Bill Coleman: Dollhouse

Additional Information

Presented in partnership with New Dance Horizons
Artist Talk: Thursday, January 26, 7:30 pm, Public Meeting Room 1, Central Library
Performances: January 27, 28, and 29, 7:30 pm, Central Gallery
Installation: Friday, January 28, 9:30 am-5:00 pm and Saturday, January 29, 12:00-5:00 pm, Central Gallery

Bill Coleman’s Dollhouse depicts a man whose world is literally falling down on top of him. Informed by such diverse sources as Artaud to The Three Stooges, Coleman is a man out of synch with his surroundings, as he tap dances and pratfalls through a booby-trapped set creating symphonic chaos. The result is a tragic, horrifying, bombastic, and irrepressibly funny performance. The sound for Dollhouse was created by award-winning artist Gordon Monahan and the set features elements by Saskatchewan artist Edward Poitras. Artist Talk and installation are free. For ticket information for performances, please visit http://newdancehorizons.ca/.

Bill Coleman’s work has been presented all over the world. It is often site-responsive, and is often created in collaboration with communities or artists from a variety of disciplines. Coleman is the co-founder of the Coleman Lemieux & Compagnie. He has also performed with, among others, the Martha Graham Dance Compay, Bill T Jones/Arnie Zane Company, Toronto Dance Theatre, and Fondation Jean-Pierre Perreault. He is a longtime faculty member at Toronto’s Centre for Indigenous Theatre.

Gordon Monahan’s works for piano, loudspeakers, video, kinetic sculpture, and computer-controlled sound environments span various genres from avant-garde concert music to multimedia installation and sound art. Monahan was the recipient of a 2013 Governor General’s Award in Visual and Media Arts. He divides his time between Meaford, Ontario, and Berlin, Germany.

Bill Coleman, Dollhouse, 2016. Photo by Sarah Abbot.