dazzling Toronto dancemaker...
Toronto dance light...
Toronto dance knock-out...
Chartier's signature strength, sensuality and humanity
--Daryl Jung, Now Magazine ( over the years )
Chartier's choreography is serious, minimal and tremendously dignified...
she is becoming a master of cumulative effect. Like a good forensic
detective, she presents her evidence and lets it generate its own power.
-- Kathleen M. Smith, Eye Magazine, January 4, 1996
...Chartier herself is everything you want from a mature dancer. She
performs with complete authority and has nothing to hide.
-- Rebecca Todd, The Globe and Mail, August 14, 2001
...Along with her arresting stage presence, Chartier garners high praise
for her talents as a choreographer.
-- Emma McIntyre, Eye Magazine, August 2001