The Movements

Story

The Movements is a high-octane theatre/dance spectacular and the economics class you never had in school. It’s a show about the global economy in the form of a 90-minute workout routine. Accompanied by a soaring musical score and multi-layered video design, four performers never quit as they transform dry data into aerobic movement before your very eyes. Covering everything from GDP and the WHO to wealth inequality and inflation, The Movements examines the mind-boggling complexity of these hot topics in a way that is accessible and endlessly engaging.

Created by Zuppa with choreographer/performer Liliona Quarmyne, video designers Anna Shepard and Christian Ludwig Hansen, composer Stewart Legere and in partnership with Kinetic Studio and Halifax Dance, The Movements examines of the social, political and environmental costs of growing wealth stratification, and the challenges of addressing it.

Every movement in the tightly choreographed 90 minutes is a physical expression of data. Did you know that the average Canadian owns less of Canada’s wealth than in the 1990s and substantially less than in the 1960s? Did you know that WWE Wrestling’s CEO Vince McMahon is the world’s rich athlete, or that the World Bank loaned Colombia $500 million to support the nearly 2 million recent refugees from Venezuela? Have you always wondered what 'neoliberalism' means but were afraid to ask?

Indebted to the aesthetic of 1980s workout videos and drawing on economic data from a range of sources, The Movements grapples with the legacy of the last 40 years of economic policy and asks us to consider what might be next.

See the trailer video here.

Company

Starring:

Stewart Legere

Liliona Quarmyne

Faly Mevamenana

Rebecca Wolfe

Creative Team:

Directed by Alex McLean

Choreography by Liliona Quarmyne

Assistant to the choreographer - Rebecca Wolfe

Video/projection Design - Christian Ludwig Hansen

Sound Design and Composition - Stewart Legere

Prompt Video/Producer/SM - Sophie Schade

Costume consultant - Andrea Ritchie

Lighting Design - Jess Lewis

Co-creator, Original Cast Member - Raeesa Lalani

Photos