The Cultch and New Works are thrilled to present the Montréal-based dance company Tentacle Tribe on stage at The Cultch’s Historic Theatre with their latest groundbreaking conceptual hip–hop show, Prism, from October 23 to 27, 2024.

Prism is a dreamlike journey with a truly hypnotic effect. A quintet of dancers moves between a reflective floor and movable mirror panels that they can manipulate from different angles. Kaleidoscopically multiplied tenfold, their bodies seamlessly unite and intermingle in synergy with the music—created by Tentacle Tribe’s Elon Höglund. Prism opens up a myriad of possibilities, distorting perspectives and deconstructing movement into infinite combinations of colourful images.

Tentacle Tribe, whose singular style blends hip-hop, martial arts, and contemporary dance, is a renowned company started by co-founders Emmanuelle Lê Phan and Elon Höglund in 2012. In the 12 years since their foundation, the company has created a series of increasingly transformative duets and group pieces and become one of Canada’s most sought-after touring dance companies. “We are all street dancers, so we all have a specialty in either breaking, popping, hip hop, whacking, and we bring that together in an aesthetic that is kind of a hybrid,” says Lê Phan.

Prism is Tentacle Tribe’s most ambitious production to date with an extensive stage set-up created from mirrors. “We have six panels of mirrors that can change angles and a reflective floor,” says Lê Phan. “When we place it in a V we are reflected about seven times… and we’re trying to fool the eye with the way we place the mirrors. So it’s a big exploration of illusion and perception.”