UAQUE
UAQUE is an interdisciplinary creation that brings the radical choreographic universe of Andrea Peña & Artists into dialogue with the photographic landscapes of Edward Burtynsky, offering a performative reflection on the Anthropocene.
300 of Burtynsky’s seminal images—capturing the environmental scars left by human industrialization—are woven into the work as both witness and provocation, foregrounding our entangled relationship with the landscapes we have transformed.
Accompanied by the live presence of the National Arts Centre Orchestra in dialogue with electronic composer Eƨƨe Ran, ten performers are set against the monumental scale of Burtynsky’s imagery. Through vulnerability and resilience, their bodies become sites of meditation and resistance, inviting the audience into an intimate space of communion between humanity and the wounded earth.
An interwoven symphony of over 80 performers across disciplines, UAQUE unfolds as a visceral call to collective attention rather than a prescriptive solution. Rooted in Peña’s Indigenous Colombian heritage, the work proposes a rethinking of union and coexistence—leveling the human and non-human, and challenging the myth of human superiority.
As we confront the consequences of our actions, UAQUE functions as a collective ritual—an invitation to shift perspective and to recognize our intrinsic connection to the earth, not as something separate from us, but as something we are undeniably part of.
Artistic Direction: Andrea Peña
Choreography and Creative Concept: AP&A
Music Director and Conductor: Alexander Shelley
Electronic Music Composer: Eƨƨe Ran
Music: Alexander Shelley with the National Arts Centre Orchestra and Eƨƨe Ran
Photography and Video: Edward Burtynsky
Performers: Gabrielle Kachan, Jontae McCrory, Jo Laïny Trozzo-Mounet, Francois Richard, Rebecca Margolick, James Phillips, Erin O'loughlin, James Viveiros, Justin Calvadores, Brianna Lombardo
Projection Design: Bobby León
Lighting Design: Hugo Dalphond
Scenography: Jonathan Saucier
Producer: Isabella Salas
Rehearsal Director: Helen Simard
Technical Director: Vladimir Cara
Video Chief: Gabriel Ranon
Digital Asset Coordination and Consultation: Jim Panou
Production Consultant: Marcus Schubert
Communications and Logistics: Polina Boltova
Production Agent: Isaïe Richard
Promotional Photography: Augustina Isidori, Jeanne Tétreault, Bobby León & Jonathan Auger, Rodolfo Rueda, Fatine-Violette Sabiri
Promotional Video Direction: Bobby León
Promotional Video - Director of Photography: Jonathan Auger
Documentary Video: Agustina Isidori
With support from EDWARD BURTYNSKY STUDIO
Producer: Julia Johnston
Director of finance: Connie Hitzeroth
Head of Business Affairs: Julia Johnston
Director of Studio Operations and Gallery Relations: Karen Machtinger
Project Coordinator, Field Producer: Jim Panou
Director of Publications, Exhibitions & Special Projects: Marcus Schubert
Studio Manager: McKenzie Grey
Archivist & Manager of Production: Paul Sergeant
Media & Communications Manager, Production Coordinator, Special Projects: Alanna Smith
NATIONAL ARTS CENTER
UAQUE is an NAC DANCE and NAC-ORCHESTRA
co-commission.
Andrea Pena & Artists has received support from:
Conseil des arts du Canada
Conseil Des Arts et Lettres du Québec
Conseil des Arts de Montréal
