Kondition Pluriel

kondition pluriel is recognized in Canada and internationally for its research and development in the field of contemporary dance, performative installations and responsive environments. The group’s projects and the theoretical debate generated by its performances has made it a reference in the artistic field of combining live and media arts.

Based in Montreal, the company produces performances and installations which are presented in gallery and public spaces, museums and theaters around the world. kondition pluriel's practice is geared toward the transformation of the real, investigating the relationships between time, memory, body and space.

The group was founded in 2000 by Marie-Claude Poulin and Martin Kusch. Marie-Claude Poulin was trained in dance and the science of human movement, then taught movement and worked as a dancer for many years before gearing her career towards interdisciplinarity. Martin Kusch studied visual art and media arts. He works in media art as an artist and teacher, and is now mainly involved in performance projects integrating several fields of creation.

In merging their disciplines, Marie-Claude Poulin and Martin Kusch defined a new grammar, outside of known conventions. For their work, they established two pivotal parameters: the active participation of the public, and, in relation to the physical and socio-cultural context of the place, the configuration of space. They have also focused on two recurring themes, the perception of the human body in contemporary society, and the impact of new technologies on that perception. A constant research into the balance between human and technological factors and the intensive work with new technologies has led kondition pluriel beyond the boundaries of dance and performance. The engagement of the spectator, who is invited to interact with the performers, has become an essential artistic ingredient. The objective is to stimulate in the spectator a particular state, which shifts between contemplation, participation and collaboration.

The projects realized and presented by kondition pluriel in Canada and abroad are: //.digital./.perform./.research.// (2000), scheme (2001), schème II (2002), entre-deux (2002), //.presence./.techno. /.labo.// (2003), Myriorama (2004), recombinant – the techn(o)rganic body (2003/04), The puppet (2005), the puppet(s) (2006) and passage (2007). Through the related questions these works address, they find completion from one to the other.