March 03, 2006 -

OTTAWA -- Relation Publique – created by Italian-born sisters Carlotta and Caterina Sagna -- creates a high-impact, high-decibel spectacle in this Canadian premiere. The piece will be performed in the Studio of the NAC on Thursday March 16, Friday March 17, and Saturday March 18, 2006 at 20:00. Relation Publique will be performed in French.

It’s high art laid bare! Skilled at dance and theatre, choreography and directing, the Sagna sisters have created a raucously theatrical tour de force for six dancer-actors. Part open rehearsal, part work in progress, part press conference, Relation Publique reports “live” the meeting between a dance company and its public. Forget collaboration, communication, or creativity – think outsized ego, sniping, and backbiting. This hilarious snakepit of artistic aspiration abounds in so many misunderstandings, mishaps, and hitches that a flamboyant actress must step in to moderate between those onstage and the audience.

Catch a privileged, behind-the-scenes backstage glimpse of what the paying public NEVER sees.

Relation Publique reveals the thousands of creative indecisions and practical disasters preceding a dance performance. The public (audience) witnesses a performance that is dreamed of, planned, and almost carried out – in fact, the work will unravel before your very eyes. In a realm as silent as dance/movement, one accepts the challenge (or commits the fatal mistake) of expressing oneself in words only to find oneself leaning heavily on the crutches of dialogue. Improvisations, extemporaneous discussions, exhibitions of fragments of the work, live sketches, finishing touches -- everything except the actual performance will be shown.Relation Publique is composed of questions and answers, but the questions are not necessarily verbal and the answers not necessarily performed as dance!

“… Caterina Sagna plays herself; her sister Carlotta maybe does the same. Carlotta is the company’s trainer and enjoys being nasty about her own sister. The five excellent dancers enthuse to the audience about how fantastic their boss is. A presenter sees to a constant flow of empty phrases. Of course, heart-rending dance passages are also presented. At the end of this masterful send-up of the dancing trade, we are left with an enduring wish to see Caterina Sagna’s Relation Publique all over again.”

Hannoversche Allgemeine Zeitung, September 2004

Relation Publique (2002)
CHOREOGRAPHY Carlotta Sagna, Caterina Sagna
DRAMATURGY Roberto Fratini Serafide
COSTUMES Tobia Ercolino LIGHTING DESIGN Nuccio Marino

After studying dance, theatre, music and mime, Caterina Sagna worked for several years withCarolyn Carlson,Yorma Uotinen, andThe Sutki Company. As a choreographer she worked for La Fenice Theatre, Venice, the Verdi Theatre, Trieste and the San Carlo Theatre, Naples. She initiated personal theatrical research in the field of dance, collaborating with Roberto Castello and Diego Dettori for Bagni Nettuno, with Carlotta Sagna for Un Duo and Eggs, and with Tomeu Verges for Schmäh. In 1987, she founded the NADIR Company in France, for which she choreographed numerous works between 1988 and 1995. Her recent productions include Cassandra (1996), Strappi (1997), Esercizi Spirituali (1999), and La Testimone (1999). In November 2000, she founded Compagnia Caterina Sagna, an independent, unsubsidized association which has produced La Signora (2000), Transgedy (2001), Sorelline (2001), and Relation Publique (2002).

Carlotta Sagna moves with ease between dance and theatre, choreography and directing. She studied dance with Sutki in Turin, at the Académie de Dance Classique de Monte-Carlo, and at the MUDRA in Brussels. Sagna danced in several performances by Micha van Hoecke, Compagnie L’Ensemble, and Rosas. Focusing on theatre, Sagna joined Cesare Ronconi’s La Valdoca theatre company in Italy. She acted in several films by Jean-Claude Wouters and started working with Needcompany in 1993. The first Jan Lauwers production she performed in was Orfeo, followed by Snakesong Trilogy. As a choreographer, Sagna created Caligula (1997) and Morning Song (1999, with Jan Lauwers) as well as performing in the latter play. Sagna also choreographed Needcompany’s King Lear (2000), returning to acting in Dead Dogs Don’t Dance, a joint production of Needcompany and Ballet Frankfurt. Sagna also acted in Lauwers first feature film Goldfish Game, a sequel to Morning Song. In 1999, she created La testimone with Caterina Sagna, coproduced with Needcompany. Sagna then toured with Relation Publique, for which she was co-choreograper. Carlotta Sagna wrote and directed, A, a play, collaborating with Lisa Gunstone and Antoine Effroy, backed by Needcompany.

Compagnie Caterina Sagna performs Relation Publique in the Studio of the National Arts Centre on Thursday March 16, Friday March 17, and Saturday March 18, 2006 at 20:00. Tickets are $23, and $12.50 for students (upon presentation of a valid student ID card). Tickets are available at the NAC Box Office (in person) and through Ticketmaster (with surcharges) at (613) 755-1111; Ticketmaster may also be accessed through the NAC’s website at www.nac-cna.ca. Last-minute tickets (subject to availability) for full-time students are $10 at the Live Rush Centre in the NAC Foyer after 18:00 on the day of performance only, upon presentation of a valid ‘Live Rush’ card. NEW for 2005-06! Groups of 10+ save 15% to 20% off regular ticket prices to all NAC Music, Theatre and Dance performances; to reserve your seats, call 947-7000 ext. 384 or e-mail grp@nac-cna.ca.

Photos for all dance events can be viewed and downloaded at: www.nac-cna.ca/media/

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Information:
Gerald Morris
Marketing and Media Relations,
NAC Dance Department
(613) 947-7000, ext. 249
gmorris@nac-cna.ca