Art

The 'festival transamériques' has just finished in Montreal. Two weeks packed with dance and theatre both doing and watching for me but we did attend some off festival events 'en famille'.

Here we are at Peter's 'box Tape' instillation. This structure is made entirely of box tape by whoever wants to contribute to the project. It's shape depends on who is there and what they feel like building.  This structure has taken shape over the last couple of weeks. It seems to have held up so far. You climb (and let your children climb) at your own risk.

Then an in-situ dance experience. Performances for one spectator at a time created by Aurélie Pedron and performed by young women who have been in difficulty. Here is Lily as spectator (under the rug) with Alice and Eric spectating the spectator.

Gardening in the Laurentians

I lovely if rather hot sunday was spent at Marie-Claude and Alejandro's chalet moving plants and planting grand-dad's dahlias. I was the gardener in chef with three very keen helpers and one keen observer. Can you guess who was who?

We even had a very short dip in the lake at the end of our labours - my first of the season!

Alice and Marie-Claude made a great gardening team. Alice being the 'expert' of the two.

Alice and her god-mother and a well deserved glass of water.

Eric thought that Alejandro looked like an afghan peasant in his gardening attire.

B-Girls

This was a benefit event for a quebecois female gum-boot dance company who are going to Bali this summer! Here you have Alice (and a little bit of mummy) trying her hand at break-dancing... for a good cause! B-girls in the making?

Back Yard Circus

Today after school we had seven girls in our back yard, all trying out for Lily's circus. There were try-outs is gymnastics, hula-hoop, clowning and dance. They all had to present a number in front of judge Marylou. Thankfully all the girls did manage to earn a role. IT is not clear when or if Lily's circus has a further engagement but they had a very fun three hours of auditioning - not to mention Eric and I who enjoyed peeking out the window at the sight!

Duathalon

Lily competed on thursday in her first ever duathalon -  1km run, 3 km bicycle, another 1km run. She completed it all with a smile. We need to put those long legs to more use!

The happy finishers

Not a bad stride but it looks as if she is bouncing like her mother!

The school board that organized the event had bikes and helmets for all the kids. I don't know what they do with them the rest of the year?

Go Habs Go!!

We are hanging on by our teeth to the second series... not for lack of encouragement!

Mother's day gardening

What better way to spend a mother's day week-end than playing in the dirt? We decided that our lawn needed a boost so Eric and I rented a lawn poker and bought a pile of manure and, with the help of some garden fairies we got it spread and seeded. Now a week of rain and hopefully we'll have some real green grass for kart-wheels and water fights and cloud gazing.

Kart-wheels are already beginning!

From above. 

Spectacle Les Petites Voix du Plateau #2 - full choir

Here you have the whole choir - Voix préparatoire, Mini Voix, Petites Voix et Jeunes Voix. 

The videos seem to have come out blurry on the blog. Here is a link to their drop box page to see them in better quality:

https://www.dropbox.com/sh/agne0ka3cemewau/AAC1j9jf01fPkw14CFbqquDja?dl=0

Rock My Soul

This Little Light of Mine

Waka Waka

I learnt that this is not a Sakira creation but actually a traditional african song that she borrowed for the 2010 world cup theme song.

Spectacle Les Petites Voix du Plateau

Saturday was the year end concert for  Les Petites Voix. They have been working hard on learning this music since january and it sure was worth the effort! This year the theme was 'les mains noirs' - african or african inspired music. Lots of great music to groove to! The only sadness is that the person who was supposed to be recording it all didn't show up, so no CDs this year :(.

Thankfully on of the mums sent me a few videos. Here they are - to give you a taste. 

First up 'les mini voix' - Alice and Bea are in this group.

Siyahamba

Ça fait rire les Oiseaux

Armstrong

Racines

Dogtooth Violet

Here it is... our first spotted leaf. Actually there are three of them and quite a few smaller green ones. Perhaps we will have a flower next year!!

End of the snow... finally!

This may not seem particularly remarkable to you but it is a big day... the 24th of April and the first day that our yard is completely snow free!! Now it just needs to grow.

 

Alice and Lily are making up for the general state of grey outside. They are off to school in full canary colours.

Ground work

Funny how Rachel and Alice share a tendency to gravitate downwards when it's time to think :-)

Rachel planning her next run of rehearsals

Alice getting drilled on her geography studies... hmm what was the third largest city in Nouvelle-France around 1745... Trois-Rivières !

Jeux de Montréal

Alice competed today in the Jeux de Montréal for the second time - her second ever competition. And she came away with a gold placement... gold in all her elements!  She was very pleased with herself not to mention her proud Ma and Pa!!!

On request from Meo and Doco - The remaining videos of Alice skating.

Easter eggs

A cross cultural Easter this year. We invited my two jewish friends Maya and Hélène and their families as well as Owen and Marc. None of them had ever decorated easter eggs before. We got to try some passover bread (matzah) along with lots of other goodies. 

From left to right: Hanah, Jonas, galilée, Alice, Moi, Lily, Owen (looks like he is doing some dishes in the back ground), Maya, and Blaise

Our creations

Butterflies

A glorious day at the Jardins Botanique along with a few other people and about 1500 butterflies! After waking up to yet another white morning we decided to forget the winter that doesn't seem to want to leave us and go for that warmth and the greenery in the greenhouses at the botanical gardens. A taste of things to come??

Alice's barrette served it's purpose in attracting a friendly visitor. 

coco concours

The annual neighbourhood 'coco concours' took place again this year. Lily and her friends, Annaelle and Marilou made a collective creation - Coco Système. They won second prize in the children's category... the second time that Lily has made it on to the podium!!

Show time!

Excitement is rising! The first of the girls three skating shows take place tonight. It promises to be an ice extravaganza as usual. Here are some of the artists awaiting their more formal photographs in their "little red riding hood' costumes.

Between

Anne-Françoise and Éric Glon made the trip from Lile to Brussells to see our show and have a visit. How nice to see them! Here is a picture of 'Behind' that they took live and from the front!

Behind the scenes in Behind

I don't often have pictures of what we are actually on tour for... the performances. This time Ester, who is part of the band in 'behind' took some pictures of us in action. For those who don't know... 'Behind' is a piece where the audience doesn't see us - we are hidden behind panels and all the audience has to go on is the reflection on the floor and sound and shadow. So what you are seeing here is top secret information... for your eyes only.

Hugo (drummer) and Carl-Éric (guitar and voice) - The band, which includes Ester on plastic cups and shakers - plays for the last 3 minutes of the piece. The rest of the time they have to sit quietly and watch what no one else sees. In some theatres they have to sit with a black towel over their heads so that the audience can't see their reflection. Que ça peut être ingrat la vie d'artiste!

Yes,  we really do the splits in this one. Proof!

A sunny Sunday in Paris

I had quite a delegation at my show on saturday night in Vanves - Louis, Louise, Charlotte, Raphaël and his friend Harry, Alysha and Eva. It was great to have them all there and I think that they even enjoyed the show! We  were very happy with our world première of 'Between'.

Sunday morning I set of with my suit-case for two nights at Louis + Louise's appartement. They had prepared a great feast for our sunday morning brunch and we were a very jolly table full with all the same gang as was at the show the night before.

After brunch we set out. Louis had a short walk with us before heading off for a week working in Toulouse. Alysha, Louise, Eva and I had the rest of the day to walk in the gorgeous sun (it was almost too hot at 20 degrees, I was wishing for sandals and shorts!). We walked through the Jardins du Luxembourg and then along the Seine along with just about everyone in Paris, all out enjoying one of the first very warm day of spring.

Eva waiting her turn for the zip line in the Jardins du Luxembourg...

...while the Mamas chat outside

...while the Mamas chat outside

La Seine

La Seine

Alysha and Eva in front of their Parisian appartement in the 6ième. They are there for a month brushing up on their medieval history.

Alysha and Eva in front of their Parisian appartement in the 6ième. They are there for a month brushing up on their medieval history.

Les trois belles soeurs en train de fêter la journée de la femme sur une terrasse parisienne!