19 Jan

THINGS TO DO IN MONTREAL: JANUARY 18-24

The sun is shining, snow is falling and Montreal is hopping: not only is hockey back, but outdoor dance party Igloofest revs its electronic-music engines, the Snow Village beckons, a Dali-inspired circus delights, as do musicals, film, dance shows, interactive art and city sights…

(winter warmth) Montreal has many ways to warm up the great outdoors. Igloofest, winter’s answer to Piknic Electronik, continues its first weekend at the Old Port on Friday night in collaboration with Mutek, featuring Stephen Beaupré, Germany’s Mathias Kaden and Bulgaria’s KiNK, while on Saturday, dance to DJ Josh Wink and Canadian faves Paolo Rocco and DJ Sneak. Come back on Thursday, January 24 for Alicia Hush, Miss Kittin and Ellen Allien. Across the river from Igloofest, settle in at Montreal’s one-of-a-kind Snow Village, with restaurants, a hotel, activities and more. And outdoors right outside Place des Arts, get interactive with music-and-light installation Iceberg, part of the Luminothérapie exhibition in downtown’s Quartier des Spectacles.

(game on) NHL hockey comes back to Montreal this week! To smooth the ice and get fans back into the groove, the Bell Centre is inviting everyone to check out morning skates for the Montreal Canadiens and the Toronto Maple Leafs on Saturday, January 19 – it’s free, doors open at 9 a.m., seating is on a first-come-first-served basis, and fans will be treated to a hot dog, chips and a soft drink as well as 50 percent off Canadiens merchandise. Later that day, the Habs play the Maple Leafs, and on January 22, they face off against the Panthers.

(circus, song dance) The art, antics and dreamworld of Salvador Dali are the inspiration for the acrobatic, song and dance of circus show La Verità, created by Daniele Finzi Pasca and featuring a gorgeous original Dali backdrop painting, on at Place des Arts to February 3. More music is in the picture in Beautiful City Theatre’s rock-musical rendition of Godspell, The Musical, January 24-26 and 31 at Centaur Theatre in Old Montreal. La Otra Orilla shows us new and traditional forms of flamenco dance, with dancer/choreographer Myriam Allard and singer Hedi Graja, at Cinquième Salle to January 26. Marie Béland’s Bleu-Vert-Rouge offers a taste of Montreal’s contemporary dance scene at L’Agora, January 23-26, as does the Bouge d’ici Festival, with shows from emerging dancers and choreographers at Mainline Theatre to January 19. And amazing puppetry wows as The Old Trout Puppet Workshop comes to Montreal with their “happiness” show Ignorance, January 18-19.

(screen time) See recent and acclaimed Canadian films for free at the PHI Centre this week: director Nisha Pahuja’s The World Before Her on January 18, Kim Nguyen’s Rebelle on January 21, David Cronenberg’s Cosmopolis and Michael Dowse’s Goon on January 23, and Deepa Mehta’s Midnight’s Children and Sean Garrity’s My Awkward Sexual Adventure on January 24. The PHI Centre also presents a series of films selected by filmmaker Denis Côté, including Sergei Loznitsa’s My Joy, Bill Ross’ Tchoupitoulas and Nikolaus Geyrhalter’s Abendland. Over on the 360-degree domed Satosphere screen at the SAT see Chaos and Order, a panoramic work by media artist Rocco Helmchen and composer Johannes Kraas, playing to February 22 – and as a bonus at the SAT’s Foodlab on January 20, eat well and talk gluten-free gourmet with guest chef Aran Goyoaga of Cannelle et Vanille.

(art world) Innovative Old-Montreal-based DHC/ART impresses yet again with their mind-expanding new show Thomas Demand: Animations, opening January 19, featuring the German artist’s films and videos, interlacing photography, architecture, sculpture and media images. The must-see, 1960s-to-present-day installation work of Canadian art legend Michael Snow is explored in Solo Snow: Works of Michael Snow at Galerie de l’UQAM. And Parisian Laundry, located not far from downtown in the neighbourhood of St-Henri, shows new brightly coloured new work by Jennifer Lefort and Samuel Roy-Bois’ installation J’ai Moonwalké Sans Cesse, Jusqu’à L’épuisement, which includes a drum kit ready for visitors to play.

(music time) On Saturday night, listen to the inventive sounds and inspired lyrics of Christopher Owens and Gentlemen Reg, at Cabaret Mile End. Hear and see something different on January 21, as saxophonist Adam Kinner collaborates with pianist Andy Costello for a theatrical performance at Sala Rossa. On January 22, the Montreal Symphony Orchestra welcomes the Budapest Festival Orchestra to the new Maison symphonique de Montréal to play a program of 20th-century works, from Shostakovich to Rachmaninov, while Californian electro-folk (and much more) singer-songwriter Chelsea Wolfe captivates at Il Motore, and L.A.’s Hollywood Undead play Theatre Corona. And on January 24, Brooklyn indie-rock band Wakey Wakey gets toes tapping to love songs at Cabaret du Mile End, and The Whammies, an all-star jazz group of players from Chicago, Boston and the Netherlands make a night of it at Sala.

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