Catalyst Conjures The Fifth Element
It’s not easy starting up a new dance company but after scouring the Toronto scene to find a fit for their diverse stylistic interests, dancers Janet Castillo and Natasha Powell, left, threw caution to the wind and formed Catalyst in 2009. “We want the company to be a catalyst,” says Powell. “The city needs it. We always felt like something was missing . . . we’re trying to fill a gap.”
Hip hop, house, ballet, contact improvisation and jazz – Castillo and Powell have no desire to choose between styles, they want to blend and merge forms and see what happens. Last year, they recruited three like-minded women – Tiffany Mak, Anna Bilotta and Sarah Cruickshank – and dove into creating The Fifth Element, debuting at the Six Degrees event centre (2335 Yonge Street) May 5. In fact, the ladies will be premiering “Fire” in Dundas Square on Sunday (May 2, approximately 1:30 pm) as part of the Dance Umbrella of Ontario’s celebration of International Dance Day.
Sonya and Layla Go . . . Dancing?
Sonya and Layla Go Camping is a hybrid dance and video work by New York-based performance duo robbinschilds (Sonya Robbins and Layla Childs). The piece forges new territory at its Canadian premiere as part of the Images Festival’s ongoing explorations of how media art and performance collide. Festival programmer Jacob Korczynski writes about this innovative duo and their work.
In many ways, the performance of Sonya and Layla Go Camping is emblematic of the 23rd edition of the Images Festival. The festival extends the forms of choreography beyond the stage into questions about the organization of the body within social space: it’s a query that cuts across various projects throughout the city.
Although robbinschilds’ collaborative practice continues to be firmly rooted in the history of choreography, the pair often works outside of the traditional parameters of that discipline, engaging in site-specific and installation-based performances, which contain elements of sculpture, music and video. Thus, the inherently interdisciplinary position occupied by the practice of robbinschilds within the theatre, gallery and “site” is echoed by the Images Festival and its platform of performances, exhibitions and screenings.
Dancers Experiment With Unison in relay
Making its world premier Wednesday as part of Harbourfront’s World Stage program, relay is a collaborative choreographic experiment for eight performers and two musicians. The work investigates the role of the dancer by dragging the memories of their past performance experiences into the future. relay’s dramaturge, Jacob Zimmer (Artistic Director of Small Wooden Shoe), left with choreographer Ame Henderson, writes about how this unique project came together and comments on how this new work challenges notions of how artists work together on stage individually and collectively. The show re-imagines unison as a mode of being together; is it possible to move together without abandoning individuality? Public Recordings Artistic Director Ame Henderson wants to confront the taboo and pleasure of both watching and making movement in unison, activating unison as an extreme gesture of togetherness to allow for the emergence of sensational difference, connection and participation.
Almost two years ago Ame Henderson brought together a group of artists: Toronto’s Barbara Pallomina, Brendan Jensen, Mairéad Filgate, and Eric Chenaux were joined by Montreal’s Claudia Fancello, Marie Claire Forté, Katie Ewald, Chad Dembski and Eric Craven and Croatia’s Matija Ferlin to make up the musicians and dancers who would create and perform a new work, relay. Designers Trevor Schwellnus and Cathia Pagotto joined in the fun.
On and off, in Toronto and Montreal and a little in Amsterdam, this group – remarkable in their histories as well as geography – worked together on how to ‘be together’ and what we remember as we live in the present on our way into the future.
Pteros Tactics: Eros is a Verb
Artistic Director Christopher House can’t wait to get to rehearsal of his new Toronto Dance Theatre piece, Pteros Tactics. “This process of exploration is so necessary,” says House. “There isn’t a typical day at this point in the process!”
He clears his head of worries about tomorrow night’s opening, about grants or box office and focuses on the real time rehearsal. “Everything else goes out of focus when you’re dealing with the business at hand of working on the group. As a choreographer, you respond to what the performers do. You’re challenging each other, and the audience will help in crafting this, by the end of the five performances.”
The starting point for Pteros Tactics is an essay by Canadian poet Anne Carson, Eros the Bittersweet. House explains, “The piece is about desire—the instant of desire rather than the history of a personal love affair.” Carson writes about how desire moves between the lover and the beloved, like a ball being thrown from one person to another: “Desire moves. Eros is a verb.” READ MORE
Bookmarks: National Ballet’s Backstage Pass
The websites of Toronto’s major arts organizations have come a long, long way and the National Ballet of Canada is no exception. With performance videos, ballet notes, interviews and behind-the-scenes rehearsal footage, the site is a multimedia feast for ballet fans. I’m especially impressed with the National’s blog, Backstage Pass, which provides lots of insider dish, even photos of newly arrived ballerina babies. If you’re a season subscriber, this site should definitely be in your list of web “favorites”.
Remember those adorable little lambs I featured in my Nutcracker post back in December? Backstage Pass reveals that one of the girls is Ava, daughter of principal ballerina Xiao Nan Yu, below left, and another is Michaela, little sister of Elizabeth Marrable, who danced the role of the Snow Maiden.
Yesterday, the National Ballet announced its lineup for the 2010/11 season; it’s a mostly modern affair featuring the company’s first co-pro with Britain’s Royal Ballet of choreographer Christopher Wheeldon’s Alice’s Adventures in Wonderland (composed by Joby Talbot). Rock band the White Stripes have written the music for another contemporary piece, Chroma from British choreographer Wayne McGregor, part of a mixed program with George Balanchine’s Serenade and Canadian choreographer Crystal Pite’s Emergence. The winter season features a program of Russian Seasons by Moscow choreographer Alexei Ratmansky paired with Balanchine’s Theme and Variations and Apollo. Other 20th century offerings include Twyla Tharp’s In The Upper Room, along with Maurice Béjart’s Song of the Wayfarer and Balanchine’s Mozartiana. James Kudelka’s Cinderella returns as does Don Quixote and of course, The Nutcracker, which reached the $3 million sales plateau for the first time in 2009/10.
Photos: Top pic by Cylla von Tiedemann; Xiao Nan Yu and Ava by Catherine Chang; Elizabeth Marrable and Michaela by Wendy Liebner.
