Montréal Space for Life Launches Vertiges and Tempo - Two New Shows at the Rio Tinto Alcan Planetarium

MONTRÉAL, Nov. 12, 2014 /CNW Telbec/ - Today's the day! Montréal Space for Life is launching Vertiges and Tempo, two new shows at the Rio Tinto Alcan Planetarium. Art and science combine once again in the immersive environment of the two theatres at the Planetarium, to explore the notion of time. First of all, in Vertiges, time appears as something discontinuous in an atemporal universe created by Jimmy Lakatos and Alexandre Burton. Comfortably ensconced in the bean-bag chairs in the Chaos Theatre, audiences sink into a dreamlike environment where they lose track of their relationship with time. Then, Tempo explores our connections with time from a completely different perspective, through the cycles of the starry skies. In the Milky Way Theatre, Philippe Baylaucq and Sébastien Gauthier use the Montréal sky as the starting point for a fabulous immersive voyage in search of the connections between humans and nature.

"All year long, Montréal Space for Life has been inviting our visitors to hurry up and slow down, to take their time. But do we really know what time is? It's a disconcerting and fascinating concept that we don't think about much, even though it's central to our lives. While Vertiges examines, questions and upsets what we think we know, Tempo reminds us that our basic references are intimately bound up with nature," emphasizes Space for Life Director Charles-Mathieu Brunelle.

Vertiges: losing track of time

In this production custom-made for the Chaos Theatre, video-scenographer Jimmy Lakatos and electroacoustician Alexandre Burton makes superb use of the hemispheric dome. Assisted by physicist, science communicator and professor Stéphane Durand, they turn the immersive setting of the Chaos Theatre into a fantastic playground for a skilful exploration of philosophical, scientific and artistic concepts. Vertiges uses fascinating images and a narrative featuring some surprising artistic performances to question our very notion of time.

Tempo: combining cinematography and astronomy

A fabulous convergence of cinematography and astronomy, Tempo is the fruit of close collaboration between filmmaker Philippe Baylaucq and Rio Tinto Alcan Planetarium astronomer Sébastien Gauthier. Set in the Milky Way Theatre, the show erases the boundaries between science and art. Using larger-than-life images, a soundtrack created by the talented Robert-Marcel Lepage and live commentary by one of our scientific guides, Tempo takes audiences on an enlightening and moving journey through the cycles of the starry skies, giving us a whole new perspective on the close connection between our perception of time and our position in the Universe. Audiences are invited to put their clocks and watches aside and get back in touch with the bonds between humans and nature.

First, Vertiges, a 20-minute show, is presented in the Chaos Theatre. Then the 40-minute Tempo is shown in the Milky Way Theatre. There are English and French versions of both shows.

Montréal Space for Life

Montréal Space for Life is made up of four attractions on the same site: the Botanical Garden, Biodôme, Insectarium and Rio Tinto Alcan Planetarium. These four prestigious municipal institutions form Canada's largest natural science museum complex. Together, they are launching a daring, creative urban movement, urging everyone to rethink the connection between humankind and nature and cultivate a new way of living.

For further information and to purchase tickets online, see our website montrealspaceforlife.ca.

SOURCE: Espace pour la vie

For further information: IXION Communications, [e-mail], 514 495-8176; Visuals, footage, fact sheets, http://bit.ly/Tempo_Vertiges