Noémie Lafrance Born in Quebec, lives in Brooklyn. Her 2003 piece, ...

Lafrance

Born in Quebec, lives in Brooklyn. Her 2003 piece, Descent, won Bessie awards. Featured in the 2004 Whitney Biennial. Creator of Sens production company. Utilizes everyday space to create otherworldly performances, blending fiction and reality. Dancer, choreographer. Upcoming work, Noir, is inspired by the film noir of the 40s. Viewers will experience the work from behind the windshields of parked cars.

Do you dance in Noir? I don't dance in this piece because it doesn't work with the process. I need to be outside and directing. The dancers input a lot, so while they improvise I select from what they offer.

You've achieved a well-deserved acclaim. What has changed in the process of putting together your productions? I would say some things have not changed. But the size is definitely bigger, and there are more people involved. The company is also growing; we have people working for us full time now. There's much more work compared to when everything was within my reach.

Describe how you sculpt a dance. I compare it to focusing the lens of a camera. First, I have an image in my mind that I see clearly, like when you close your eyes and imagine something or when you dream. I try to make this image into a reality, so I describe to the dancers what I want and I give them as much information as possible. Then, I search and search until I see what it is I'm looking for. When I finally find the focus, these two images overlap and fit into each other like a puzzle.

What's the relationship between the choreographer and a dancer? I'm always exploring the intuitive part of improvisation and how it is you can make that become something you repeat over and over. How can you make something that came instinctively and emotionally, and how do you make it real again tomorrow? Some think improvisation is pure, and you should not try and grasp at it. I feel you can at least aim in that direction and come as close as you can to the purity and the naturalness of the honest, beautiful, instinctive, improvised moment.

What interests you about creating performances that are site specific? It's about using a space in a particular way to implement something different in the piece. To bring the meaning of the performance to the next level. To have the audience participate, to have an adventure or experience that's different than they would have in a theater where everything is without risk.

Noir opens Weds., May 5, at the Delancey & Essex Parking Garage. For tickets, call 212-868-4444.