Reviews and responses are posted in language of origin. |
Les critiques et incidences sont postées dans leur langue d’origine.
~

Season: 2008-2009

Unresolved Encounters
“Dis/(sol/ve)r” by Toronto Dance Theatre
Toronto: November 18-22, 2008
by Michael Crabb

By any standard “Dis/(sol/ve)r”, Christopher House’s curiously titled new work for Toronto Dance Theatre, is extraordinary.
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Asking the Why of “WhaT,?”
“WhaT,?” by Jennifer Mascall for Ron Stewart
Vancouver: November 11-16, 2008
by Kaija Pepper

Just a few minutes in, I actually felt dizzy watching Ron Stewart in “WhaT,?”, a full-length solo in which he careens about the stage in an endless stream of giddiness choreographed by Jennifer Mascall …
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Character, comedy, video, wigs … oh, and some dancing
“Dulcinea’s Lament” by Dulcinea Langfelder & Co. and “Çaturn” by Naomi Stikeman
Montreal: Montréal: Nov. 12-16, 18-19, 2008 (Langfelder); Nov. 5-8, 12-15, 2008 (Stikeman)
by Philip Szporer

Dulcinea Langfelder loves to tell stories, and she loves to make people laugh … in her new fusion of theatre, movement, song and multimedia, “Dulcinea’s Lament”. … Imagination is at the heart of dancer/choreographer Naomi Stikeman’s “Çaturn”, an ambitious hybrid production about death and transformation …
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Resonant and Restless Voices
“Sauti” by NAfro Dance Productions
Winnipeg: October 23-26, 2008
by Holly Harris

Voice -- the elusive quality that speaks volumes about subjective artistic experience -- took centre stage at The Gas Station Theatre as NAfro Dance Productions opened its fusion-based, African contemporary dance season with “Sauti”.
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The Rite and Harmony of “White”
“White” by Xing Dance Theatre of Canada
Toronto: October 10-11, 2008
by Penelope Ford

The beauty of the technique of classical dance is born in the ritualistic process of endowing the body with dance, in the hope that it will enchant the soul.
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In and Out of Frame
“Enfin vos zestes” by Louise Bédard
Montréal: September 25-October 5, 2008
by Philip Szporer

Creativity is shaped in different ways, and inspiration leads to sometimes unexpected results.
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Two plus Four
Patterson and Ward with Trosztmer and Juteau at Studio 303 & Murugesan and Wadge at the Festival Transatlantique Montréal
Montréal: Sept 12-13, 2008 & Oct 1-4, 2008
by Philip Szporer

A combo of two intriguing solo works, presented at the Festival Transatlantique Montréal, jumpstarted the new season. Both dances are stripped back in terms of production values, but the richness of the artistic visions more than compensates for the restrained budgets.
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"From the Horse's Mouth"
The Premiere Dance Theatre 25 years on
Toronto: September 25-27, 2008
by Michael Crabb

The statuesque Martine van Hamel unfurled her miraculously expressive arms and the space around her seemed to expand in response. In other improvised movement vignettes dancers from across a wide spectrum of cultural traditions – South Asian, Afro-Caribbean, Spanish and various Western forms – found creative ways to interact. And there were stories – funny, poignant, puzzling and transformational.
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Season: 2007-2008

Disjunctures?
between here and now by KemiCollective (Jennifer Dallas)
Toronto: May 22-24, 2008
by Terrill Maguire

“It is sometimes in the aftermath of our crossed paths that we discover what a shared experience really is…" – Marc Boivin
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A New Era, Not Unlike the Old
Banff Festival Dance
Banff: August 5-9, 2008
by Michael Crabb

Music by Jonny Greenwood might seem an unlikely candidate to accompany a dance …
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Success in Paris not rewarded at home
Les Grands Ballets Canadiens de Montréal
Paris: July 21-August 9, 2008
by Michael Crabb

Les Grands Ballets Canadiens de Montréal (LGBCM) closed a mostly successful three-week season in the French capital on August 9th as the featured company of the city’s fourth annual summer festival, Les étés de la danse de Paris.
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A Stage Full of Hurtin’ Albert’ns
“Nine Points to Navigate” by Brian Webb Dance Company
Vancouver (Dancing on the Edge): July 5-6, 2008
by Kaija Pepper

What is the soul of a man? … When Sheri Somerville and Brian Webb ask the question in “Nine Points to Navigate”… the answer is more meaningfully grounded in their particular world, growing up in post-World-War-II Alberta.
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Canada Dance Festival: The 2008 Collection
Canada Dance Festival
Ottawa: June 7-15, 2008
by Bridget Cauthery

It began with a lot of red tape… Red arrows fixed to the sidewalk led the audience from Elgin Street to the terraces atop the National Art Centre for the premiere of Ottawa-based performance artist Kenneth Emig’s site-specific work
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Ten Years On
Guelph Contemporary Dance Festival
Guelph: May 29-June 1, 2008
by Michael Crabb

The Guelph Contemporary Dance Festival (GCDF) celebrated its tenth birthday in style with a May 30th gala in the Ontario city’s River Run Centre.
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Remix, Mash-Up, Smash-Up, etc.
Festival TransAmérique 2008
Montréal: May 22-June 5, 2008
by Marie Claire Forté & Philip Szporer

PS: One week in and I’m feeling both the exhilaration of what’s burbling up at the Festival TransAmériques -- MCF: Indeed, Philip, at one week in, I am a blur of contradicting emotions --
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When Dance Fell to Grace: a trio of solos (unsolicitied)
Falling to Grace, presented by HOWDARESHE productions
Toronto: May 13-18, 2008
by Penelope Ford

Tanya Crowder describes the austere beauty of Venus in repose: supple neck climbing out of extended collarbones, braced by curving shoulders, yet her vulnerability is plain in her crooked knees that dip apart and ankles that wilt towards the floor.
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Routes and Roots
CanAsian International Dance Festival
Toronto: May 1-3, 2008
by Penelope Ford

In dance, as in all aspects of life, diversity is truly something to be sought out, encouraged and celebrated. In its tenth year, the CanAsian International Dance Festival does more than recognize the multiculturalism of Canadian dance …
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Creative Risk-Takers
Rachel Browne & Susie Burpee for Winnipeg’s Contemporary Dancers
Winnipeg: May 8-10, 2008
by Holly Harris

It seems only fitting that the inaugural show at Winnipeg’s Contemporary Dancers (WCD) newly re-christened theatre should honour the company’s founder, Rachel Browne, CM, with a rare performance by the Canadian living dance legend.
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Ensnared in Memory
Adelheid Solos by Heidi Strauss
Toronto: April 24-26, 2008
by Aubrey Reeves

Heidi Strauss’s Adelheid Solos is a program of two pieces that demonstrates the dancer/choreographer’s impressive versatility, stamina and strength as a dancer.
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Indigenous Dancelands
“The Threshing Floor” by Kaha:wi Dance Theatre
Montréal: March 8, 2008
by Melanie Florence

On the night of the worst snowstorm of the year in Montréal, I trekked through the sleet and wind to a small dance space called Tangente to see the touring performance of Indigenous Dancelands, a program of three works by aboriginal Canadians …
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A Flamenco Memoir
“‘Mis Hermanas’: Thicker than water: My Sisters and I” by Rosario Ancer, with choreography by the dancers
Vancouver: April 29-May 3, 2008
by Kaija Pepper

I first heard Rosario Ancer’s story about life in a large and loving Mexican family when she wrote an article in the Personals section for the Vancouver Dance Centre’s members’ newsletter in 1995. The focus there was mostly on Ancer’s move to Spain in order to “breathe and eat flamenco” …
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A Troubling Beauty
“Abattoir” by Kaeja d’Dance
Vancouver: March 19-20 and Toronto: March 25-29, 2008
by Megan Andrews and Kaija Pepper

A cross-country conversation between Kaija Pepper and Megan Andrews.
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A Portrait: the artist in his forties
“Quarantaine 4x4” by Charmaine LeBlanc
Montréal: March 18-22, 2008
by Philip Szporer

“Quarantaine 4x4” is that happy experience in the theatre where you leave feeling full, uplifted.
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M.Talk.2: a conversation between critics
M.Body.7 by Margie Gillis
Montréal: Feb. 29–Mar. 1, 2008 & Vancouver: March 14-15, 2008
by Philip Szporer & Kaija Pepper

Writers Philip Szporer from Montréal and Kaija Pepper from Vancouver both saw M.Body.7 in their respective cities. Here, they compare their notes …
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The Refreshing Baroque
“Timber/Timbre” by Joe Laughlin
Vancouver: March 14-17, 2008
by Kaija Pepper

It’s nice to be surprised by an evening of dance, though the more you see, of course, the less likely that is to happen. “Timber/Timbre”, by Joe Ink company’s Joe Laughlin, looked set to be a quiet trio …
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Lyrical Mathematics: Sarah Chase in Concert
Vancouver: November 2007
an online essay
by George Sipos

… She is interested in certain mathematical concepts, she tells us, like the properties of sequences … 1-1, 2-2, 3-1, 1-2, 2-1, 3-2, 1-1 …
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Silence / Light
Portal by Peggy Baker Dance Projects
Toronto: March 6-9, 2008
by Penelope Ford

It seems the momentum of Peggy Baker’s thirty-five-year dance career is still gathering speed.
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Witnessing Moments
“Struck” by Brent Lott for Winnipeg’s Contemporary Dancers
Winnipeg: March 6-8, 2008
by Holly Harris

“Struck”, Artistic Director Brent Lott’s new work for Winnipeg’s Contemporary Dancers (WCD), examines the power of the “aha”: those random flashes of insight in which -- if you’re lucky -- you suddenly gain wisdom about past events or choices you have made in life.
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Creating a Sense of Occasion
“The Four Seasons” by John Alleyne for Ballet British Columbia
Vancouver: February 14-16, 2008
by Kaija Pepper

Ballet British Columbia was once a serious little company that prided itself on its spare black-on-black repertoire, but these days it aims to create a friendlier sense of theatrical occasion.
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Choreographer returns to "adult" work
“Suites cruelles” by Hélène Blackburn for Cas Public
Montréal: January 24-26, 2008
by Philip Szporer

Cue Nancy Sinatra’s hit tune, “These Boots Are Made for Walking”, and cue the fun. If you don’t remember it, the sixties song kicks, and to hear it bang out of the speakers at a contemporary dance performance is cheeky.
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Peter Chin: ethno-choreographer
“Transmission of the Invisible” by Peter Chin, Tribal Crackling Wind
Toronto: February 6-9, 2008
by Megan Andrews

The inimitable Peter Chin is known for his multi-disciplinary work and particularly for his interest in Asian cultures and dance forms. The Jamaican-born, Toronto-based choreographer’s latest work, “Transmission of the Invisible”, carries this interest forward.
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Creative Convergence
“Lifelines” by Gioconda Barbuto and Emily Molnar with Michael Slobodian
Montréal: January 16-19, 2008
by Philip Szporer

Expectations were high. Gioconda Barbuto and Emily Molnar are both celebrated dancers and have the kinds of credentials most artists dream about.
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An Intuitive Connection
“Confort à retardement” by John Ottman for France Geoffroy, Corpuscule Danse
Montréal: Dec. 6-9, 2007
by Philip Szporer

“Confort à retardement” is John Ottman’s choreography created for France Geoffroy, a dancer and choreographer gaining recognition in Canada and abroad. The fact that Geoffroy is paraplegic defines the production, produced by her company Corpuscule Danse.
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Edges of Darkness
“Manga” by Serge Bennathan
Vancouver: Nov. 8-10 and Toronto: Nov. 22-24, 2007
by Megan Andrews and Kaija Pepper

What would it be like to inhabit the world of manga, the Japanese cartoon art form that fills its pages with forceful depictions of energy and stillness in characters whose emotions tend toward epic proportions? “Manga”, Serge Bennathan’s full-length duet, goes some way to answering that question …
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Enunciating History and the Present
“Kaksori” by Mi Young Kim Dance Company
Toronto: November 9-10, 2007
by Samantha Mehra

The paradoxical ability of dance to transcend language and yet tell stories stirs the imagination. This fascinating quality was ever-present in “Kaksori”, Mi Young Kim Dance Company’s first full-evening program at Harbourfront’s Premiere Dance Theatre.
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An Ambitious Anniversary Ballet
“Anastasia” by Bengt Jörgen for Ballet Jörgen Canada
Toronto: November 3, 2007
by Bridget Cauthery

Jörgen’s “Anastasia” is a fictional dramatization of episodes from the life of Anastasia Romanov, the youngest daughter of Tsar Nicholas II, the last tsar of Russia.
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New Hybrid Equations
“Sit back ya’ll” by Julia Gutsik and Raul Guevara, 4EverFresh; “pi.r.squared” by Rebecca Halls, Arcus Intorchao Hula Hoop Duo; “Text Messaging…” by Patricia Iraola
Montréal: November 1-4, 2007
by Lys Stevens

Génération bigarrée: a new title for a favourite series within Tangente’s programming. What does this new name suggest? Formerly Danses urbaines (an ambiguous title that became politicized as some artists resisted the fit), this series highlights artists working with high-energy movement forms referencing youth culture.
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A Missed Opportunity
“Décompte” by Zab Maboungou, Compagnie Danse Nyata Nyata
Montréal: October 10-13, 2007
by Philip Szporer

It’s not surprising to report that Zab Maboungou, the Congo-raised Montréal-based dancer-choreographer and philosopher, has devotees who speak about the transformative effects of her dance.
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Fast and Furious for a Reason
“The Vision Impure” by Co. Vision Selective/The Holy Body Tattoo
Vancouver: Oct. 2-6, 2007
by Kaija Pepper

No matter how dark and driving the movement, something bright always shines through Noam Gagnon’s performance. It makes his dances cathartic to experience.
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A Scavenger Hunt for Dance
Nuit Blanche
Toronto: September 29, 2007
by Samantha Mehra

The countdown has officially begun for Nuit Blanche, Toronto’s all-night contemporary art celebration beginning tonight (September 29th).
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Self-expression and entertainment: a fine balance
Dancing on the Edge 2007
Vancouver: July 5-14, 2007
by Kaija Pepper and Alana Gerecke

Another conversation-style festival review with some keen insider perspective.
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Season: 2006-2007

Immaculate Perception [a response]
"Necessary Velocity" by Michelle Silagy
Toronto: June 21-23, 2007
by Carol Anderson

Questions rose, watching “Necessary Velocity”. Questions came from the work itself, and from the act of observation -- questions related to details of looking and the ethics of response.
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Spinning around art and outreach
HIP HOP 360 at the Canada Dance Festival
Ottawa: June 19-23, 2007
by Marie Claire Forté

There is something particular about this Canada Dance Festival (CDF) intermediate year programming, also the festival’s first thematic five-day event. Is it the YouTube trailer, the graffiti artists spraying large wood panels outside the National Arts Centre (NAC) box office, the abundance of youth sporting hoodies and baseball caps, the men outnumbering the women by a proportion of ten to one?
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A Certain Selection of Dance
Festival TransAmériques
Montréal: May 23-June 7, 2007
by Marie Claire Forté & Philip Szporer

This May marked the inaugural program of the Montréal-based dance and theatre event, Festival TransAmériques. To cover the dance programming at this year’s premiere event, The Dance Current invited writers Marie Claire Forté (Ottawa) and Philip Szporer (Montréal) to exchange their views in an e-mail conversation. Here are their evocative and emphatic impressions.
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Cuddly Animals Ease the Angst
“Smash Up” by Dana Gingras, Animals of Distinction
Vancouver: May 8-12, 2007
by Kaija Pepper

Who is Dana Gingras without Noam Gagnon? That is the question fans of The Holy Body Tattoo – the wildly successful, hard-driving company the two have co-directed since 1993 – were eager to discover with “Smash Up”, Gingras’ breakaway production.
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Seedpod in the Postmodern Wind
“Provincial Essays” by Lola Dance
Vancouver: May 3-5 & 8-10, 2007
by Mary Theresa Kelly

Lola Dance delivers visceral movement spliced with intellectual themes that evolve through the use of postmodern techniques: reflexivity, parody, recursive structure (e.g. it’s a loop) and self-referential narrative.
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One Old, One Borrowed, One New
“Light | Confronts | Unknown”, a mixed program by Dancemakers
Toronto: May 1-5, 2007
by Emma Doran

Michael Trent must feel eyes focussed in his direction. “Light Confronts Unknown” is his first major program for Dancemakers after being appointed artistic director in August 2006.
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Dance As a Metre of the Times
"Amjad" by Édouard Lock
Montréal: April 26-May 5, 2007
by Philip Szporer

Édouard Lock’s new revisionist ballet, Amjad, has a way of messing with our heads. Those who mistakenly expect that Lock’s current choreography draws on the signature barrel turns and the sexual ambiguity of his work in the 1980s will be sorely disappointed. And for those interested to see how he has continued his exploration of the classics of the ballet repertoire, there will be expectation.
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Ancient Behaviour
“Herding Instinct” by Karen Kuzak, TRIP Dance
Regina: March 30-31, 2007
by Gregory C. Beatty

In choreographing “Herding Instinct”, Karen Kuzak, artistic director of Winnipeg’s TRIP Dance, took inspiration from an unlikely source -- her six-year-old border collie Ben. Or, more accurately, the competitions she and Ben have participated in where teams of two dogs and their master work to control a flock of sheep.
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Layering Tradition and Identity
“Meeting with Saghi” by Sashar Zarif
Toronto: March 24, 2007
by Kathleen M. Smith

In Persian culture, the character of Saghi is a beloved wine-bearer who embodies ideals and beliefs of the tradition that created him in much the same way as the stories of Krishna inform the East Indian cultural landscape.
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Points of View (unsolicited)
Vancouver International Dance Festival 2007
Vancouver: Feb. 21-Apr. 1, 2007
by Andrea Downie and Alana Gerecke

Among the many performances at the Vancouver International Dance Festival, two programs -- by senior artists Jay Hirabayashi and Barbara Bourget, and by Karen Jamieson -- inspired emerging writers to capture their experiences in words.
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Rhythmic Attraction
“Magnetic Consequences” by Decidedly Jazz Danceworks
New Westminster, BC: April 1, 2007
by Mary Theresa Kelly

The cool kids from Calgary are in town. They groove, they jump, they rock and they bop; they funk it up, and work it out. Best of all they feel the blues, and they transmit that love of rhythm and blues in every eighth note.
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Reconnections
A mixed progam by Gaétan Gingras
Montréal: March 7-10, 2007
by Philip Szporer

Iroquois-Mohawk by ancestry, but cut off from his roots for most of his life, at fourteen Gaétan Gingras learned that his maternal grandparents were aboriginal. The truth had been hidden for many years.
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Seduced by the Sound
“Chutzpah!” The Lisa Nemetz International Showcase of Jewish Performing Arts
Vancouver: Feb. 17-Mar. 3
by Kaija Pepper

The Chutzpah! Festival is always a sprawling celebration of Jewish culture through dance, theatre and music that takes place annually at the Norman Rothstein Theatre in the Jewish Community Centre.
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Bringing the Outside In
“the Weathering Suite” by Davida Monk, M-Body
Regina: Feb. 14-15; Toronto: Feb. 22-24; Winnipeg: Mar. 1-3, 2007
by Gregory C. Beatty

Choreographed by Davida Monk for her Calgary-based dance company M-Body, “the Weathering Suite” arrived in Regina at a curious moment. The UN was in the process of releasing a long-awaited report on climate change; Al Gore and Inuit environmentalist Sheila Watt-Cloutier had just been nominated for the Nobel Peace prize; and in Canada, the environment, and climate change in particular, had become the hot-button political issue.
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Dancing to Save Paradise
Dancing Joni & Other Works by Alberta Ballet
Calgary: Feb. 8-10, Edmonton: Feb. 16-17
by Kaija Pepper

The press interest in “The Fiddle and the Drum” by Alberta Ballet’s artistic director, Jean Grand-Maître, and legendary singer/songwriter Joni Mitchell, surprised everyone – but probably not Mitchell, the cause of it all. Though apparently reclusive, she must be used to attention after four successful decades in the music business and, in order to publicize the ballet, was willing to hold court.
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Seeking Common Rhythmic Ground
“Tappin’ at the Winch: The Resurgence” by Paula Skimin, Turn on the Tap
Toronto: February 1-3, 2007
by Samantha Mehra

In this city of diverse traditions, the promise of experiencing several cultural art forms in one performance tempts the cosmopolitan appetite. For those with such a taste, Turn on the Tap’s “Tappin’ at the Winch: The Resurgence”, at the Winchester Street Theatre, offered a range of flavours.
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Keeping It Real at 48
Mixed program by Louise Lecavalier
Montréal: February 8-11, 2007
by MJ Thompson

Seeing Louise Lecavalier dance is a trip of sorts: a fairground ride through time and space, a wonderland tour across a history of body politics and the ideals of nationalism, the excess of the 1980s, the exuberance of the 1990s.
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A Whirl of Sound and Motion
“Asala” by Arabesque Dance Company
Toronto: Nov. 29-Dec. 3, 2006
by Kathleen M. Smith

One of Toronto’s most successful dance companies is devoted to forms of dance that have entranced devotees and audiences alike for thousands of years. Under the direction of Yasmina Ramzy, the Arabesque Dance Company takes Middle Eastern dance vocabularies and showcases them, for the most part respectfully, and to the delight of their fans.
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An Unwieldy Opus
“Bas-reliefs” by Marie-Josée Chartier
Montréal: December 6-16, 2006
by Philip Szporer

It all began from a fascination with pioneering visual artist Betty Goodwin’s “Swimmers” series from the 1980s. From this source, in which Goodwin drew, using graphite, charcoal and oil pastels, on a kind of translucent paper, dancer-choreographer Marie-Josée Chartier conceived a multi-disciplinary mega-production, “Bas reliefs: un dyptique”.
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Bubble-Wrap Reality Dance
“Talk Show” by Alexis Andrew and Elizabeth MacKinnon
Ottawa: December 12-14
by Marie Claire Forté

Layers of subtext float around this performance called “Talk Show” by Ottawa’s collective (gulp). Independent dance artists are a rare and special breed in Ottawa – Alexis Kate Andrew and Elizabeth MacKinnon of collective (gulp) are no exception.
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Doubles territoires 2/Split Stage 2
New works by Peter Trosztmer and Ségolène Marchand
Montréal: Nov. 23-26, 2006
by Philip Szporer

The performance began outside the theatre. Conceptual pieces of printed, bent metal stuck on wooden planks were suspended along the corridor walls leading to the theatre. Inside, bent bicycles in tormented shapes hung from the walls and ceiling.
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In Search of Flamenco Puro
"Escencia Flamenca" by Esmeralda Enrique Spanish Dance Company
Toronto: Nov. 16-19
by Bridget Cauthery

Sometimes a period of absence -- or abstinence -- from a particular dance form can result in the acquisition of new perspective, allowing one to view a performance with fresh eyes and ears.
full story | view responses


A review in the shape of a conversation
“/dance/songs/” by Ame Henderson/public recordings
Toronto: November 17-26
by Kathleen M. Smith

“A dance in the shape of a rock show.” Sounds like a good idea, right? It was only a matter of time before someone figured out how to harness the casual collectivity and emotional energy of going to hear a favourite band and applied it to a choreographic concept.
full story | view responses


Artist and Critic in [Virtual] Dialogue
Montréal: Nov. 16-19
“Being Susan Sontag” choreographed by Pamela Newell
by Pamela Newell and Philip Szporer

A conversation between critic Philip Szporer and choreographer Pamela Newell about her recent work "Being Susan Sontag". With all due respect, they didn't hold back.
full story | view responses


Meditative Abstraction
"Anatomies" by José Navas, Compagnie Flak
Montréal: Nov. 8-11, 14-15
by Jill Goldberg

Dancers in nothing but boy-shorts, minimalist lighting, an empty stage. Much has been made of José Navas’ transition from a choreographer who crafts dance with a theatrical aesthetic to a more mature artist whose work is subtle, even ascetic.
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Two Takes on the Same Show
“Take it Back” by Solid State
Montreal: Oct 19-29, 2006
by Philip Szporer and by Lys Stevens

Solid State’s new work, “Take it Back”, is a dance that crosses boundaries, re-sourcing the language of hip hop and the Lindy, presenting elements of street dance and swing in a theatrical setting.
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Flamenco with an Asian Touch
“Café de Chinitas” by Mozaico Flamenco
Vancouver: Oct. 28, 2006
by Kaija Pepper

Every flamenco show needs at least one inspired soloist, a bailaora (flamenco dancer) who sets the audience’s pulse beating faster. Kasandra, the lead dancer of Mozaico Flamenco Dance Theatre, was certainly that during the company’s one-night only premiere of “Café de Chinitas” at the Norman Rothstein Theatre.
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An Embarrassment of Riches
Kalanidhi International Dance Festival and Conference: A Century of Indian Dance: Part II
Toronto: Sept. 22 to Oct. 1, 2006
by Nova Bhattacharya

The 2006 Kalanidhi International Dance Festival and Conference ran from September 22nd through October 1st and featured over 100 bharatanatyam, odissi, kuchipudi and chau artists from 7 countries in 30 performances, 2 intensive workshops in chau and bharatanatyam/zulu dance, and countless lectures, papers and dance chats.
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Acknowledging Age
“REDD” by Tedd Robinson
Regina: Oct. 10-11
by Gregory C. Beatty

One of the biggest mantras for business strategists and other motivational types is the idea that it’s better to initiate change than to have change thrust upon you. For most of his career, Ottawa-based performer Tedd Robinson has been an initiator of change.
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Serious Themes, Seriously Treated
IN(side)time: made in Canada/fait au Canada
Toronto: Sept. 28-30
by Kathleen M. Smith

Made in Canada/fait au Canada is a biannual showcase of contemporary dance curated by choreographer/performer Yvonne Ng via her company princess productions. Over two weeks, the last of September and first of October, six works were presented, some new and some worthy remounts.
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Working Toward World Class
ProArteDanza
Toronto: October 5-8, 2006
by Kathleen M. Smith

A ProArteDanza opening always has a buzz-y kind of glamour -- people dress up, they talk about the work, clearly excited to be there. Some of the city’s finest classical and contemporary dancers grace the stage; the rest can be found in the audience along with students and hip dance fans of all stripes.
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A Flamenco Transposition
“Azafran Or Rouge” by Ballet Flamenco Arte de España
Montréal: Sept. 20-21
by Philip Szporer

What happens when a Québécois play is transposed into the language of flamenco? For Laura Lynne McGee, the result is “Azafran Or Rouge”. The latest show by Montréal’s Ballet Flamenco Arte de España, “Azafran Or Rouge” recently played the long and narrow Club Soda nightclub …
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Not Quite a Theatrical Journey
“STONE:Drift” by Julia Taffe, Aeriosa
Vancouver: Sept. 20-30, 2006
by Kaija Pepper

Climbing a mountain and dancing in a theatre -- both are highly physical endeavors that challenge the body and mind. The first, however, is about climbers getting physically from one place to another, while the second involves performers taking an audience on an imaginative journey. When a love of both climbing and dancing collide, aerial or vertical dance is born -- and what is the journey then?
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Season: 2005-2006

A Commitment to the Future
Toronto International Dance Festival (a fFIDA presentation)
Toronto: August 8th-19th, 2006
by Kathleen M. Smith

For fifteen years, the fringe Festival of Independent Dance Artists (fFIDA) has presented a mixed bag of dance over an extended period in August. Chosen by lottery and stacked into mixed programs and large-scale spectaculars, the dance viewing experience has also been a crapshoot. Some years it was mostly dross with a few buried treasures; in others, the riches made you feel hopeful for the future of dance in Canada.
full story | view responses


Intertwining Difference
“Uqquaq, The Shelter” by Geneviève Pepin and Laurentio Q. Arnatsiaq
Whitehorse: June 21–30, 2006
by Janelle Hardy

After purchasing tickets, we stand in the hot sun in an alleyway outside an abandoned warehouse next to the Boys and Girls Club in downtown Whitehorse. As the first sounds of music snake out from under the closed doors, we are let into the building. Entering a dark cavernous room, our attention focusses on the floor-level stage …
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Different Lenses, Different Views
Dancing on the Edge Festival 2006
Vancouver: July 6-15, 2006
by Mary Kelly and Imogen Whyte

This year audiences strayed far and wide at Vancouver’s Dancing on the Edge Festival, where the action drifted beyond the festival’s usual haven, that beloved brick building known as the Firehall Arts Centre in Vancouver’s downtown eastside.
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The Spirit of Dance Weaves a Tale
Dance Immersion Showcase Presentation
Toronto: June 22-24
by Suzanne Jaeger

“Throughout history, our people have been able to survive, through dance,” says Emerita Emerencia, who plays the role of a storyteller guiding the audience through various dances of the African Diaspora in the Dance Immersion Showcase Presentation’s Saturday matinee.
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Cross Gender Performance: Dispelling the Binary
CanAsian Dance Festival 2006
Toronto: June 8-11
by Bridget Cauthery

Transformations: Expressions of Gender Roles in Asian Dance, presented by CanAsian Dance (June 8-11th, 2006), was like opening a jewellery box of precious gems or discovering buried treasure.
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Encounter Overflow
Canada Dance Festival 2006: Environmental Encounters
Ottawa: June 2-10
by Marie Claire Forté

“Encounter great dance,” announced the 2006 Canada Dance Festival (CDF). Returning from a pared-down 2004 edition, Artistic Director Brian Webb presented a full program, complete with theatre performances, Dance Dialogues (a series of morning discussions and presentations) and Environmental Encounters (outdoor performances).
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The Honesty of an Artist (unsolicited)
"Absences" by Serge Bennathan for Dancemakers
Toronto: April 25 - May 6
by Megan Andrews

Space, silence, absence. Moments of suspended emptiness punctuate the robust joy, delicate care and aching grief in “Absences”, Serge Bennathan’s last work as artistic director of Toronto’s Dancemakers.
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Fragments of Mind
”she’s gone away” by Susanna Hood
Toronto: April 23-30
by Lindsay Zier-Vogel

A horse, a gorilla, a snake and a fiendish beast; a young girl, a storyteller, a go-go dancer; a teapot, a napkin, and a cast of chairs are all brought together in Susanna Hood’s latest performance, “she’s gone away”, a theatrical dance and sound work that explores female sexual awakening.
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Driven by Plot not Desire
“A Streetcar Named Desire” by John Alleyne for Ballet BC
Vancouver: April 6-8, 2006
by Kaija Pepper

It looks good and sounds great. “A Streetcar Named Desire”, by Ballet British Columbia’s artistic director, John Alleyne, is full of eye-catching, interlacing duets and the fifteen members of Ballet BC perform with confidence and style.
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Celebrating Masculinity and Creole-Canadian Dance
“Breaking Out” by Patrick Parson for Ballet Creole
Toronto: March 30-April 1, 2006
by Claire Wootten

Fresh from drinking in the National Ballet of Canada’s recent Balanchine season where works like “Rubies” and “Theme and Variations” stood for deep appreciation of the female form, my mind still echoes with the oft-repeated Balanchine quote “ballet is woman”. What a splashy switch then to soak up Patrick Parson’s premiere for members of his Ballet Creole company, an all-male ballet entitled “Breaking Out”.
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The Weight of Aggression
“Lost Action” by Crystal Pite (Kidd Pivot)
Vancouver: March 24-April 1, 2006
by Kaija Pepper

It’s dark, full of whispers and loss. It’s also muscular and aggressive, pervaded by a sense of danger. Crystal Pite’s “Lost Action”, which premiered at the Vancouver East Cultural Centre as the closing show of the Vancouver International Dance Festival, makes a serious and emotionally gripping statement about conflict.
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A Butoh Classic
“Sunyata” by Kokoro Dance at the Vancouver International Dance Festival
Vancouver: March 21-25, 2006
by Kaija Pepper

Who knew it would last? When Jay Hirabayashi and Barbara Bourget of Kokoro Dance launched the Vancouver International Dance Festival in 1998, it was a showcase for international butoh artists. For the first few years, attendance was dismal. Some of the shows were good, some appalling; but looked at in hindsight, audiences were getting a fantastic grounding in the art of butoh.
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Under the Azure Dome
Dances from Iran by Ida Meftahi
Toronto: March 18-19, 2006
by Megan Andrews

Under the Azure Dome, a festival celebrating Persian culture, took place at Harbourfront Centre in Toronto from March 17-19, 2006. Featuring a palette of cultural expressions from food to visual art, music and dance, the festival included several Canadian-Iranian dance artists in mixed programs of work. On March 18 and 19, Ida Meftahi presented a program of dances demonstrating a range of Iranian movement traditions...
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Intersections, Overcrossings
“The Part” by Antonija Livingstone at the Edgy Women International Festival
Montréal: March 17th, 2006
by Philip Szporer

Lean, bleached-blond, with legs that go on and on, Antonija Livingstone cuts a striking figure. “The Part” is a work that she’s currently touring. Last year it played in an earlier incarnation at Montréal’s Tangente on a double-bill with George Stamos, and now it appears for one night only in Studio 303’s Edgy Women Festival
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The Sight (Site) of Motion
"Vortex 1" by Van Grimde Corps Secrets/Le Nouvel Ensemble Moderne
Montréal: Montréal: Feb 22-25, 2006
by Philip Szporer

Van Grimde Corps Secret’s latest production, “Vortex 1”, is just the latest in a series of Montréal dance concerts that have featured live musicians onstage, and in close proximity to the audience.
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What can you say about love?
"The Betrayal Project" by Julia Sasso Dances
Toronto: Jan. 31-Feb. 1
by Kathleen M. Smith

What can you say about love, lust and sex that hasn’t already been said in a million different ways in a multitude of media? This is the fundamental dilemma that must underpin any discussion of Julia Sasso’s new full-length exploration of eros: “The Betrayal Project”.
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The Innocence of Schoolgirls
"Signs" by Yvonne Ng of Tiger Princess Dance Projects
Toronto: Feb. 9-11, 2006
by Suzanne Jaeger

Yvonne Ng’s two-part work, “Signs” is a well-mixed suspension of text, movement, music and percussion in a fluid performance of theatrical dance. Katherine Duncanson composed a new score for the first dance “Paper Women”, and Lee Pui Ming created a work for “Emerald Lies”. Ng also invited poet Lindsay Zier-Vogel to contribute to the creative process...
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Pushing Past the Comfort Zone
“Lost Pigeons” by David Pressault Danse
Montréal: Jan 25-Feb 4, 2006
by Philip Szporer

For David Pressault’s Danse-Cité production, “Lost Pigeons”, the dancer-choreographer uses the symbol of the sexy pigeon as his central image to probe today’s lost generation of lovers who see relationships slipping away.
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Three Exceptional Women
Dances for a Small Stage XII
Vancouver: January 30-31, 2006
by Kaija Pepper

Dances for a Small Stage takes place in a bar, the Crush Champagne Lounge on downtown Granville Street, just a few steps away from The Dance Centre. The bar venue is crucial to the success of the popular series, which is produced by Day Helesic and Julie-anne Saroyan of MovEnt, because having a good time is what Small Stage is all about.
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Rhythmic Confrontation
“Exit” by Dominique Porte (Système D)
Montréal: Jan 18-28, 2006
by Philip Szporer

Confrontational and contained, Dominique Porte’s Exit, features music compositions by four Canadian composers – James Harley, Nicolas Gilbert, Michael Oesterle and Howard Bashaw – with Véronique Lacroix of the Ensemble contemporain de Montréal directing the live performances of percussionist Philip Hornsley and pianist Pamela Reimer.
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It Dances as a Whole
“5 AM” by Paula de Vasconcelos of Pigeons International, at PuSh International Performing Arts Festival
Vancouver: January 18-21, 2006
by Kaija Pepper

The rhythmic flow and poetic abstraction of “5 AM” (“5 Heures du Matin”) lends the whole of Paula de Vasconcelos’ well-produced and visually outstanding dance/theatre work a polished choreographic feel. Yet the pure dance sections themselves were disappointing.
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Moments Apart, Together
“Au coeur de l’inconnu/At The Heart of The Unknown” by Andrew de L. Harwood and Kirstie Simson
Montréal: Nov 12
by Philip Szporer

A couple of comments linger long after watching the performance of Andrew de Lotbinère Harwood and Kirstie Simson, both accomplished dancer/improvisers. Prior to attending the concert, which occurred during the recent CORD (Congress on Research in Dance) conference in Montréal, one of the speakers, an academic from the United States, asked what was playing in town that night, and I mentioned the show at Studio 303. Her response was curt: “Oh, is [Harwood] still doing that?” That not-so-gentle put-down was countered by a woman who exited the show, remarking, “[Simson] has managed to take him far beyond what he normally does.”
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Seriously Improvising
“Thirst” by Peter Bingham and Wen Wei Wang at Dance in Vancouver
Vancouver: November 16th and 19th
by Kaija Pepper

The partnership of Peter Bingham and Wen Wei Wang is a surprising one. Bingham is an older dancer, in his mid-fifties, and widely known as a master of contact improvisation. Wang, fourteen years younger, studied Chinese dance from a young age, was a member of Ballet British Columbia for several years and has a growing reputation as a contemporary choreographer.
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A Ballet with Teeth
“Dracula” by Mark Godden for the Royal Winnipeg Ballet
Winnipeg: Oct 19-23, 2005
by Garth A. Buchholz

Mark Godden’s Dracula is a twentieth-century Goth guy (the dance premiered in 1999) tricked out in nineteenth-century vampire garb. He’s been clever enough to get himself a film deal (Guy Maddin’s “Dracula: Pages from a Virgin’s Diary”) that garnered rave reviews around the world.
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Finding Entertainment in an Artist’s Obsessions
"bODY_rEMIX/gOLDBERG_vARIATIONS" by Marie Chouinard for Compagnie Marie Chouinard
Toronto: November 3, 2005
by Suzanne Jaeger

It is not that Chouinard has run out of ideas. “bODY rEMIX” is a rich, wildly entertaining compilation of playful associations, sensual and erotic imagery and stunning virtuosic dancing enhanced by a cleverly woven mesh of percussive sounds, music, recorded speech, breathy sighs, grunts, orgasmic gasps and squeals.
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Physical Resonance
“Play It Again!” by Danièle Desnoyers for Le Carré des Lombes
Montréal: Oct 5-15, 2005
by Philip Szporer

Danièle Desnoyers’ new work, “Play It Again!”, is detached from narrative. Well mostly: there’s the resonance of tough guy Humphrey Bogart’s famous line in the film classic Casablanca, indelibly linked to tinkling the ivories.
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Fierce Courage
“Speed” by Suzanne Miller and Allan Paivio for Magali Stoll and Karsten Kroll
Montréal: September 19-24
by Fritzraven Sky

Montrealers received a singular invitation to the dance last month from Rafik Sabbagh, artistic director of Transatlantique 2005 (September 19th through 24th). The six-day moveable feast featured some leading lights of the past decade, and the premiere of Suzanne Miller and Allan Paivio’s stunning new work, “Speed”, danced to transcendent perfection by the unforgettable duo of Magali Stoll and Karsten Kroll… *This review was delayed due to unforseen circumstances.
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Dancing the Architecture
"Full Time at the Belgo" by Lin Snelling
Montréal: October 1st
by Philip Szporer

Lin Snelling and her assembled troupe did a fine job of imagining the Belgo building in “Full Time at the Belgo” (“FTATB”). The stage for the innovative site-specific dance project was the vast, six-storey fixture itself, located at Saint Catherine Street West and Bleury. Dancers explored the architecture of the building and their bodies, and the public was invited along for the ride.
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Tranquility, Destruction, Struggle, Amusement: Four Choreographers, Four Very Different Dances
Four at the Winch: New Choreography by Sara Porter, Andrea Nann, Valerie Calam and Louis Laberge-Côté
Toronto: October 5-8, 2005
by Suzanne Jaeger

A musician sits at the far left of the stage with a banjo and percussive instruments including bowls of water. In front of him is a small boat, “dry docked” with colourful nets hanging from it. Invoking familiar images of a seaside beach, a life jacket and bucket hang from ropes dropped from the fly, and at the front, seashells of various sizes and shapes are piled on the floor. The dance begins with …
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Not Wisely But Too Well
“Othello” by Tom Stroud for Winnipeg’s Contemporary Dancers
Winnipeg: September 22-24, 2005
by Garth A. Buchholz

Of “Othello” the play and “Othello” the dance, you could say that “so sweet was ne’er so fatal”. The Canadian premiere of Tom Stroud’s “Othello”, performed by Winnipeg’s Contemporary Dancers (WCD), was a bleak and emotionally exhausting experiment in unstructured, improvised dance theatre.
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Reading Dance
Nanaimo Infringing Dance Festival
Nanaimo, BC: September 15-18, 2005
by Robin J. Miller

Nanaimo, BC -- about an hour-and-a-half’s drive north from Victoria on Vancouver Island -- is not anybody’s idea of a chic, urban centre. It doesn’t even have a downtown Starbucks. What it does have is a contemporary dance festival, when other, much larger and ostensibly more dance-friendly cities have lost theirs.
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That Rare Breed Called Soloist
Chasing Bliss by Jolene Bailie for Cuppa Jo Solo Dance
Vancouver: September 10-18, 2005
by Kaija Pepper

It’s not easy to be a solo dancer, filling out a program and keeping the audience engaged and focussed all by yourself. Margie Gillis does it brilliantly; so does Peggy Baker. And so does the up-and-coming Jolene Bailie.
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Season: 2004-2005

An Act of the Heart
"Liberamae" by Louis-Martin Charest
Montreal: June 15-19, 2005
by Philip Szporer

The night I arrived in the lobby of the Monument National for the performance of Louis-Martin Charest’s new work, “Liberamae”, I was taken aback by the crowd that had assembled for the performance. Montréal establishment types, in pearls and fitted suits, were shoulder to shoulder with folks from both the ranks of the ballet and contemporary dance communities. Everyone seemed to take great delight in being there for the show.
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A Ceremonial Event
“Percy Gladstone Memorial Dance (The Skidegate Project)” by the Karen Jamieson Dance Company at the Dancing on the Edge Festival
Vancouver: Museum of Anthropology, July 12-16, 2005
by Kaija Pepper

The good news from the Edge is that it got off to a great start. Margie Gillis, the opening headliner for the 17th annual Dancing on the Edge Festival of Contemporary Dance, drew excellent houses for both nights of her “Voyages Into the Interior Landscape”. Gillis appeared at the mid-sized, close to 700-seat Vancouver Playhouse, an upscale, downtown theatre, and to see it well filled and bustling made for a festive launch to the ten-day event.
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The Force of Water (unsolicited submission)
“Swept Away” by Mari Osanai for Mile Zero Dance
May 27th: Edmonton
by Sherry Dawn Knettle

Mile Zero Dance’s annual Dance Lab Performance had an unexpectedly large audience for its informal showing of “Swept Away”, choreographed by Japan’s Mari Osanai. The result of a one-month workshop, this Dance Lab was exceptional because the work developed into a completed piece rather than the intended work-in-progress.
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Absorbing All Boundaries
The 15th Annual Festival of New Dance
St. John’s, Newfoundland: June 21-26, 2005
by J.M. Sullivan

Two premieres, both of Newfoundland works; a six-day schedule of three repeating programs in venues throughout downtown St. John’s; and fourteen free shows, in such unexpected/found spaces as churchyard trees and high-end clothing boutiques. The Festival of New Dance’s fifteenth anniversary spread also incorporated “Momenta”, which ran throughout the festival at LSPU Hall.
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Festival de theatre des Amériques
"100 Rencontres" by Benoît Lachambre, par b.l.eux and "In Side" & "Aura" by Stéphane Gladyszewski
Montréal: May 25-29, 2005 / May 30-31, June 1-2, 2005
by Philip Szporer

"100 Rencontres" by Benoît Lachambre, par b.l.eux May 25-29, 2005 Société des arts technologies (SAT) "In Side" & "Aura" by Stéphane Gladyszewski May 30-31, June 1-2, 2005 Tangente
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Gods and Dance Know Space and Time
"Vivarta -- Manifestations of Vishnu" and "HowZaat!" by Lata Pada for Sampradaya Dance Creations
Vancouver: June 10-11, 2005
by Kaija Pepper

For her latest project, choreographer Lata Pada travelled to India to hold auditions. The artistic director of Toronto-based Sampradaya Dance Creations was in search of full-time professional bharata natyam dancers, a rare breed in Canada.
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Sita's Journey to Canada
"Sitayana -- Sita's Story" by Menaka Thakkar Dance Company
Toronto: May 12-15, 2005
by By Nova Bhattacharya

The Menaka Thakkar Dance Company's presentation of "Sitayana -- Sita's Story" from May 12-15, 2005 at the Betty Oliphant Theatre, Toronto, was a virtuoso production of a dance drama in the bharatanatyam style.
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A Double Handful
New Crop of Dancefilms Premiere at FIFA
Montréál: March 2005
by Kathleen M. Smith

Montréal’s Festival international du film sur l'art (FIFA) launched its 23rd edition this past March at venues all over town. In addition to profiles of artists, films by artists and documentaries about creative process and art history, FIFA regularly premieres a double handful of dancefilms and docs about dance. This year’s crop was particularly accomplished.
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A Savvy Program
dance Immersion 2005
Toronto: April 14-16
by Paula Citron

Somewhere toward the end of dance Immersion, this writer had an epiphany. No matter how stirring the traditional African drumming and dancing, or how stylish a tap routine, or how attractive the synchronization of energetic b-girls, or how charming the Caribbean folklore, it was the contemporary choreography that gave substance to the evening.
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First, A Comedy
RIFF, a program of works by Tara Cheyenne Friedenberg and Day Helesic
Burnaby, B.C.: May 6-7, 2005
by Kaija Pepper

Tara Cheyenne Friedenberg is half man. On her father’s side, going way back. Also, she tells us at the start of “BANGER”, she married a man. Amazing, eh? Who better, then, to explore the contemporary male than Friedenberg?
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Undulating, Overlapping: Stories in Motion
"Bird" by Sarah Chase
Montréal: April 26-30, 2005
by Philip Szporer

The graceful words and movement of Sarah Chase intermingle with wonder and loss. She is a keen observer of her surroundings and explains, "I don't choose the work, the work chooses me. I try to notice what's knocking at my door." Formerly from Toronto, Chase recently returned to her West Coast roots with a move to Hornby Island in British Columbia. Dances and stories start percolating in her, linked to a particular place and particular events
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Contemporary Connections: Dance and Nature
Indigenous Dancelands, a program of works by aboriginal artists
Regina: April 23, 2005
by Gregory C. Beatty

Presented by New Dance Horizons (Regina), Peterborough New Dance and Tangente (Montréal) under the auspices of CanDance Network, Indigenous Dancelands offered a fascinating amalgam of traditional First Nations and contemporary Western dance practices. Featured was the premiere of Saskatchewan-based filmmaker Anthony Dieter's Show-Down; Manitowapan by Montréal-based choreographer Gaetan Gingras; Elmer and Coyote, which was co-choreographed by Byron Chief-Moon (Alberta) and Karen Jamieson (British Columbia); and an excerpt from Ontario dance artist Santee Smith's Kaha-Wi.
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Turning Up the Heat
¡BULLA! By Hannah Stilwell and Kimberley Cooper for Decidedly Jazz Danceworks
Victoria: April 5-6, 2005
by Robin J. Miller

It’s too bad Victoria doesn’t get snow, because it would have been fun to watch it melt under the heat of "¡BULLA!", the latest full-length show from Calgary’s Decidedly Jazz Danceworks, subtitled “A Loud Cuban Jazz Experiment.” And loud it was. Also raucous and sexy and colourful, and very definitely hot.
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Vancouver International Dance Festival
Produced by Kokoro Dance
Roundhouse Community Centre: March 8-26, 2005
by Kaija Pepper

The fifth Vancouver International Dance Festival at the Roundhouse Community Centre took place from March 8-26, 2005
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Mixed Blessings
Platform 33 in works by Muñoz, Itoh and Bédard
Toronto: Dancemakers Centre for Creation: Mar. 3-5
by Kathleen M. Smith

There hasn't been a Toronto show in recent memory to spawn as many heated and diverse opinions as the recent Danceworks show featuring commissioned work for a new collective called Platform 33. Audience members on the evening I attended seemed to position themselves all along the spectrum. I love when that happens, because it usually means a chord of some kind has been struck.
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Introspective Expressions
Sa Geste: Sasha Ivanochko and Audrey Lehouillier
Montréal: Tangente, Mar. 10-13, 2005
by Philip Szporer

Sasha Ivanochko and Audrey Lehouillier are a study in contrasts. Together on the same bill, they explore the inner lives of women, but also show their differences to good measure. On a triple bill, along with Japanese-based dancer-choreographer Kunie Suzuki, they performed their own solo works at Tangente's annual celebration of women in dance, SaGeste, a program that coincides with International Women's Week.
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Dancers and Gemstones
CanAsian Dance Festival Program B
Toronto: February 24, Premiere Dance Theatre
by Kathleen M. Smith

Great dancers are like gemstones. Fully experiencing their brilliance can depend on the sensitivity and fit of the setting they've been given by the choreographer, composer, set designer etc. When everything is up to the standard such artists can inspire, excitement ensues; mess up with the setting and it feels like a crime against art.
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Of Loss and Healing
"Grace" by Eryn Dace Trudell
Toronto: Winchester Street Theatre, Feb. 25, 2005
by Kathleen M. Smith

Sometimes, dance is very good at capturing the zeitgeist. Eryn Dace Trudell's "Grace", is a memorial to her aunt Grace McDace Barker, who passed away from breast cancer in 2002. It is an overt and intimate treatment of the subject.
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The Birthday Edition
Twelve Minutes Max XXX
Vancouver: Firehall Arts Centre, Feb. 22-23, 2005
by Kaija Pepper

Twelve Minutes Max has had a long haul as a dance series goes. The inaugural 12 MM took place in December 1994 but its roots go back a few years further. Anne Cooper remembers the mixed bill's precursor, an informal community event held at Main Dance Place in the Arcadian Hall at Main Street and 6th Avenue. It was called Shoeless Saturday because everyone had to take their shoes off before entering the studio. In the early nineties, Cooper danced in one of those shows and, during a telephone conversation, told me she always meant to do another. But it was only now that she had the right project at the right time.
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Sharing Time
"Lwáza" by Zab Maboungou, Compagnie Danse Nyata Nyata
Montréal: Feb. 17-25
by Philip Szporer

In Lwáza ("chatting" in the language of the Kongo people) dancer-choreographer-philosopher Zab Maboungou has created a terrific piece. It's a mesmerizing work for three dancers and two musicians that challenges the notion of gesture and the meaning of origin and raises the question of accessibility. Maboungou sets the tone immediately. In the entryway to the theatre, shoes are dispensed with, and we walk into the performance space in stocking feet. The intimate stage is surrounded on three sides by staggered seating. The tone in the room is hushed. The lights are dim and eventually fade to black as the dancers (Patrick Bayne, Karla Étienne and Marielle Mencé) and the drummers (premier percussionist Dominic Dankor, former member of the National Dance Company of Ghana, and the equally dexterous Haitian-born musician Makumbé) take to the stage.
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Interior Worlds
"I'm Standing Here Before You" by Brian Webb and "Still" by Tania Alvarado
Edmonton: Jan. 21, 2005
by Pamela Anthony

It's characteristic of Brian Webb to offer the complex contradictions of his work with extreme simplicity. This quality is particularly evident in his latest performance, "I'm standing here before you", a modern and highly theatrical event that involves spoken text, extensive video art, five on-stage musicians and a very tall red ladder. In "Still", there is a submerged urgency to Alvarado's almost idiosyncratic choreography, a questioning quality in the alternating sections of quiet reflective moments, and the bursts of whiplash head movement, twirling and rhythmic flicking of the legs. Her work is grounded through the feet, and the tensile strength and energy of her body finds voice in the intricate articulation of her arms and hands.
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Taking Turns Telling Tales
Double Story by Crystal Pite and Richard Siegal
Vancouver East Cultural Centre, Feb. 15-19, 2005
by Kaija Pepper

"Double Story" is just that -- two stories. The first is "The Bouncy Woman Piece" by Richard Siegal, an American; the second, "Man Asunder" by Vancouver's Crystal Pite. Both highly theatrical duets, performed by Siegal and Pite, feature dancing that is meticulously inscribed in space with long limbs and precise intention.
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A Quorum of Collaborators
Social Studies/Sciences Sociales
Montréal: Jan 26-29, Feb 2-5; Vancouver International Dance Festival: March 24-26
by Philip Szporer

The idea for Social Studies/Sciences Sociales surfaced when, back in 2001, Danse-Cité director Daniel Soulières danced with Ziyian Kwan in David Pressault's work, "Violet". He came away from that experience with a tenacious desire to unleash a platform for contemporary dancers from Vancouver teamed with choreographers from Montréal. Then he met another terrific, fluent Vancouver dance artist, Susan Elliott. Fellow Vancouverite John Ottmann became the third artist to join the East-meets-West project. (The trio also became known as a new collective, Quorum.)
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Poetic Craftsmanship
O Vertigo in Ginette Laurin's "Passare"
Toronto: February 15-19, 2005
by Kathleen M. Smith

Believe it or not, there are some perks to getting older. For most of us, achieving a semblance of peace of mind finally seems possible after the sometimes-inappropriate mania of youth has passed. For artists, continuous creation over a long period results in work that can't help having depth; the palette is at its broadest, the decision-making process is at its most refined. Confidence rather than cockiness prevails.
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"I was looking at the ceiling and THEN I SAW THE SKY"
Choreography by Nicole Mion, Performed by Lori Duncan and Natalie Poissant, Original Composition: Amir Amiri
Presented in conjunction with One Yellow Rabbit's High Performance Rodeo, January 28-30, 2005
by

Nicole Mion's latest work, "I was looking at the ceiling and THEN I SAW THE SKY", is at once a musing on flight, performance, fear and exhilaration. It is a production packed with elements as diverse as industrial fluorescent lighting strapped on the dancers' backs to spoken descriptions of the mechanics of flight. It is a multi-disciplinary smorgasbord, whose title comes from a survivor of 1994's Northridge, California, earthquake, which injured more than 9,000 and killed fifty-one.
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Liquid and Vapour
"INKCrossfade2AIR": a mixed program of works by Andrea Nann and Lydia Wagerer
Toronto: Dec. 9-11
by Lindsay Zier-Vogel

In a co-production by DanceWorks CoWorks Series and dance: made in Canada/fait au Canada (d:mic/fac), presenter Yvonne Ng brought together Toronto's Andrea Nann and Quebec City's Lydia Wagerer in an intimate evening of choreography, entitled "INKCrossfade2AIR", that explores both grace and intimacy in their extremities. In all three pieces, the audience witnesses the process of engaged transformation.
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Paper, Fire and a Dying Swan
"A Fabulous Disaster" by Denise Clarke
Vancouver: Firehall Arts Centre, Nov. 9-13, 2004
by Kaija Pepper

For most of "A Fabulous Disaster", Denise Clarke wears a white paper jumpsuit, with a white hood covering her head. Her costume puffs out around her, making her look bigger than she really is. Clarke's body language, too, is bigger, more expansive. Her movement has a power that is not just the result of heavy black work boots. There is also something about her upper body, the muscular way she swings her shoulders and lifts her arms. Her hand gestures are weighted and firm; her fingers punch and jab.
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between and beyond
invisible borders, a mixed program of works by Louise Bédard, Doug Varone and Michael Trent for Michael Trent/the empty collective
Toronto: November 4-6
by Sara Porter

"invisible borders", presented by the empty collective and Danceworks, ran November 4th through 6th at Toronto's Harbourfront Centre Theatre (formerly duMaurier Theatre Centre). The show was envisioned by dancer/choreographer Michael Trent as an exploration of a "multiplicity of viewpoints" and manifested as a mixed repertory program by choreographers with three contrasting aesthetics and from three different cities: Louise Bédard from Montréal, Doug Varone from New York, and Trent from Toronto - who was also the show's producer and featured performer. The theme of "multiplicity of viewpoints" was further enhanced by the theatre's seating arrangements, with two opposing sections of the audience facing each other across the performing space, giving two distinct perspectives on the dancing.
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Opposites Attract
"Fading Shadows / Returning Echoes", a program of duets for Yvonne Ng and Robert Glumbek by Glumbek, Dominique Dumais and Tedd Robinson
Toronto: Oct. 28-30
by Susan Kendal

The contrast between tall and small was explored in triplicate in 'Fading Shadows / Returning Echoes', a concert of duets for Yvonne Ng and Robert Glumbek, presented by Ng and her company Tiger Princess Dance Projects. With poignancy and precision, the program of three works featured the dancers' strengths and vulnerabilities, both personal and archetypal. Ng is, by all accounts, a tiny woman with flowing, waist-length hair, while Glumbek is solid and intense, and strikingly bald. Choreographers Glumbek, Dominique Dumais and Tedd Robinson all use the obvious physical extremes between Glumbek and Ng to different ends, from platonic and parental through manipulative and desolate to quirky and otherworldly.
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Four Years, Four Warriors
"Drona" by Devraj Patnaik for Chitralekha Odissi Dance Creations
Toronto: Sept. 30-Oct. 2
by Catalina Fellay

For Chitralekha Odissi Dance Creations, it is the second year of a four-year cycle recounting the ancient Hindu story of four warriors. This year's performance, "Drona", which recounts the story of the Rishi (Sage) Drona in two distinct acts, ran from September 30th to October 2nd at the Leah Posluns Theatre in North York.
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Apricot Trees Exist
"Apricot Trees Exist" by Roger Sinha
Montréal: Agora de la danse, Oct. 13-16, 20-23
by Philip Szporer

Roger Sinha's new work for six dancers, "Apricot Trees Exist", which opened at the Agora de la danse, is reflective, but nonetheless removed from the personal. Now more than ever, the Montréal-based choreographer seems concerned with breaking away from the labels that may have described his work in the past.
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Techno-Divinity?
"Grace" by Joe Laughlin and jamie griffiths
Vancouver: Scotiabank Dance Centre, Oct. 6-16, 2004
by Kaija Pepper

Grace, it would appear, is a rich state of being. According to the traditional hymn, "Amazing Grace", "'Twas grace that taught my heart to fear/And grace my fears relieved&." We say grace before a meal to show thankfulness. The ability to move gracefully is an important skill for a dancer.
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Edges of Life
"The Countess of Main Events" by Susie Burpee and "In Silence" by Lesandra Dodson
Toronto: September 30 - October 2
by Lindsay Zier-Vogel

In 2003, Toronto modern dance company Dancemakers moved to the Distillery Historic District and christened their new home the Dancemakers Centre for Creation. In addition to the company's regular season, Artistic Director Serge Bennathan presents a season of independent artists in the studio theatre and has recently launched a Residency Program for choreographers. In the first program of the 2004 Dancemakers Presents season, Toronto-based artists Susie Burpee and Lesandra Dodson premiered their respective new works "The Countess of Main Events" and "In Silence" from September 30th through October 2nd. Together these works created a physically powerful evening of dance that explored the intimate matters of love, loss and madness.
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Elastic Charisma
Victor Quijada's "Slicing Static" for Rubberbandance Group
Montréal: Usine C: Sept. 21-25
by Philip Szporer

Rubberbandance Group's "Slicing Static" explores dance and theatre, working thematically with the insecurity and the uncertainty of our lives. Choreographer Victor Quijada warms up the audience members as soon as they enter the big open theatre space of Usine C, a former jam factory in the city's east end that is home to the dance-theatre company Carbone 14. It has been totally re-configured for this show. Spectators linger on the dance floor, awaiting access to their seats. A voice on the amplifier announces, "Please listen to the following instructions," in French, English and Spanish. The announcement is made numerous times as the audience shuffles in.
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Multimedia Metamorphosis
Karen Kuzak's "Diving Girl"
Winnipeg: Gas Station Theatre: Sept. 23-25
by Garth A. Buchholz

What happens when you take 1950s-style, post-modern idealist icons of — bathing beauties and synchronized swimmers, then deconstruct them to create a sinewy, subversive dance that transforms the women into something more primal and mythical?
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DNA: Radical, Shmadical
"I Know and Feel That Fate is Harsh But I am So Loathe to Accept This"
Toronto: June 30-July 4
by Kathleen M. Smith

If the world of contemporary dance is a bit of a closed community, not always so welcoming to outsiders who come from other than the conventional channels, the world of classical ballet is more so -- a family compact. You'd better be bringing something pretty special as an offering to the patriarchs if you hope to sit down at the dinner table and be listened to.
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Running Wild
Running Wild, a program of works by The Holy Body Tattoo
Vancouver: May 13-22, 2004
by Debbie Blaire

"Running Wild" by choreographers Noam Gagnon and Dana Gingras was an evening of postmodern angst, featuring short dance performances created by Holy Body Tattoo artistic directors and dancers Dana Gingras and Noam Gagnon for themselves and dancers Day Helesic and Blair Neufeld. The Holy Body Tattoo is internationally known for their multi-media performance work, yet these performances were shorn of props. Music selections, basic white lighting and dry ice swirling discretely were the only physical additions to their exploration of fragility, surrender and broken elegance. This was an evening of dance.
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Patchwork but Persistent
Canada Dance Festival 2004
Ottawa: June 3-12
by

It's been a rough road for the Canada Dance Festival this year, first facing funding shortfalls, and subsequently narrowing the programming to fourteen performances, down from thirty-one two years ago. Organizers of the tenth edition, not willing to relinquish much else, splashed the slogan "Dare to turn up the heat" in riposte.
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Shoes, Pumpkins and a Paparazzo
"Cinderella" by James Kudelka for the National Ballet of Canada
Toronto: May 8-16
by Kathleen M. Smith

The story of Cinderella and her glass slipper is as old as the hills. Although versions of the story are a cultural phenomenon around the world, we in the West are most familiar with Charles Perrault's 1697 fairy tale, Cendrillon, ou la petite pantoufle de verre. That or Disney. Personally I grew up with "bippity boppity boo". And long before my son turned "gangsta", he too was mesmerized by the singing mice and pumpkins of the animated classic.
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TRIALOGUE: Tap Dancing Swans and Other Signs of Intelligent Life
Uncollected Work by Crystal Pite for Kidd Pivot
Vancouver: November 11-15, 2003
by Imogen Whyte and Mari Kelly with contributions from Crystal Pite

Crystal Pite's new show Uncollected Work, by Pite's recently formed modern dance company Kidd Pivot, is presented in two parts and bravely adopts the notion of the creative process as thematic material. Although many writers, visual artists and psychologists have attempted to expose the workings of the inner mind during creative process, we were intrigued to discover how Pite would approach such ideas with movement. What follows is an exploration of our respective understandings of the dance work through dialogue and the writing process.
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Satire and Celebration
Stream of Dance Biennale: Thomas Lehmen & Tania Alvarado
Regina, SK: April 23-24, 2004
by Gregory C. Beatty

Intended by New Dance Horizons as a companion event that will run every second year in place of its more expansive Stream of Dance Festival, this Biennale featured performances by two guest artists: Guatamalan-born, Edmonton-based Tania Alvarado ("Still"); and Thomas Lehmen ("mono subjects") whose touring company hails from Berlin. As originally commissioned, this review was to focus on "Still". But as I organized my thoughts in preparation for writing, I was struck by both the parallels and disjunctions between Alvarado and Lehmen's works.
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Thinking/Moving -- Moving/Thinking
"I Seem To Be A Verb" by Susan Elliott
Vancouver: April 27-May 1, 2004
by Kaija Pepper

There are a lot of ideas floating around in Susan Elliott's first full-length choreography, "I Seem To Be A Verb". Not all of them surface, and the choreography is probably many works in one. Almost managing to hold the hour together is an interesting subtext: the act of creation, as experienced by a choreographer still getting used to the job. Examining the artist's role is a legitimate concern, if a trifle inward-looking.
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Painter/Cartographer -- Dancer/Storyteller
"Portraits/Mapping" by Sarah Chase
Toronto: May 6-8
by Lindsay Zier-Vogel

Sarah Chase paints portraits without paint and creates maps with no arrow pointing north. Instead she replaces brushstrokes with spoken stories and degrees of latitude with movement - her own gestural vocabulary. In "Portraits/Mapping", Chase exposes the circularity of memory, the weight of small details and the significance of personal histories. She traces a dense map of three people -- Gust, Renate and Marc -- through candid stories and expansive, articulate gestures. This union of words and movement is disarmingly poignant, a language that speaks louder than words alone ever could.
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Deconstructing Hitchcock
"Blackmail" choreographed by Deborah Dunn / Trial & Eros
Montréal: April 15-17
by Philip Szporer

"Blackmail" is Deborah Dunn's first full-length choreography since "The Birds". Here, she isn't pirating, but rather is inspired to deconstruct another Alfred Hitchcock film. With his 1929 original film version of "Blackmail", Hitch -- not yet at the height of his powers -- set out to direct a more or less conventional thriller about a detective investigating a grisly murder/blackmail scheme. However, Dunn's talent flourishes when she doesn't play straight with the source material.
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