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Volume 16, Issue 5
September/October 2013

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Features

New Day Rising

Brendan Fernandes Returns to Dance

By Ben Portis

On the heels of a spectacular career in the visual arts, Brendan Fernandes returns to dance with a vengeance.

Brendan Fernandes has re-emerged on the Canadian dance scene as an unanticipated, almost unlikely contributor, bringing tremendous energy, vision, intelligence and originality to his choreographies. “Unlikely” because Fernandes has forged a spectacular career in Canadian visual art over the past five years, with solo exhibitions in Canada and New York (including at several public galleries), a profuse list of group exhibitions (including at the National Gallery of Canada, Solomon R. Guggenheim Museum, Massachusetts Museum of Contemporary Art and ZKM Museum of Contemporary Art, Karlsruhe, Germany), with his work placed in prestigious public collections (including the National Gallery of Canada), and twice nominated for the Sobey Art Award (making the shortlist in 2010). The polymath artist is currently preparing his most ambitious dance piece to date. Night Shift, commissioned for Toronto Nuit Blanche 2013, has been conceived for the full dusk-to-dawn duration of the event. It is modeled after the thirteen-hour 1653 French court ballet that culminated in the coronation of Louis XIV as the Sun King.

Brendan Fernandes réémerge dans le milieu de la danse canadienne à titre d’intervenant presque inattendu ; ses chorégraphies font preuve de beaucoup d’énergie, de vision, d’intelligence et d’originalité. « Inattendu » puisque depuis les cinq dernières années, Fernandes développe une carrière spectaculaire en arts visuels, avec des expositions solos au Canada et à New York (y compris dans plusieurs musées), une liste étoffée d’expositions de groupe (notamment au Musée des beaux-arts du Canada [MBAC], au Solomon R. Guggenhiem Museum, au Massachusetts Museum of Contemporary Art et au ZKM Museum of Contemporary Art à Karlsruhe, Allemagne). Son travail figure dans de prestigieuses collections publiques (dont celle du MBAC), et est retenu à deux reprises pour le Sobey Art Award (il est sur la liste courte en 2010). L’artiste polymathe prépare actuellement sa chorégraphie la plus ambitieuse jusque-là. Night Shift, une commande de la Nuit Blanche 2013 à Toronto, est conçue pour la durée entière de l’événement, du couchant au lever du soleil. La pièce s’inspire de la structure du ballet de treize heures de la cour française de 1653 qui culmine avec le couronnement du Roi-Soleil, Louise XIV.

The Escape Artist

Images of Claudia Moore

On the occasion of a milestone birthday, dancer/choreographer Claudia Moore presents The Escape Artist, her evening-length solo riff on escaping into dance and performance, a life-long strategy.

In Sync

The art of dance and the music video

By Lys Stevens

Writer Lys Stevens indulges her fascination with pop videos and discovers that, although the contributions of choreographers are not always acknowledged in this media for the masses, dance has been energizing the form right from the beginning.

Dance and the art of the music video are inextricably linked. Is it even possible to think of pop songs such as Michael Jackson’s Thriller, Soulja Boy’s Crank Dat or notorious Beyoncé’s Countdown and not be instantly reminded of their associated choreographies? As the divide between popular and high culture progressively collapses, writer and researcher Lys Stevens feels compelled to ask questions on this intersection as it applies to the world of dance. What are the experiences of Canadian dance artists working in the medium? How does one medium or context influence the other? Can music videos provide a valid medium for choreographic expression? She looked at a LOT of video clips and spoke with a handful of Montréal-based choreographers who have worked on music videos – including Dana Michel, Helen Simard, Frédéric Gravel, Victor Quijada and Dana Gingras – for insight.

La danse et l’art du vidéoclip sont intrinsèquement liés. Est-ce possible de penser à des chansons populaires comme Thriller de Michael Jackson, Crank Dat de Soulja Boy ou Countdown de Beyoncé sans penser instantanément aux chorégraphies associées ? Alors que la division entre culture savante et populaire s’effondre progressivement, la rédactrice et chercheuse Lys Stevens se trouve poussée à étudier cette intersection appliquée au monde de la danse. Quelles sont les expériences d’artistes de danse canadiens oeuvrant dans le domaine ? Comment un médium ou contexte influence-t-il l’autre ? Le vidéoclip offre-t-il une vitrine légitime pour l’expression chorégraphique ? Elle regarde beaucoup de vidéoclips et discute avec une poignée de chorégraphes montréalais qui ont travaillé sur des vidéoclips, y compris Dana Michel, Helen Simard, Frédéric Gravel, Victor Quijada et Dana Gingras.

Projections

Music Video in the Temple of Art

By Kathleen Smith

Hot Picks 2013

By Lys Stevens

Stevens asked artists she interviewed (and a few others) to tell her about their favourite music videos and also the clips most influential for their dance content.

State of the Art(ist):

Partnerships in Action – Part Three

By Shannon Litzenberger

Policy researcher and writer Shannon Litzenberger looks at some innovative ideas for meaningful change in the frameworks and funding for culture. In the final part of her three-part series, Litzenberger describes experiments with new models of support for her own work.

“My interest in finding new ways for individual artists to build capacity and support for their work is not entirely unselfish. Like many of my contemporaries, I belong to a generation of artists who are developing in an era where government support for the arts is both dwindling and in greater demand. Consequently, we have become more entrepreneurial, collaborative and resourceful, focussing energy on creating and sharing our work, rather than on building and growing administrative structures. In this final installment of the three-part series State of the Art(ist), Litzenberger highlights two of her own initiatives that have aimed to connect business with dance, to both raise funds and attract new audiences. These compelling examples contain insights into how independent artists might grow their capacity through a more thoughtful and strategic approach to partnering with business.

« Je ne suis pas entièrement désintéressée dans ma recherche sur de nouvelles façons pour les artistes indépendants d’augmenter leur capacité et de trouver plus de soutien pour leur travail. Comme plusieurs de mes collègues, j’appartiens à une génération d’artistes qui chemine à une époque où le soutien public pour les arts s’effrite tout en faisant l’objet d’une demande croissante. Ainsi, nous sommes devenus plus entrepreneurs, collaborateurs et débrouillards. Nous nous concentrons sur la création et le partage de notre travail plutôt que la mise sur pied d’une structure administrative. » Dans ce dernier volet dans la série en trois parties sur l’état de l’artiste, Litzenberger met en lumière deux de ses propres initiatives qui visaient à faire le pont entre les mondes des affaires et de la danse afin de lever des fonds et d’attirer de nouveaux publics. Ces exemples pertinents proposent des astuces pour les artistes indépendants sur le développement de leurs capacités par l’entremise de partenariats avec le monde des affaires dans une logique réfléchie et stratégique.

Freya Olafson

In Conversation with Praba Pilar

By Kate Stashko

Freya Olafson and Praba Pilar share an interest in the integration of interactive technology with interdisciplinary platforms. Yet for both Winnipeg artists the medium is less important than the message. In a chat facilitated by Kate Stashko, they talk about deskilling, performing live and the challenges and possibilities of working with and without glitches.

Freya Olafson and Praba Pilar are Winnipeg-based artists who share an interest in the integration of interactive technology with interdisciplinary platforms. Yet for both of them the medium is less important than the conveying of an idea. Olafson has an extensive background in ballet and contemporary dance, while Pilar brings a wealth of knowledge in visual art and technology to her practice. Both Olafson and Pilar have skills in a variety of forms – from movement and live performance to media technology and sound design – and they employ these skills in whatever way necessary to meet the demands of the work. Here, facilitated by writer Kate Stashko, they chat about deskilling, live performance and the challenges and possibilities of working with and without glitches.

Les artistes winnipeguoises Freya Olafson et Praba Pilar partagent un intérêt pour la technologie interactive dans des formes interdisciplinaires. Elles soulignent toutes deux que la transmission d’une idée importe beaucoup plus que le médium de transmission. Olafson a un long parcours en ballet et en danse contemporaine, et la pratique de Pilar est nourrie par son expérience exhaustive en art visuel et en technologie. Les artistes ont des connaissances dans une variété de formes – du mouvement au spectacle, à la technologie et à la conception sonore – et emploient leurs outils pour répondre aux besoins de leurs créations. Dans un échange animé par la rédactrice Kate Stashko, Olafson et Pilar parlent de déspécialisation, de performance et des défis et des possibilités du travail avec et sans « glitchs ».

Departments

Editorial

By Kathleen Smith

Cross Discipline Double Cross

Making Waves

By Rebecca Galloway

Alida Nyquist-Schultz

Inspired!

By Holly Harris

Lila York

Emerging Views

TOES for Dance

By Brittany Duggan

David Norsworthy and Kristen Carcone

Studio Now

By George Stamos

Studio Danse Nyata Nyata

What's in your dancebag?

Dancer/teacher/administrator Karla Etienne

Healthy Dancer: Training & Conditioning

By Dr. Blessyl Buan

Dancing healthy on set

Healthy Dancer: Nutrition

By Dr. Millie Lytle

The Pros and Cons of Milk

Healthy Recipe

Vegan Coconut Banana Ice “Cream”

The Goods

Gorilla Grip

Confluences – Cross Disciplines

By Jacob Wren

Unnerving Curiosity

Check it Out

Canadian Theatre Review Dance and Movement Dramaturgy

Artifact of the Month

The Flea Market Collection

By Amy Bowring

Courtesy of Dance Collection Danse

Short Waves

By Naomi Brand, Cindy Brett, Philip Szporer, Lucy Fandel

Alberta update; New home for Dance Collection Danse; Canadian talent at LAX

Everyday Moves

By MJ Thompson

What I Did Last Summer

Decolonizing Dance Stages

This year in Canada, the conversation about diversity, inclusion and representation has been omnipresent. I’m profoundly happy that more presenters, curators and jurors have brought these words into their vocabulary. But I question what they’re really referring to. Do we all really feel and understand the urgency? More precisely, when asking, “What does the word diversity really mean?” the answers from the dance milieu are often incomplete, reflecting a lack of comprehension of the issues at stake.

Video

Interrarium: Creative Residency

Running January 17th through 30th, the 2010 Interrarium creative residency is welcoming a new batch of multidisciplinary artists to The Banff Centre for the Arts.

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