PARADIS/Paradise: in Yaletown

Alvin Erasga Tolentino. Photo by Alex Waterhouse-Hayward.

On a warm, windy summer evening in July, I sat on a folding chair outside the Roundhouse in Yaletown. This is an area of Vancouver I seldom frequent, yet at that moment in time, it felt like the heart of the city, of my city. I was surrounded by cement and brick, skyscrapers looming above me and above the makeshift stage. The sun was setting, Alvin danced.

I had seen "Alvin Tolentino":http://www.companyerasgadance.ca/en/co.html dance before and had an idea of what to expect. I previously found Alvin's performances to be emotionally intense, provocative and ambitious. In *PARADIS/Paradise*, Alvin seemed to push beyond what I had seen him do before in both choreography and performance, portraying not only power but also frailty, not only sexuality but also innocence, not only primitivism but also complexity.

A friend attending PARADIS/Paradise with me, as well as the many passersby strolling through Yaletown, seemed perplexed by the abstract performance going on in front of them. PARADIS/Paradise is a strange mix of sound and movement, as Alvin Tolentino paired up with musician Emmanuel Mailly to create an hour long show for the "Dancing on the Edge":http://www.dancingontheedge.org/index.php festival. I was struck by the timing and synchronicity of music and movement. Emmanuel Mailly's contribution was varied soundscapes, from instruments to spoken word to remixed noise. Armed with an electric guitar, Mailly did more than I thought possible with such an instrument. It was strummed, beaten, drummed, and had an electric razor brought to it. It wasn't music, per se, but it fit. This made me wonder about this collaboration between dancer and musician. How did this union come about? Who, or what, was the guiding force in such an eclectic performance? Each performer held to their respective artistic style and there seemed to be no compromise from either side in the show. Somehow, this pairing worked.

I can't say that I drew any grandiose messages from this dance performance or that it created any revelatory moments for me, but it was an evening that made me realize something I value about Vancouver: the exciting and often bizarre art that is popping up and becoming more and more accessible to the general population. In this case, it took place on the streets of Yaletown in the form of a free or pay-what-you-can dance performance.

Near the end of PARADIS/Paradise, Alvin approached the video screen that had been set up in the background, as if longing to touch the digitized blue sky and cloud image. It was a painful moment, as if the dancer were so close to his own personal paradise that it became hell. In that open air setting, with the blue dusky sky above me, I wanted to scream to Alvin: "Look up! You are there." But by then the sun had set, the sky darkened and Alvin had stopped dancing.

_PARADIS/Paradise was produced by Co.ERASGA in conjuction with The Roundhouse and The Dancing on the Edge Festival. Choreographed and performed by Alvin Erasga Tolentino, music by Emmanuel Mailly, video by Donna Szoke and set design/construction by Don Cunningham. Running as part of the Dancing on the Edge festival. No more shows._

By Ashleigh Dalton