An Enchanting Ballerina
Within the walls decorated with coloured mosaics in Ravenna, Italy, we often hear the tale of Lucia, the ballerina whose dreams to dance all over the world were extinguished after a sad accident. Hearing her plight, a lamplighter going by the name of Giorgio erected a unique structure to give her a chance to dance again. It is thanks to the help of the people in the village that Lucia now spins gracefully on the tips of her toes at the top of her music box, the light of her art catching the eye of passerby.
In the process, she transforms the tale of her adventures into thousands of magical moments for those who are willing to stop for a little while.
An Interactive andInnovative Artwork
BEHIND THE SCENES
Interactivity
Lucia is more than an art installation that embellishes public spaces. It is an invitation to collaborate with the work and contribute to the tale. It is a work of art whose very essence is based on the relationships it can create among passersby, artisans and creators.
This interactivity is materialized by the work’s various components, which must interact to create this magical moment in-between dream and reality. This quality is further amplified by the connections the work generates between spectators, between people and place, and between human beings and the work of art.
A close collaboration among each artisan that was contributing to the work, accompanied by mutual listening, naturally set in at the heart of the project. Every artistic element is unique and in harmony with the people surrounding it, which complements and enriches the work. In the end, the achieved result surpassed the expectations of its creators, Anne Lagacé and Gonzalo Soldi.
Innovative. Unique. Magical. The In Bocca al Lupo series of tales that Lucia is part of, is a universal invitation to discover a world overflowing with creativity, where spectators can allow themselves to dream. Ultimately, the work will enrich the daily lives of those encountering it.
Make a Difference
Various interesting details and happy accidents paved the way for the completion of the project.
The décor in the animation film was made to resemble the public square in Ravenna, Italy.
Following a visit at Reuge, the legendary manufacturer of music boxes in Switzerland, Anne Lagacé was pleasantly surprised to notice that the classic models usually feature three short pieces of music that are played on a loop. Without knowing, the creators had also imagined their giant music box with three pieces of music too!
The colour palette somewhere between gold and blue that characterizes Lucia’s universe was directly inspired by the atmosphere and the light that shines in the city of Ravenna.
In addition to esthetic, technical and conceptual considerations, the components as a whole also had to be adapted to the realities of local and international transportation. In this respect, the sculpture’s dimensions were stretched as much as possible, while working around transportation constraints.
The Orchestre symphonique de Montréal had only a single window for recording the pieces of music. Had a situation forced the team to postpone, we would have had to wait another two years!
The sculpture was created in Erdeven, Britanny, but Yann Guillon, the sculptor, came to Montréal especially to assemble it.
WHEN
LUCIACOMES TO LIFE
Spotlight on the passionate artists and artisans behind the project.
For Québec artist and director Fanie Thuot, it was the innovative side of the project in terms of interactivity that appealed to her. The work raises expectations and kindly welcomes the spectators within an audacious and immersive artistic experience that pushes the boundaries of interactive art. One of the project’s most significant challenges was the 1 min 15 sec animation film that tells the story of Lucia and Giorgio without having recourse to words and sounds. This was the first project Fanie directed on her own.
It took a substantial amount of work to produce the condensed version of the tale, to fine-tune the sketches (up to eight versions of the main character before finding the right one!) and it entailed a substantial amount of collaboration between Fanie Thuot and the Québec publishing house La Pastèque to finally create the illustration and animation of the short film for Lucia. This meticulous work enabled us to finally meet the characters and feel the atmosphere of this enchanting tale taking place in Ravenna.
Sophie Breton felt fortunate to be asked to participate in this unique project, and the opportunity to contribute to the animation of a ballerina spoke to her. A 2008 graduate of the École de danse contemporaine de Montréal, Sophie acts as the Movement Consultant for Lucia. She took on the challenge to make the animated ballerina move without appearing choreographed. She wanted her to have a slightly improvised image, without appearing childish. In collaboration with La Pastèque and Fanie Thuot, and always under the watchful eye of the project’s creators, Breton was able to work on a whole set of subtleties with respect to the ballerina’s movements and their fluidity.
“Lucia is a little bit like the child we all have inside of us, and who gives free reins to her impulsions.” – Sophie Breton
In the end, she hopes that, with her poetic and enchanting attitude, Lucia will bring joy and warmth to all those that will choose to make her some space in their daily life.
To realize the vision of this unique structure combining ingenuity, finesse and durability, it was essential to collaborate with a team specialized in the design and construction of interactive installations dedicated to public spaces. With the Jack World team, a company founded in 2011 by three brothers from Saint-Jean-sur- Richelieu, it was an obvious choice from the beginning.
Participating in innovative initiatives, achieving artistic visions and contributing to drive creative ideas: this is what motivated the designers at Jack World to contribute to the project.
“It’s an incredible project that redefines a lot of standards in terms of interactive art.” – Michael Jacques
Every project entails a challenge, an innovation, or something original. Jack World’s vision rests on this quest for innovation and ingenuity to respond to the unique challenges that come with each new project.
From the fabrication plans to the ordering of materials and up to structural assembly, the music box was built with attention to detail and the particular needs of the work in mind, every step of the process.
The rigorous assistance enabled us to create, in the best way possible, a durable structure that would stand the test of time, withstand transport, bad weather and public handling. The result surpassed the expectations of the whole creation team.
Yann Guillon was immediately interested by the idea of reproducing the concept of equilibrium in the design of a “living” sculpture, even though static, and he was charmed by this project meant to travel around the world. The French sculptor based in Erdeven, Britanny, has classical training at the Beaux-Arts de Paris. For more than 40 years now, he specializes in the creation of sculptures that show fluidity of movement.
For Lucia, he created a sculpture of the ballerina in action, using a polyester and fibreglass resin, with a bronze-like finish to give the sculpture an appearance of flexibility and sensuality. The innovative technique of incorporating mineral powders in the sculpture ensures an authentic craftmanship. He wanted to succeed in giving Lucia a slightly unfinished look, while handling the whole with finesse and delicacy, and avoiding clichés. It was a beautiful creation challenge carried out between France and Québec.
As a Montréal composer of orchestral music and video game soundtracks, Maxime Goulet has become a master in the creation of atmospheres that are consistent with narratives, and has a keen understanding of the technical characteristics that surround interactive projects. Attracted by the collaborative aspect of the project, Maxime saw in Lucia a rare opportunity to rethink the classical composition of a piece of music and turn upside down the traditional codes of the stage, by letting the public become the performer.
In fact, his three original compositions are adjustable according to four levels of intensity. This unprecedented nature of the work forced the composer, conductor and musicians to rethink their modus operandi and open up a discussion space to succeed in delivering a unique musical performance.
Beyond the challenge that the creation of the four levels of intensity constituted (from a piece of music played by a single instrument to an orchestral version, and vice versa), Maxime Goulet was also able to make of each version a piece of music in itself. The titanic task was carried out with brio. The music offers a memorable experience to the public, where every action has an impact, regardless of the musical intensity, which accompanies the tale with striking fluidity.
Dina Gilbert is a renowned orchestra conductor from the Beauce region. She directed various orchestras in Canada (like the Orchestre symphonique de Montréal or the Orchestre métropolitain, among others), the United States, Colombia, Spain and France. She has also led the Sinfonia Varsovia during concerts in Japan.
From the very first approaches, she was filled with a sense of pride when she realized the sweeping originality of this highly creative project.
Lucia is a perfect opportunity to adopt a new approach to performance, and it is a change that implies pooling different expertises and redefining standards in terms of musical performance.
For Dina, it was all about doing justice to the different variations of intensity within each composition, but also among the versions, while maintaining a certain uniformity across them. Equipped with a “clicker” allowing her to ensure synchronicity between the different recordings, the conductor was able to direct the musicians to produce pieces of music with different, but always constant, intensities. An interesting innovation for which she thanks Maxime Goulet and his intuition for his support throughout this unique recording process.
Music IN THE SPOTLIGHT
Music accompanies the tale, elevates the narration and carries the public to a universe where magic blends with everyday life. It is a way to catch the attention of the public and move them, simply through the call of music.
The Orchestre symphonique de Montréal, leader and cultural ambassador of the Québec and Canadian musical heritage, was founded in 1934 by Antonia Nantel, Wilfried Pelletier and Athanase David.
The recording of the three original compositions was done at the Maison symphonique de Montréal, one of the ten best symphony orchestra houses in the world. The challenge? To record all four versions of the three compositions in one single fixed session. A real race against time, carried out according to the rules of the art!
Art
For All
Born from a wish to democratize art, the work generates a unique symbiosis between the public and the music, between art and the city. It sparks interest in more traditional artistic and cultural practices, and attempts to make orchestral music more accessible.
“Because it’s a public art installation, we want it to arouse people’s curiosity and change their lives!”
Dina Gilbert
COME DISCOVER THE ENCHANTING WORLD OF LUCIA
Saint-hyacintHe
MONT-TREMBLANT
Montreal
