Back Issue

As dancers, we work within an art form that has only three requirements: a body, time and space. It is impossible for us to move, to dance or to create without a space in which to do it. From our living rooms, to gymnasiums, to dance studios, to theatres, the environments in which we move go a long way in determining how we practice. But if you can’t even get into the room, then you can’t be a part of the work. Naomi Brand explores how the spaces we use inadvertently limit who can and cannot participate in the art form and consequently whose artistic voices get heard. Access is an issue that will impact every body at some point in their lives - and will go a long way to determine possibilities for new innovations and contributions to the field of dance. If we want to work in an art form that values and promotes diversity, then we need to consider who can access the spaces where dance communities form. 

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As an artistic medium that uses the human body as its primary tool of creation, dance has the potential to disrupt dominant gender stereotypes. Dancers’ bodies are formed and transformed through intense daily training, and can challenge our thinking about what bodies are capable of (and what those bodies are permitted to do). Yet, at the same time, dance may also re-enforce gender stereotypes by employing movement, costumes or choreographic formats that continue to frame men and women not only in relation to each other, but also as polar opposites. Helen Simard met with four Montréal-based contemporary dance artists, Sasha Kleinplatz, Dana Michel, George Stamos and Sarah Williams to discuss how questions around gender factor into their work, and how they think that current dance practices in Canada might be challenging (or cementing) our ideas surrounding gender identity and expression. 

Click here for the full text: thedancecurrent.com/feature/moving-beyond-pas-de-deux

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Perhaps it is the lightness and joy of the spring, perhaps it was a desire to find some positivity in the world, but collating this issue, I was particularly taken with the idea of beauty. The idea of physical beauty in dance has, of course, had a long and tortured relationship. The tension between displays of bodies and the purposes of those displays has meant that certain bodies tend to be seen as acceptable and consequently more beautiful. Many of the pieces in this issue look to highlight the problematic connections between beauty and dance and offer alternatives. 

Beauty can be a concept that represents not just the outer physical bodies we inhabit but also our inner person. Beauty then becomes linked to ideas of kindess and compassion, a gentleness of soul. That said, the answer is certainly not to ignore our physical trappings but to widen our understandings of beauty and to find where it lies in all its forms: in the effort and commitment of dancers in the integrated dance companies to find a space in which to express themselves through dance, in the passion and politics of Sarah Laronde of Red Sky Performance and in the desire of Montréal-based artists, in conversation about gender in contemporary dance, for a more inclusive world. Finally, it is beautiful that we have the privilege to live in a place where the imaginative work of the costume designers featured in the photo essay can be created, nurtured and brought to life. 

Surrouded by sprouting plants and the buzzing whir of insects, as you open the windows of your studio to let in the warm spring air, may all the beauty around us be celebrated. 

dc.editor@thedancecurrent.com | Follow me on Twitter at @TDC_editor

Gurpreet Sian is the co-founder of Vancouver-based South Asian Arts (SAA), a studio and company that primarily teaches Bhangra dance and dhol drumming. In addition to their competitive studio and performances around Vancouver, SAA has been developing its educational programs, with accredited courses now in high school and university programs, and growing into its role as a presenter of multidisciplinary South Asian artistic productions. Like the dance form he performs and promotes, Sian is irrepressibly full of joy, energy and good humour.

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Emerging professional and self-proclaimed “jumping bean,” Shakeil Rollock is spreading his infectious energy throughout the Toronto dance community. A recent graduate of the School of Toronto Dance Theatre, Rollock only found his way into dance at age seventeen, when a friend told him to audition for the high school boy’s hip hop team instead of wasting forty-five minutes waiting for the bus to arrive. Rollock trained mostly in urban styles before finding contemporary, modern and ballet, and his career reflects his love for an eclectic range of dance genres. He is a current company member with both Newton Moraes Dance Theatre and KasheDance and continues to tour extensively within and beyond Canadian borders.

http://www.thedancecurrent.com/column/jump-start-q-shakeil-rollock

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Ask a professional dancer which qualities are important to success in dance, and passion, hard work and determination likely fall high on the list. To be a successful dancer, one must be passionate enough to work tirelessly while still making each performance appear effortless. The same may be said of entrepreneurs – the success of their business relies on their determination and passion. For two dancers, Tina Pereira and Krista Dowson, their love of ballet has become a love of dancewear design, but moving from established ballerinas to emerging entrepreneurs means they face a new set of obstacles.

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For the Canada Dance Festival 2016, iconic choreographer Robert Desrosiers has been charged with the immense task of creating and orchestrating a piece for fifty young dancers from four different training programs. 50 Dancer Project: Timeframe gives each of the participating schools the music of a past historical moment. “Music is another way to give us information about a different century,” says Desrosiers. “My main focus is to connect to those centuries and to take the audience on an emotional journey through the centuries, capturing the emotional content in a choreographic frame.”

The Dance Current caught up with him as he was poised to begin work with the School of Toronto Dance Theatre on the 50 Dancer Project and asked him about his musical inspirations for the work and about working with student dancers.

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Social media has made available endless pictures of hypermobile dancers in contortionist-like positions, proudly using hashtags such as #bendy and #oversplit to announce their flexibility. These images, however, can provide dangerous misinformation about how to improve mobility. It may seem counterintuitive, but focusing on strengthening the muscles involved in the movement will lead to increased flexibility and mobility. It is the deep hip flexors that power the height of kicks; the muscles for foot articulation and knee extension improve jump height; and the spinal muscles control the degree of back extension. Without understanding the different stretching styles or developing muscular strength and length, injury and chronic joint instability are inevitable.

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This delicious sandwich, enough to feed a group, is the perfect picnic fare for outdoor summer events like Guelph Dance’s In the Park performances at Exhibition Park, Guelph. 

http://www.thedancecurrent.com/column/pauls-grilled-vegetable-focaccia-s…

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For nine years Catherine Hayward has been a member of Calgary’s Decidedly Jazz Danceworks (DJD). She teaches and mentors teen dancers as part of their school programming and is a part of Alberta Dance Theatre, where she has worked with young dancers for five seasons. Through her teaching and her membership in the Dancers’ Studio West Dance Action Group, she is focused on community development. Hayward fell in love with dance as a child in Winnipeg, trained as a dancer in Toronto and found a career in Calgary. Many dance communities contributed to make Hayward the performer she is today, and she is giving back as a teacher and mentor to young jazz dancers.

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As a dancer with Les Ballets Jazz de Montréal, Kiera Hill is always on the road. The company performs multiple times per week, often in different cities. The contents of her dancebag reflect the touring lifestyle of this internationally focused company. 

http://www.thedancecurrent.com/column/kiera-hill

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In May 2009, Kathleen M. Smith profiled Chan Hon Goh as the dancer prepared to retire from The National Ballet of Canada. Seven years later, Emma Kerson spoke with Goh about how, in the intervening time, she has changed her focus from within to without, as she teaches and mentors a new generation of dancers.  

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The pleasure of a workshop is the chance to completely immerse oneself in a process – the euphoric feeling of­­ having been changed through dance. TransFormation is a contemporary dance intensive in Montréal that is hosting its tenth edition this spring. The Dance Current asked Artistic Director Lisa Davies to reflect on the moment captured at last year’s final presentation between herself and Andrej Petrovic, rehearsal director for the Akram Khan Company.

“It was an intense moment. The final transformation of TransFormation was about to happen. The febrility of the dancers was palpable and we could sense the anticipation on the other side of the doors, as the audience waited to come in. Typically the final presentation is an intimate affair with forty or so artists and partners coming together to share the results of the creation laboratories. That day there were at least a hundred people. It was cathartic and intense, yet serene and calm.” 

Learn more >> transformationdanse.com

Presented by Danse à la Carte, TransFormation runs May 30th through June 17th in Montréal.

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