“Marie Chouinard has consistently produced intriguing visual and highly physical works that at the same time support the intellect. Her pieces stand alone in the lexicon of dance.” —Mary Luft, Executive Director, Tigertail Productions.

Marie Chouinard must not be missed. Her work defies definition and creates a new language of its own. For two nights only, Tigertail Productions will present the anticipated return of Compagnie Marie Chouinard to the Colony Theatre on South Beach this Friday and Saturday, April 12-13 at 8:30 p.m.

Marie Chouinard.

The performance features “Etude for Duets” and “Henri Michaux: Mouvements,” which was inspired by French artist, writer and graphic designer Henri Michaux. Michaux’s India-ink drawings are figurative yet lean toward abstraction and his poetry reaches the edge of surrealism. Despite creating work that’s always in between the literal and the abstract, real and surreal, Michaux’s poetry and drawings provided Chouinard with a solid platform from which to create.

Chouinard received Michaux’s book as a gift and she knew that one day she would bring that book to life. From front to back cover, Chouinard actualizes and brings to life every element in the book and re-imagines Michaux’s thermodynamic energy. The drawings, projected onto a screen, evoke a panoply of primordial beings. The dancers, dressed in black, perform in front of the projected images and personify Micahux’s drawings.

Marie Chouinard.

Some call Chouinard the “high priestess of the avant-garde,” but this definition minimizes the rigorous intellectual and aesthetic demands Chouinard places on her work. It is compelling, sexual, evocative, threatening, painful and humorous. All Miamians should be banging down the doors at the Colony to experience Chouinard.

Compagnie Marie Chouinard performs “Henri Michaux: Mouvements” and “Etude for Duets” on April 12-13, 2013 at 8:30 p.m. at the Colony Theatre, 1040 Lincoln Road, Miami Beach. Cost: $35, general admission; $50, VIP ticket (priority entrance and seating); $25, students and seniors (65+) with ID, and artists. Tickets are available online at http://tigertail.org/events_chouinard2013.html or by calling 305-324-4337. Note: Performance includes partial nudity.