Reviews
The Inertia of a Heavy Heart
DA Hoskins By Emma Doran Jackie Burroughs is Dead (and what are you going to do about it?)Heavy-hearted, but not without curiosity, Hoskins’ choreography in this work is captive to gravity, and the dancers (purposefully) crumple under its inertia.
Posted April 19, 2016
Blinded by Sound, Playing at Life
Bill Coleman and Gordon Monahan’s Dollhouse By Victoria Mohr-Blakeney DollhouseAt first glance, the set of Dollhouse is its own cause for concern, a booby-trapped mess of wires, ladders, mousetraps and sound equipment. Coleman staggers through the chaos, knocking down tables and yanking wires, leaving a trail of destruction in his wake.
Posted April 14, 2016
La Démarquise
Louise Bédard Danse By Mark Mann La DémarquiseRite of Spring makes an appearance in Louise Bédard’s new work La Démarquise. It’s a small reference, delivered with a wink about a quarter of the way through the 110-minute performance – one of a handful of references to canonical works of art woven into this show.
Posted April 8, 2016
The Beauty of Life in Progress
Program 2 by Ballet BC By Pia Lo Program 2Ballet BC’s Program 2 featured two world premieres by choreographer Medhi Walerski. Both exemplified the poetic beauty of life in progress.
Posted April 5, 2016
Avec Pas d’Coeur
Maï(g)wenn et les Orteils question intellectual disability and sexual intimacy as a human right By Lucy Fandel Avec pas d'coeurOne of the greatest strengths of Maïgwenn Desbois’ new choreography with her company Maï(g)wenn et les Orteils is that it provokes a level of nuanced and lingering reflection from audiences about their own roles and assumptions.
Posted April 4, 2016
Finding Balance: Text, speech and audio, oh my!
By Kallee Lins Audio GuidesThis mixed program featured three choreographies, each one exploring the relationship between movement and language, and the interplay between the sonic and the visual.
Posted March 31, 2016
Sounding Off
Broken Sound2 by Brian Webb Dance Company By Jennifer Mesch Broken Sound squaredIn Broken Sound2 by sound and visual artist Gary James Joynes and dancer/choreographer Brian Webb, the entire audience is invited onto the proscenium stage. The audience sits on benches and cushions around the performers and become enclosed within the stage space and the projection panels as the curtain closes.
Posted March 16, 2016
Footsteps Across Canada
A Journey Across Canada's African Diaspora By Colleen Snell Footsteps Across CanadaWhile the choreographic work varied drastically from one piece to the next, universal themes of loss, tradition, internal struggle, displacement and the challenges posed by communication wove the dances together.
Posted March 14, 2016
Four Portraits of a Young Woman
Kathleen Hiley Solo Projects By Holly Harris Kathleen Hiley Solo ProjectsThe eclectic program featured three commissioned world premieres by Montréal soloist Margie Gillis, Winnipeg-based choreographers Peter Quanz and Hiley’s mother, Gaile Petursson-Hiley, as well as a signature work by acclaimed dance artist Stephanie Ballard.
Posted March 10, 2016
Exchanging Gaze
Liz Santoro and Pierre Godard at PuSh By Brittany Duggan Relative ColliderRelative Collider by New York- and Paris-based Liz Santoro and Pierre Godard of Paris begins quietly and doesn’t stray far from the casual and meticulous vibe it sets up. What this seemingly simple work lacked in dynamism, it gained in space to receive and absorb imagery and connections between the dancers, Godard and the open space.
Posted February 23, 2016
Major Motion Picture
Out Innerspace Dance Theatre By Robin J. MillerIt’s hard not to expect a lot from Vancouver’s Out Innerspace Dance Theatre. Their last piece, Me So You So Me, knocked the socks off critics and audiences alike across the country. Major Motion Picture does not feel as integrated or complete, but it has enough moments of breathtaking originality to make it a must-see.
Posted February 22, 2016
Telling Histories in Present Tense
Royal Winnipeg Ballet By Emma Doran Going Home Star - truth and reconciliationI attended the Royal Winnipeg Ballet’s latest commission, Going Home Star, with eagerness and a drop of apprehension. How do I “judge” or describe the representation of this history that is so integral to present lives, policies and dialogues? Who am I to do this?
Posted February 19, 2016
Van Grimde Corps Secrets
Symphonie 5.1 By Philip Szporer Symphonie 5.1Multimedia experimentation is the driving force behind Symphonie 5.1, a platform for applying video projections as a light source, working to reveal dancers’ bodies, or a sense of them, rather than showing other pre-recorded images alongside them.
Posted February 12, 2016
Rock Dance Returns
The Holy Body Tattoo and Godspeed You! Black Emperor at PuSh By Brittany Duggan monumentalmonumental by The Holy Body Tattoo was a major highlight at this year’s PuSh International Performing Arts Festival. It grapples with contemporary themes such as the anxiety of urban life – modern society’s persisting anxiety – and an increasing interaction and dependence with technology. And though not narrative, the social and political threads root the work, making it relevant and relatable.
Posted February 10, 2016
