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Hypertopia – an international co-production about our obsessive striving for purity
Hypertopia – a word created from the intersection of two existing words: utopia, the dream of a perfect world and society; and hyperopia, a technical term for the defect of vision that is commonly called near – or short- sightedness, or narrowing of the visual field. Combined, they form a question or series of questions: Does the dream of a perfect society lead to a feeling that the end justifies the means, thereby leading to a kind of selective blindness to what is actually happening around us?
Hypertopia examinines an obsession with purity and the wish to achieve a perfect life. Today’s society is driven by a desire for utopia and an obsession with the ideas of political, religious, and racial perfection. It is perhaps now clearer then ever how great a potential threat is posed by fanaticism, and how the obsessive search for utopian purity breeds tension in society. However, Hypertopia is more than just a work for the theatre – with the creation of the weblog www.hypertopia-weblog.com, where everyone is invited to give their opinions on different subjects. In this way Hypertopia strives to participate in the broader discourse on subjects that affect us all, inside the theatre and in the public domain.
In Gingras’s work, (…) a moment passes like nothing, and the minimalism of the image is thrust into physical intensity, into a movement language of existential significance.
Frankfurter Allgemeine Sonntagszeitung
Hypertopia is far too intelligent to comment on its images. In superbly dry form, Gingras asks piercing questions – he is increasingly becoming one of the most interesting artists of the Dutch scene.
Düsseldorfer Kultur
André Gingras studied theater, English literature and contemporary dance in Canada and NYC where he worked i.e. with Christopher Gillis, Doug Varone and the Doris Humphrey Repertory Co. In 1996 Gingras became a regular member of Robert Wilson’s creative team, developing and performing; TSE, The Days Before, Prometheus, 70 Angels on the Facade and Relative Light among others, all over the world.
Gingras began choreographing in Holland in 1999. His first stage work, the Korzo production CYP17 (2000) made a large impact internationally and was presented worldwide (also at Stary Browar). For CYP17 Gingras gained Encouragement Prize 2001 by the Amsterdam Art Fund. After an extensive career in dance and theatre, his desire to explore a highly physical and visual personal language began to manifest itself. His movement research finds its inspiration in martial arts, breakdance, the physical symptoms related to specific medical conditions and in post-modern dance and theatre. His desire is to interface dance with the visual and digital arts and to engage audiences in a dialogue based in contemporary issues.