Nate and Ben venture into the dark-matter nebula that clouds the infinite. Through kabbalistic meditation, these two naïve mathematicians calculate the correct harmonic frequencies to decode angel messages and finally ascend.
They clumsily use the ancient numerological technology of gematria to shatter false idols and other plaster statues. Nate maps his sacrificial body onto 10 speakers and the 10 sefirot, while Ben tunes his lap steel guitar to the resonant ratios.
Together, they latch onto sacred heresies to transcend (already obsolete) rational logic, and approach the limitless blue sky.
Credits
Choreographer, performer: Nate Yaffe
Musician, sound designer, performer: Ben Grossman
Co-production : Le Radeau, Danse-Cité, Les Filles Électriques
About the artist
Nate Yaffe is an experimental dance, theatre and video artist, based in Tiohtà:ke (Montreal) who researches queer strategies for bodily permission and courage. His tactile dances dismantle movement shame through un-correcting the self-censored body. He weaves a relational web with his audience, and uses affect as a tangible choreographic material, reminding us that performance is a social exchange, after all.
As co-artistic director of Le Radeau, Nate seeks community-centred alternatives for being a dance artist in face of the uncertain future. He has also co-curated many events including Signal Vibrant: a ceremony for the dead, and Hommage Fromage.
His work has recently been presented at FRAC Bretagne, La Chapelle Scènes Contemporaines, OFFta, Performance Mix Festival (NYC), SummerWorks (Toronto), Plastic Orchid Factory (Vancouver), and Biennale d’art performatif de Rouyn-Noranda
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Ben Grossman is a busy musician and sound artist: improviser, studio musician, composer, and noisemaker. He works in many fields, having played on over 100 CDs, soundtracks for film and television, composition and sound design for theatre, dance, installations, work designed for radio transmission, and live performances spanning early medieval music to experimental electronics. Ben's tools of choice are electronics, percussion, and especially, the vielle à roue (hurdy gurdy), a contemporary electro-acoustic string instrument with roots in the European Middle Ages. Through extended techniques, and sometimes electronic processing, Ben seeks to use it as a physical interface into sound creation, spontaneous composition and the exploration of acoustics, form and extended aesthetics. ➤ www.macrophone.org
Practical Informations
As part of Festival Phénomena
Dates:
October 21, 2026 – 7:30 PM
October 22, 2026 – 7:30 PM
October 23, 2026 – 7:30 PMVenue:
Anti-Space5425 Casgrain Av. #318
Montréal, QC, H2T 1X6Pricing
More information coming soon...