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Chiasmata takes us on a strange and beautiful journey through time, space and the portals of memory. In Christopher House’s masterly follow-up to the physical and technological virtuosity of Timecode Break (2006), the dancers inhabit a cryptic world that ranges in tone from playful to percussive to sublimely vulnerable.

In explaining his title, House remarks: “‘Chi’ is the Greek letter X, while a chiasma is an intersection or crossing. In the field of genetics, ‘chiasmata’ are the connection points where DNA strands exchange information; this exchange is the basis for the growth of a complex living organism. In this same spirit of exchange, the word chiasmata evokes other words such as chaos, stigmata, Laius (the ill-fated father of Oedipus), charisma, asthma, Mother and matter.”

Chiasmata uses a new creative process for House and his dancers, and explores new emotional and physical territory. Continues House: “The dancers were deeply involved in the creation of the movement, while I determined the structure by working with non-linear digital editing technology. The piece began with improvisations that were videotaped, digitized, edited on the computer, burned to dvd and returned to the dancers to be re-embodied. Once a vocabulary began to emerge, I developed more complex improvisation scores and submitted the results to the same process. I am fascinated by the way in which the binary processes of a computer can be used for intuitive image production.”

This new methodology has created movement that is idiosyncratic and very personal to the performers, while at the same time being beautifully shaped and crafted. Often cinematic in scope (House was inspired by the filmmaking Brothers Quay during the creation period, especially their Street of Crocodiles), while at times utterly realistic, the solos, duets and ensemble pieces that make up this work are kinetically thrilling and profoundly touching.

Produced in collaboration with Gemini and Dora Mavor Moore award-winning sound designer Phil Strong, Dora Mavor Moore award- winning designer Cheryl Lalonde and veteran lighting designer Roelof Peter Snippe, Chiasmata is a deeply humanistic response to the complexities of modern life.

Chiasmata was nominated for a Dora Mavor Moore Award for Outstanding New Choreography in 2007.