This week in dance

María Pagés in Autorretrato. Photo by Victoria Hidalgo.

This week on the dance scene, keep an eye out for a flamenco troupe from Spain and a local, politically charged performance.

Back in 2007, invited by ballet superstar Mikhail Baryshnikov to his studio in New York City to create something personal, Sevillana flamenco dancer María Pagés channeled her choreographic energies inward to look for inspiration. Exploring this energy in Baryshnikov’s intimate studio space, Pagés shaped Autorretrato, a choreography she likens to a painter’s creation of a self-portrait. The show, which runs for three nights this week, celebrates the art of flamenco with performances by six musicians and eight dancers.

Pagés is known for combining her choreographic styles with artistic heavyweights such as tenor Plácido Domingo and choreographer Sidi Larbi Cherkaoui. For this creation, she collaborated with the late, Nobel Prize-winning Portuguese writer José Saramago, who narrates his poetry.

Autorretrato, April 4-6, Salle Wilfrid-Pelletier, Place des Arts, 8 p.m., $38-$66.

With a completely different vibe, over at the MAI this week, Collective Individual is an interdisciplinary performance that takes its inspiration from the events, and images, of recent revolutions in the Arab world. Through the work, the politically engaged creators of the artistic collective Thirst/Clarity, Zohar Melinek and dancer-choreographer Mary St-Amand Williamson question the ideas of the individual and the collective and the psychological effects of war on victims and civilians.

Melinek, a filmmaker and sound artist, uses projections during this duo that explores ideas of revolution. The duet is part of Le Printemps du MAI, which is the venue’s two-week spotlight on politically charged art.
Collective Individual, April 5-6, MAI (3680 Jeanne-Mance), 8 p.m., $12-$22. After Friday’s performance, join in with a discussion with the artists post-show. ■