Reviews
The Fleeting Ecstasy of Youth
By Kaija Pepper Risque (Risk) Paul-André FortierOh, the energy! The six young dancers in Paul-André Fortier’s “Risque (Risk)” have energy to burn. They dance as if the fiery, impassioned experience is the only one worth having. The rest is all ashes, or waiting.
Posted December 6, 2003
TRIALOGUE: Tap Dancing Swans and Other Signs of Intelligent Life
By Imogen Whyte , Mary Theresa Kelly Uncollected Work Crystal Pite, Kidd PivotCrystal 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.
Posted November 29, 2003
A Middle Eastern Take on "Le Sacre"
By Philip Szporer L'Oeil et la nuit Motaz KabbaniMotaz Kabbani is still making a name for himself on the Canadian dance scene, and now he has done something somewhat daring and unusual that should garner attention.
Posted November 14, 2003
Motion in Motion
By Philip Szporer Moving Pictures Festival of Dance on Film and Video Moving Pictures FestivalThe 12th annual edition of the Moving Pictures Festival of Dance on Film and Video, curated by Kathleen M. Smith and Marc Glassman, opened in grand style, with a ballet-based evening of screen dance.
Posted November 9, 2003
LOVE ME: Cinderella, Astroturf, red sequins and dancing men
By Marie Claire Forté Celle qui, dit-on, aurait perdu sa chaussure (Cendrillon) Les Grands Ballets Canadiens de Montréal, Stijn CelisHow much can you renew a traditional fairy tale? Les Grands Ballets Canadiens de Montréal and Belgian choreographer Stijn Celis answer with “Celle qui, dit-on, aurait perdu sa chaussure (Cendrillon)”.
Posted November 6, 2003
A Wealth of Influences
By Kaija Pepper Tao (The Way) Wen Wei DanceIt’s the individual movement that stays with you: bodies, male and female, unfurling legs and arms, flattening their torsos forward, winding and reaching like exotic plants trying to face the sun or growing in all directions in fast motion right before your eyes.
Posted November 1, 2003Alchemy of a Dance Festival: FIND-Lab Part 2
By Kathleen Smith Festival international de nouvelle danse Festival international de nouvelle danseThe second part of this year’s edition of FIND was characterized by unusually fine weather outdoors, uneven programming indoors and an absolute obsession with technology everywhere you looked. Could these three elements possibly be related?
Posted October 28, 2003
Searching for Dance: FIND-Lab Part 1
By Philip Szporer Festival international de nouvelle danse Festival international de nouvelle danseFrom high culture venues to warehouse-styled art spaces on Montréal’s tenderloin, Festival international de nouvelle danse (also known as FIND-Lab) audiences had the opportunity to witness in real-time Gertrude Steins adage that “great art is irritation”.
Posted October 26, 2003
Faces of Memory
By Philip Szporer Cinq voix, cinq visages Jane MappinIn “Cinq voix, cinq visages”, choreographer Jane Mappin conjures up a whole community of dancers, singers, storytellers and a mixed-generation cast, in a ninety-minute medley of stage performance along with video interviews and moving images. Mappin says she’s fascinated by the idea of memory.
Posted October 18, 2003
Questions of Contrast
Asht Nayika: Eight Different Heroines Usha GuptaUsha Gupta’s “Asht Nayika” was the first performance in the 25th anniversary season presented by the Brian Webb Dance Company in Edmonton. This fusion exploration brought together kathak dance, Usha Gupta’s South Asian form, as well as flamenco and modern dance to explore the central theme translated as “Eight different states of women.”
Posted October 12, 2003
Dance from the Heart
By Kathleen Smith (a)round 2 Heidi Strauss, Darryl Tracey, Four Chambers Dance ProjectsWhen words fail, dance can still tell an eloquent story. But how satisfying it is when words and movement are mixed in just the right proportions (for me, three parts dance to one part language) to present complicated ideas about personal history, emotional truth and the sad/funny foibles of the human condition.
Posted September 27, 2003Parks Full of Dance
By Lindsay Zier-Vogel Dusk Dances Dusk DancesNeither the dark sky, nor the wet grass deterred the formidable crowd from coming out on the evening of July 11th, to enjoy the first park on Corpus two-park Dusk Dances festival. This year marks producers David Danzon and Sylvie Bouchards ninth event. Since its inception, Dusk Dances has become a summer-time institution
Posted August 1, 2003Humour, Words and Some All-Out Dance
By Kaija Pepper Dancing on the Edge Festival 2003 Dancing on the Edge FestivalThe fifteenth annual Dancing on the Edge, presented by the Firehall Arts Centre in Vancouver from July 3rd through 13th, was a remarkably mature edition.
Posted July 27, 2003Dance and Biology
By Kathleen Smith Shared Habitat Festival of Art and Science 2 Shared Habitat Festival of Art and ScienceIts always cause for celebration when artists look beyond their own navels for inspiration.
Posted July 1, 2003
