Explosions Week 1
By Matthew Popoff
The following is one audience member’s response to the first weekend of choreography in the 27th Annual Alberta Dance Explosions Festival. On the whole, I was remarkably impressed by the high level of polish that was consistent among the works, which prompted me to recall that this is the inaugural year of the Explosions Mentorship Program. I found myself experiencing a new degree of relaxed pleasure and appreciation in viewing the performances, which I at least partially attribute to a mind calmed of the distracting editing observations that frequently occur for a discerning audience member. Presumably, the work involved with editing and bringing a work to performance quality has been augmented by an expert outside eye. Furthermore, there is a palpable sense that many of these works have been influenced by a guiding hand. In the most ideal sense, the input of the wise and almighty mentor has steered the free-will of the choreographer closer to the most perfect realization of her dance’s destiny.
Bata: Choreography by Rosanna Terracciano
Always taking new twists and turns in her artistic endeavors, Rosanna Terracciano tantalizes us with ever more appetizing forays into flamenco culture. Massive expanses of fabric eloquently draped to create the opening landscape subtly transform into costume and antagonist as the piece unfolds. She manipulates and sculpts this material in profoundly engaging ways, taking full advantage of lighting effects as well. The dance is richly imbued with impassioned shapes and postures evoking the world of flamenco, yet tenderly personalized by Terracciano’s own signature approach. She pierces the space with intensely alive and acutely expressive arms and torso. With a deeply emotive countenance and a mature and sophisticated command of her body, Rosanna makes a worthy tribute to an art form that epitomizes strength and passion.
Toqui: Choreography by Deanne Walsh
This rhythmically delectable piece, while vaguely reminiscent of recognizable styles such as jazz and West African, is so innovative that one can easily overlook the dance forms at its roots. It begins with dancers clustered in a truly extraordinary way, resulting in a most engaging visual arrangement. The agile bodies move alternately in sinuous, sensuous ripples and jerky reverberations that arise from percussive bursts of body part isolations. The dancers veritably sing with their bodies, sculpting and articulating every fibre of their beings with subtle nuances. They maintain this impressive focus even when the dance moves into an episode of more quirky movement and compelling characterizations. The dancers’ bodies become animated with vivid emotions as they portray entertaining characters absorbed in an engaging dramatic montage. The dance piece concludes in a mesmerizing crescendo: using deceptively simple traditional dance steps such as sugars and sissones, the choreographer has developed an impressive array of variations and spatial arrangements in an arousing and delightful spectacle that fully satisfies.
And That’s When the Audience Died... : Choreography by Veronica Benz
A curious title for such a soulful work, but perhaps it truly is the artist’s intent to move the audience to the figurative “brink of death” and breathless awe. Indeed, Veronica Benz certainly comes close to achieving this result, almost from her initial breath. She strikes us with an almost blinding aura of playful innocence as she illuminates the space with her movement. With rapturous releases of her supple upper body and crown of flowing hair, and gracefully flowing and elegant turns and spins, she imparts a feeling of ecstatic joy and bliss. While embodying a classical purity that evokes Modern Dance founders Duncan and St. Dennis, this choreographic gem exhibits a level of sophistication and originality that is very impressive. The dance maintains a unifying thread from start to finish: recognizable movement vocabulary is imbued with a unique quality that reflects an underlying theme found in more original movements. The dancer lulls us into a sympathetic place of vulnerability and then moves into a place of more fervently anguished and impassioned movement. Initiations become wilder and stronger, yet the dancer never falters. She surrenders and releases into the floor with wild deliberation, yet never dies. But listen carefully, and you might notice the audience in dead silence. She has taken our breath away.
Surge by Surge: Choreography by the SURGE Company
We enter a dark and somber world of human figures dressed in business attire, dispassionately moving in cold, pedestrian ways - a world that is distinguished only by paper notes. The dancers obsess over the lifeless bills. However, the moving bodies are anything but lifeless. Their suppressed passion builds and erupts into surges of expressive movement: deep and fluid lunges; sharp thrusts of the arms into space; expansive opening of the chest and arms; passionate twisting and throws of the body, arms and legs. Clean, clear and precise moves are incorporated into arrangements of the ensemble that create a very compelling visual rhythm. Breath grows and becomes intensely audible, attesting to the flame of life within each of the dancers. Yet they remain in a dark and oppressive context. Will they ever break free?
Bring it Back: Choreography by Edgar Gilbert Reyes
This work is living testament to the fact that the depth and breadth of originality in creative expression is limited only by the talent of the artist, and not the styles and influences by which he has been nurtured. Reyes treats us to an arresting display of male virility with an approach to movement that is so refreshingly unique, he gives a new level of credence to the art of Hip Hop. Moreover, thanks to his expert performance abilities and that of the rest of his cast, this piece realizes a rare degree of excellence. Intricately challenging movements are executed with cut-throat precision. Props are skilfully manipulated, with a section of handkerchief choreography that is so original, it’s like a breath of fresh air. The vital, dynamic energy of this piece is utterly contagious. From beginning to end, the dancers exude confidence, strength and an unwavering stamina despite the fact that the choreography is highly demanding and sustains a level of complexity that is absolutely staggering. Wow!
Sputtered Potential: Choreography by Erinn Liebhard
Reflective of the title, this dance piece has a tentative beginning and then achieves momentum towards the end. Expressionless and in silence, the two dancers impart a sense of isolation and detachment in an uninspiring pedestrian context. This structural baseline is interspersed with solo episodes that assert personal power and individuality. The choreography employs a pool of generally banal movements in artistically deliberate ways. These foundational movements find their ultimate fulfillment in a satisfying conclusion that is visually and energetically engaging. The dancers finally realize a connection in unison choreography that is an oasis after days in a lonely dessert.
Twilight: Choreography by Helen Husak
Helen Husak brings new dimensions to the art of dance with this masterpiece. From a simple, unsuspecting opening, she begins to unveil the internal world of a person unleashed. She lures us into sympathetic delight as observers of a woman experiencing the rapturous throws of insanity. Husak’s finely tuned body allows her to realize new extremes of movement with a grace and agility that is incredible. She maintains an unfaltering flow and total commitment to the integrity of her movement in wild and seemingly uncontrolled sequences that are absolutely riveting. She conveys a deep sense of beauty in the erratic and unbridled wildness of emotional chaos, never straying from a binding yet seemingly paradoxical musicality. Above all, she achieves a level of expressivity in her performance that is absolutely enthralling, revealing a metaphysical scope to the expressive potential of the human body.
