Reviews
The Shape-Shifting Serpent
Aanmitaagzi draws from an historic Anishinaabe story to narrate contemporary issues By Molly Johnson Serpent People Presented by Coleman, Lemieux & CompagnieSerpent People, takes its inspiration from an historic Anishinaabe story, The Black Sturgeon of Nipissing. While this story is an Anishinaabe one, the performers are artists from a range of communities, nations, clans and ancestries. The ensemble is appealingly egalitarian, a cast of varying ages, identities and skill sets who together create an image of real community – people working together across differences. The mythology of the serpent as shape-shifter and realm-crosser that Serpent People draws on is apparent in these artists, who shift from scene to scene adapting to fulfill roles foreign and familiar.
Posted June 30, 2017
Impressions from Montréal’s Festival TransAmériques - Part II
Three works from Mette Ingvartsen, Jocelyne Montpetit and Rachid Ouramdane By Mark MannMini-reviews of works in Montréal’s Festival TranAmériques (FTA) - Ingvartsen’s 7 Pleasures, Montpetit’s Runaway Girl and Ouramdane’s Tordre. Part two of two of The Dance Current’s FTA 2017 coverage.
Posted June 19, 2017
Impressions from Montréal's Festival TransAmériques - Part I
Three works from Frédérick Gravel, Manuel Roque and Eszter Salamon By Philip SzporerMini-reviews of works in Montréal’s Festival TranAmériques (FTA) - Gravel’s Some Hope for the Bastards, Roque’s bang bang and Salamon’s Monument 0: Haunted by the War (1913-2013). Part one of two of The Dance Current’s FTA 2017 coverage.
Posted June 13, 2017
Dancers in Denim
Mile Zero Dance explores Edmonton’s historic Great Western Garment Company By Fawnda Mithrush Anything Goes: GWG Dance in 17 PartsPart sound installation, part multidisciplinary performance, part massive pile of denim, Edmonton’s Mile Zero Dance presents a work inspired by the Great Western Garment Company, which, after many decades of storied success, finally shut its doors in 2004.
Posted June 2, 2017
All About Giselle
Giselle by Coastal City Ballet By Brittany DugganFirst staged in 1841, Giselle is often thought of as a straightforward story ballet. Vancouver-based Coastal City Ballet, a repertory company founded in 2011, stuck closely to the very specific and illustrative music by French composer Adolphe Adam, and choreographer Irene Schneider does an impressive job of working with the score to create scenes that challenge the various levels of dance ability within the company.
Posted May 30, 2017
Through the Microscope
Lesley Telford's Spooky Action at a Distance By Naomi Brand Spooky Action at a DistanceIn Lesley Telford’s latest creation, Spooky Action at a Distance, she draws from subject matter that is well served by the complex spatial patterns and temporal relationships of a group of young, moving bodies. The piece is an interdisciplinary collaboration with poet Barbara Adler.
Posted May 16, 2017
Diverse Expertise
Vancouver International Dance Festival By Andrea Rabinovitch Vancouver International Dance Festival 2017Vancouver International Dance Festival (VIDF) aims to grow appreciation for culturally diverse dance. In this review - works by Margaret Grenier, Karen Jamieson and Molly McDermott, as well as international company Dairakudakan.
Posted May 5, 2017
The Cathartic Future
Room 2048 by Hong Kong Exile By Charlotte Priest Hong Kong Exile Room 2048Room 2048 by Vancouver’s Hong Kong Exile fuses dance and theatre to create a disorienting future world.
Posted May 2, 2017
Sign and Sound
Cas Public presents 9 By Mark Mann 9Cas Public traverses worlds of sound through sign in 9.
Posted May 1, 2017
An Enduring Presence
By Philip Szporer The Song of the Sirens Sylvain ÉmardSylvain Émard returns to the stage after a fifteen-year absence with a new work that highlights his continued mastery of a soft and vulnerable onstage presence.
Posted April 21, 2017
Slippery Identities
By Helen Simard Make Banana CryIn their new work, Make Banana Cry, Andrew Tay and Stephen Thompson tease and out the tensions between identities and stereotypes in the layers and performance of Asian-ness in western society.
Posted April 19, 2017
Toppling Taboos by Taking On Sacred Cows
Holy Cow(s)! by Hari Krishnan By Aparita Bhandari Holy Cow(s)!Hari Krishnan has always challenged simplistic notions of tradition. His latest work, Holy Cow(s)!, attempts to break up what Krishnan calls “false binaries”, informed by news headlines around the election of Donald Trump and stereotypes that Krishnan has had to deal with all his life.
Posted April 7, 2017
Delving into Familial Pasts
Jacinto by Carmen Romero By Kathleen Smith Jacinto Carmen Romero, produced by Compañia Carmen RomeroFlamenco artist Carmen Romero captures the memory and mystery surrounding her father’s sudden death in Jacinto. Dripping with sadness while exploring movement that is capable of vast expression and infinite consolation, Jacinto situates Romero as part of an experimental new wave that is sweeping flamenco internationally.
Posted April 5, 2017
Dancing Through Migraines and Other Pains
Infinite Storms by Nova Dance By Aparita Bhandari Infinite StormsThese are times in which we need to bear witness. The impetus for Nova Bhattacharya’s latest work, Infinite Storms, came from her experience living with migraines yet speaks to a greater, universal suffering. How do we persevere through pain?
Posted February 28, 2017
