» Mémoire de sang » (Blood memory) is a contemporary ritual dance in honour of my ancestors. Since 15 years, I have been searching to create a dance which would be a personal and spiritual experience, as well as, a meaningful moment for the spectators. The blood which run into my veins is the only souvenir which has been left to me be my grand-parents and great grand-parents. This dance is my way of reconnecting with them and of thanking them for what I am today. Mig´wech.

    "What happens when we discover a forbidden truth that had been hidden from us, and that this very truth calls into question our identity? Conversely, what happens when we know our ancestry but have been disconnected from its legacy?" Gaétan Gingras

    In Gaétan Gingras' newest creation, My father told me, the dance company Manitowapan takes its audience on a trip to realm of the unspoken, inspired by the spirituality of indigenous cultures. My father told me is about the questions that arise from a search for identity. This search is hindered by the unspoken parts of our heritage; those details that are hidden from us by the guardians of our education, either because they underestimate the impact that ‘mere’ details might have, or because they fear that their impact would be too great.

    In the First Nations' traditions, storytelling and dance have always been powerful rituals used to impart knowledge from one generation to the next. Gingras, who grew up in Drummondville but has Iroquois-Mohawk heritage, integrates these rituals in his art. However, he uses his life experience to create rituals of his own. Gingras' choreography combined with the ancestral voice of storyteller Robert Seven Crows Bourdon, makes My father told me an exceptional show.

    Manitowapan is Gaétan´s creation rooted in traditions of the First Nations People. The two essential elements of many native cultures: dance and storytelling are main subjects of Manitowapan.

    For native peoples of the past the recognition of the spiritual side of every matter developed into profound ways of living a daily life that manifested in such simple rituals as dancing and storytelling. It was through them, that most of learning and teaching about the laws, beauty and wisdom of the spirit world was continually developing from generation to generation in many native traditions. Ultimately, they served as great healing rituals for individuals and whole communities, since the goal of a story or a dance was to recognize and to revere the presence of spirits in all worldly affaires, and through that simple act, to restore balance and unity.