Animals of Distinction art society
Animals of Distinction is the multimedia dance company of renowned choreographer and dancer Dana Gingras. Through AOD, Gingras has fostered the creation of numerous cutting-edge works that have involved innovative collaborations across diverse mediums and artistic practices, all shaped by the possibilities of new technologies and cultural shifts.
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At the centre of the work is a belief that we can obtain critical knowledge from engagingwith he physical and emotional risks inherent to dance andmovement. It is through thebody and choreography that this element of risk can be employed to explore a vision ofthe world that is larger than our individual isolated experiences. The goal is to stimulateaudiences to become more aware of the elements ofcomplexity, connectivity, andcomplicity within our physical, social, and emotional lives.
AOD’s work has been presented nationally and internationally across diverse latformsincluding live performance, film, design, visual art, and new media. In 2016,under thedirection of Gingras, AOD produced The Holy Body Tattoo’s last work, monumental(2005), with Godspeed You! BlackEmperor playing live. This expanded version of thepiece premiered at the Queen Elizabeth Theatre in Vancouver as part of the PuShFestival in January 2016. Since then, monumental has been performed at the AdelaideFestival in Australia, Montreal’s Place des Arts, Grand Théâtre du Québec, as part ofLuminato at The Hearn Generating Station in Toronto, the Edinburgh InternationalFestival in Scotland, BAM’s NEXT WAVE Festival in New York, theROMAEUROPAFestival in Italy, MONA FOMA in Tasmania, Australia and, mostrecently, at London’s Barbican Centre.
In 2018 Gingras joined forces with group A, a Berlin-based Japanese avant-gradesynthwave duo, and Sonya Stefan, a Montreal-based media artist. Together, theycreated anOther—a hybrid production, with performance, installation, and a liveconcert. anOther premiered at Agora de la Danse and made its international debut atMONA FOMA in 2019.
Free Fall/Chute Libre, her new immersive dance film, was created through a residency at the Société des Arts Technologiques (SAT). Using the Satosphère’s full-dome theatre, the work focuses on stimulating viewers’ senses in unexpected ways.
In 2017 Dana Gingras/Animals of Distinction was granted a long-term residency at the Centre de Création O Vertigo (CCOV) in Montreal’s Place des Arts. Through this residency, Gingras/AOD produced a new large-scale work entitled FRONTERA with scenography by London based United Visual Artists and a live score by newly reformed Fly Pan Am. Recipient of support from the National Arts Centre’s National Creation Fund, FRONTERA premiered in Quebec City in November 2019 and has since been performed as a part of the Danse Danse season at Place des Arts in Montreal, at the Sydney Festival, Berlin’s CTM Festival, the PuSh Festival in Vancouver and at the National Arts Centre in Ottawa.
Dana Gingras has collaborated with cultural icons like William Gibson and Jenny Holzer . Musical collaborators include underground legends like Godspeed You! Black Emperor, The Tindersticks , Warren Ellis of the Dirty Three , The Tiger Lillies , Roger Tellier-Craig (Fly Pan Am) , Le Révélateur , and Steven Severin of Siouxsie and the Banshees. Multimedia works have been co-created with 3D animator Josh Sherrett, with animators and programmers James Paterson and Amit Pitaru , and, for her work on Arcade Fire’s award-winning Sprawl II video , with directors William Morrison and Vincent Morriset.
A registered non-profit society, The Animals of Distinction Arts Society is directed (in its activities and mandate) by artistic director Dana Gingras. AOD is produced and represented by international agent Sarah Rogers.