Frederick Gravel: Fear and Greed at the Quick Center for the Arts, Fairfield, CT, USA

Watching dancer, choreographer, musician, singer Frédérick Gravel perform his U.S. premiere of his solo contemporary dance work, Fear and Greed at the Quick Center for the Arts at Fairfield University in Fairfield, Connecticut was mesmerizing. The last time we saw this inspired dancer perform was in 2017 as part of his ensemble. For 2019, his solo work was a much more demanding role opening with just Frédérick Gravel on stage. Like moths drawn to a flame, we could not take our eyes off his performance.

The Quick for the Arts at Fairfield University is truly a hidden gem of Fairfield,Connecticut with its diversity of exceptional arts programs. Whether it is a concert, classic or contemporary dance performance, a play, lecture, Live at the Met series, or art reception, each program is well chosen for the audience’s appreciation. Throughout the years, we have seen a wide range of outstanding programs, and Frédérick Gravel’s U.S. premiere of Fear and Greed continued to uphold the high standards that we have come to expect from the Quick.

In the program, Frédérick Gravel notes of his solo performance as being, "An apprenticeship, the desire to try something new, to not have a team dancing my ideas. I know that I have a lot of tools, know-how and stage experience. I knew from thestart that thisproject would meanme going throughfairly complex states, thatit would makeme doubt thatI could makesomething that stands on its own, that would interest me and that others would find interesting, that would not be a demonstration of what I know how to do. What I want to express is always being nuanced from one minute to the next, always evolving. I’ll soon be forty and am now a more experienced dancer. It took me all those years to accept the way I dance. I have a limited range of movements. I don’t have perfect technique, but I now accept how I dance. I don’t wonder what I should do as an artist, or what the choreography will look like if I do such or such a movement. I arrive in the studio and simply ask what makes sense, here and now.What do I like? What is it about art and the human spirit that interests me? What motivates me? I had thought that over time creating new work would get easier, but I realize that it’s more and more complicated. The difference is that I can now start an artistic project knowing that it will be seen, whereas before I didn’t know where it would be performed."

We had the pleasure of attending Frédérick Gravel’s Fear and Greed performance at the Quick Center for the Arts on Saturday, November 16, 2019, the last night of his 3-night performance schedule. Montreal-based, Frédérick Gravelis a choreographer, light designer, researcher, dancer, artistic director of DLD (Daniel Léveillé Danse), co-founder of the choreographic collective La 2e Porte à Gauche, and that is only a partial list of his exhaustive credentials. He is also a musician and a singer.

For his 2019 U.S. premiere of his first solo work, Fear and Greed, Frédérick Gravel challenges not only himself, but the audience as well, as the work opens with him sitting alone on stage performing stylized dance movements without any musical accompaniment.It is just Frédérick and the audience, and their relationship with one another as the performance unfolds.

As a contemporary dancer, Frédérick Gravel not only pushes himself to new challenges he also pushes the audience to go beyond their collective comfort zone. He is an exciting dancer to watch as he explores the unexplored. The extreme physicality of his solo dance performance kept our eyes glued to his every move.

For the second part of the program he danced to original music which he created along with Nicholas Basque, Philippe Brault, and José Major, and performed by musicians Philippe Brault, Jean-Luc Huet, and José Major. Frédérick also played guitar on stage and sang as part of his dance performance, once again demonstrating the exceptional diversity of his artistry and skills across genres. Frédérick Gravel is not only a master of contemporary dance, he is destined to become a legend in the world of contemporary dance. Bravo!

Frédérick Gravel

Watch a teaser performance of Fear and Greed: https://www.danielleveilledanse.org/en-fear-and-greed

Fear and Greed runs 75 minutes without an intermission.

Until next time, keep enjoying and supporting the arts!

For information on upcoming performances by DLD Artistic Direction Frédérick Gravel please visit the website: www.danielleveilledanse.org

For information or to purchase tickets for upcoming performancesat the Quick Center for the Arts, please call the box office at +1-203-254-4010 or Toll-Free at +1-877-ARTS-396, or visit them on the website at www.QuickCenter.com.

About the Quick Center for the Arts

Conveniently located in Fairfield, Connecticut, the Quick Center for the Arts is a 30-minute drive from Greenwich and New Haven, a 60-minute drive from Hartford, and a 90-minute drive from New York City.

The Quick Center for the Arts – the center for creativity and culture has an extensive program of theatre, dance, opera, classic, and jazz series, as well as family productions throughout the year.

There is always something wonderful happening at The Quick!

A Sampling of the Many Exciting Upcoming Performances in 2019 and 2020

Upcoming Performances – 2019

Upcoming Performances – 2020

Quick Center for the Arts
Fairfield University
1073 North Benson Road
Fairfield, CT 06824
United States
Box Office: +1-203-254-4010
Toll-Free: +1-877-ARTS-396
Email: boxoffice@quickcenter.com
Website: www.QuickCenter.com
Facebook: www.Facebook.com/FairfieldQuickCenter

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