Schema Productions - Smile - Caroline Barrière
Photo: Mark Trumbo

Schema Productions

Schema Productions raison d'être is to present contemporary music and contemporary dance in Ottawa. If you were living in 1753 listening to Haydn, you would have been enjoying contemporary music. In 1872, contemporary music fans were listening to Stravinsky. In 1941, lovers of contemporary dance were hailing Jose Limon and Balanchine. Today, just looking at the Canadian scene, contemporary music includes composers like R Murray Schafer and Kelly Marie Murphy, and contemporary dance includes choreographers like Marie Chouinard and Lalala Human Steps. And these are just the known artists. There is a whole wave of emerging artists who are also creating dynamic, wonderful, and challenging works. Contemporary is happening now. But even though people are continually exposed to contemporary music in film, and contemporary dance is everywhere, these two forms of art are often considered less accessible, more risky, and are therefore less available. In Ottawa, especially, a contemporary music performance is a rare find.

To address this, Schema Productions started at full speed in 2005, presenting five contemporary music concerts and two dance events during its first season. To bring to Ottawa a world-class string quartet specializing in 20th and 21st century music, we thought first of the Molinari Quartet from Montreal. We were thrilled that they accepted to present their three-concert season here in Ottawa, performing fantastic new music in the intimate setting of Freiman Hall on the University of Ottawa campus. To encourage local artists, we also produced two contemporary music concerts, wonderful experiences for both artists and audience. On the dance front, we produced Caroline Barrière Danse in spring 2006, and we had a very original event in Fall 2005 called Événement Danse 2D, during which people could watch films on contemporary dance, listen to the choreographers and videographers talk about their film, and drink a nice glass of wine in the Bistro of La Nouvelle Scene. This kind of event is what Schema is all about, encouraging artists and audience to share something special in an intimate setting.

We are particularly proud of Chorégraphes d'ICI, a major dance event held at La Nouvelle Scène, in April 2007. After an e-mail to local choreographers was sent in December 2006, by January 10 replies had arrived -- 10 choreographers wanting to show their work, wanting to rework some pieces or create new choreographies to be shown in April. So we did it, we put a collective show together, giving an opportunity to 10 choreographers to present their work in two evenings of two programs. It was the first time in Ottawa that the audience could see 10 local choreographers on the same night. The local dance scene is thriving, wanting to be out there, and Schema Productions was so proud to put this show together to push that scene forward.

For two people, Caroline Barrière (choreographer/dancer) and Mark Trumbo (composer/musician), who both hold full time jobs and aspire toward artistic careers as well, running Schema Productions is not so easy. Schema Productions wouldn't be where it is now without the help of Heather Ritchie who has been our publicist since the very beginning. She believes in the project, and does great work for it. Many other people believe in what we're doing, and that's the support we need to continue. Schema is always looking for composers, musicians, choreographers, dancers who have an idea of a project but can't really produce it themselves. Let us know, send us your project idea and we'll try to make it happen.

Seeing dancers go on stage, choreographers book studios to rehearse, musicians getting together to practice some difficult contemporary piece, that's what Schema is all about!

Schema Productions
www.schemaproductions.ca