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Crystal Pite/Kidd Pivot – Dark Matters

pedwar — Mon, 27 Apr 2009 01:09:55 +0000

OK, I’m officially a fan of this choreographer and dancer now!Dark Matters was the third show we’ve seen from Crystal Pite/Kidd Pivot, and I have to say that this style of contemporary dance really appeals to me. The dancers’ movements are always so clean and precise and purposeful. They are so full of energy that the dancers must feels as though they’ve run a marathon every night!

The show starts with a man who is clearly building a puppet. Time-lapse photography is replaced with a clever use of lighting, and before you know it, the puppet comes to life. It wants the man to love it. Dark figures like shadows manipulate the puppet’s movements, asit seems to emulate the man’s poses and positions just like a young boy would. It also makes a mess and gets underfoot just like a child would do. The man is clearly having none of it and resists the puppet at every turn. The puppet seems devastated, and in a fit of anger, stabs its creator to death, then dies itself from heartbreak – in the same pose as the man.

The shadows clean up, then wreak havoc on the set.

Intermission.

But wait. Did the story end? Yes… and no… One of the shadows reappears in the second act, along with the man and several other characters. This part of the piece seems to happen “backstage,” but there seems little else to connect the two acts. There are moments when all of the dancers performed together, and their movements feed one another in a cataclysm of motion. In other parts, the shadow character boxed in one dancer or the other, interacting in different ways.

The “story” here was not obvious, and completely open to interpretation. I’ll leave the interpretation to others. To me, Act 2 was just electric!

NAC, April 25, 2009

Grupo Corpo sizzles in Breu

pedwar — Sun, 22 Mar 2009 17:05:00 +0000

The second time seeing this Brazilian dance company, I was not disappointed.

seven or eight pieces for a Ballet and Breu were about as different as it is possible for a dance company to perform, yet the dancers brought these two pieces to life and danced them with grace, agility and sensuality.

seven starts with several couples on stage, moving sideways like automatons to a simple beat. All of a sudden, one of the couples bursts into movement, in perfect sync. On it goes for some 40 minutes, with dancers taking turns in pairs or several couples at a time, through several evolutions of the seemingly same but different piece – exciting, graceful and sinuous.

Breu has a very different feel. A set and costumes of black and white foretell the stark, angular, edgy result of this piece. Dancers fall to the ground quickly, then find their way to standing. Amazing athleticism, beautifully danced.

National Arts Centre, March 21, 2009

Performance and dance world, I’ve been remiss…!

pedwar — Sun, 22 Mar 2009 16:31:31 +0000

My last post was for Midsummer Night’s Dream by Les Ballets de Monte Carlo, a little over a year ago. To bring this site up to date, since then, we’ve been to the Cirque du Soleil’s Corteo,Estampas Portenas‘s Tango Fire, Ballet Trockadero de Monte Carlo (not to be confused with Les Ballet de Monte Carlo mentioned above), and the SYTYCD Top Ten Tour.Cirque du Soleil’s Corteo was another visual treat from a cast of superb talent, big and small, angelic and naughty. Hijinks, high wire, and humour. Circus, theatre, and gymnastics all rolled together under the Big Top.

From the site:

“Corteo, which means “cortege” in Italian, is a joyous procession, a festive parade imagined by a clown. The show brings together the passion of the actor with the grace and power of the acrobat to plunge the audience into a theatrical world of fun, comedy and spontaneity situated in a mysterious space between heaven and earth.

“The clown pictures his own funeral taking place in a carnival atmosphere, watched over by quietly caring angels. Juxtaposing the large with the small, the ridiculous with the tragic and the magic of perfection with the charm of imperfection, the show highlights the strength and fragility of the clown, as well as his wisdom and kindness, to illustrate the portion of humanity that is within each of us. The music, by turns lyrical and playful, carries Corteo through a timeless celebration in which illusion teases reality.”

Estampas Portenas’s Tango Fire is hot, hot, hot. It’s tango, tango and … more tango. Pieces build from the simple, most recognized moves to the most complicated and spectacular choreography, all excellently performed.

The Trocks are always a hoot and never, ever disappoint. While the memory of some of the supremely feminine Swan Lake repertoire being performed by men in tutus is enough to get me giggling again, I was amazed by their talent, as always. Who says men can’t dance en pointe!

Speaking of men dancing, they stole the show in SYTYCD (So You Think You Can Dance) Canada’s top ten tour, even though the experience overall was a bit of a letdown. No, not because of the dancing. The seat locations was the problem. Mental note: always buy good seats… IN FRONT of the stage… for dance performances, which are always oriented in one direction. Being in front of the speakers is also a good idea so you can hear what the announcers are saying!

As for the dancing though, these ten talented kids will each have a long career ahead of them. They re-presented all of the favourites from the fall 2008 competition, which showcased their strengths. Top of mind? Victor and Lisa’s unforgettable house, Natalie and Danny’s sizzling salsa, Arassay and Nico in a fallen angel contemporary number.

A Midsummer Night’s Dream: Les Ballets de Monte Carlo

pedwar — Fri, 29 Feb 2008 02:00:11 +0000

On a cold winter’s night in Ottawa, we witnessed a hot performance of this classic Shakespearean story by a dance troupe that, when I purchased the National Arts Centre tickets last year, I thought was the Ballets Trockadero de Monte Carlo. It’s a good thing I was mistaken, as that all-male company would not have been able to pull off the funny and flirty masterpiece by Jean-Christophe Maillot, Choreographer-Director of the Ballets de Monte-Carlo. Le Songe is a erotic fairy-tale comedy performed by a large company of strong and graceful dancers. The fairy king, Oberon, in a colourful costume that made his buttocks look bare, was fiery and imperious; his queen, Titania, lithe and beautiful in a white, almost transparent body-suit, was sensuous yet haughty. Their steamy, stormy relationship sparked more than one captivating and sensuous pas de deux. Oberon’s faithful, mischievous sprite Puck stole the show careening around the stage on a Segway, camouflaged as a flower with magic juice, placing enchantments on all the wrong people, with disastrous but hilarious results. Oberon demands that Puck remedy his errors, and in the end the hapless human he involved, as well as the sprite king and queen, are all correctly reunited.

Mamma loved Mamma Mia!

pedwar — Fri, 28 Dec 2007 16:46:33 +0000

I think Mom agrees that it was a worthwhile wait for this show. I had bought tickets for a dance performance earlier in the season (Diavolo) for Mom’s 80th birthday (June 22), but circumstances on the home front prevented us getting out before now. This show was a good substitute for her though, as Mom remembered many of the Abba songs, and she told me she thoroughly enjoyed the musical comedy story of an unlikely wedding set on a Greek island. Methinks Mom also savored a change from days that unfortunately likely all seem the same right now. She really seems to love these special times, just the two of us, as much as I do.

The dancing in Mamma Mia! was somewhat mediocre, but the cast sang well, and the audience was well entertained.

National Arts Centre Southam Hall, December 27, 2007

Beautiful Dance Photos Soon to Grace Our Walls

pedwar — Fri, 30 Nov 2007 02:29:18 +0000

Today, we purchased two pictures by Michael Slobodian (Montreal) at the first fundraiser of Tara Luz Danse (taraluzdance@hotmail.com), held at the Galerie d’art Jean-Claude-Bergeron on St-Patrick Street in Ottawa. The first picture shows Jacqueline Ethier (The Pilates Space, Ottawa), poised on the edge of a basin in the piece Lustrale, a favourite piece of mine from Ottawa choreographer Anik Bouvrette. The other picture shows dancers Michele Bastien, Lana Morton and Susie Burpee. Aside from the movement and beautiful esthetics of these picture, they appealed to me because I know and admire all of these women, and three of them — Burpee, Morton and Ethier — are former dance instructors of mine.

Crystal Pite and Kidd Pivot: Lost Action

pedwar — Sun, 11 Nov 2007 03:34:50 +0000

This show was every bit as captivating as the last performance (Double Story: Man Asunder and The Bouncy Woman Piece, NAC October 2004) we saw from artist, dancer and choreographer, Crystal Pite, and her dance company, Kidd Pivot. Four male and three female dancers created a series of cause and effect scenarios, rebounding off of one another in Lost Action. Several solo moments by various dancers were also mesmerizing, their intricate movements seemingly generated impromptu. The athleticism and physicality of this piece was breathtaking and gripping.

National Arts Centre Studio, November 10, 2007

Diavolo Dance Theater – worth every penny

pedwar — Sat, 13 Oct 2007 03:43:02 +0000

Ten dancers twirl, jump, run, bounce, and dance off, on, around and inside several fantastic sets – an oversize peg-board in D2R A, a giant boat in Trajectoire and a huge block made of up three pyramids in Foreign Bodies. This Diavolo show was one of the highest energy shows I’ve seen in a long time. Artistic Director Jacques Heim is known for his choreography of L.A.’s Cirque du Soleil, Ka, so it’s no wonder. Great entertainment!

National Arts Centre Theatre, October 11, 2007