2009

Last week's Dance in Vancouver, Program One featured work by MovEnt, Rob Kitsos and Plastic Orchid Factory.

MovEnt part of Dance in Vancouver

"The shoe is the foot's pimp and procurer." ~William A. Rossi, The Sex Life of the Foot and Shoe.

Unbound

(in) habitat takes us on a dreamlike adventure with two wonderfully talented dancers; Tara Dyberg and Chengxin Wei. Their undulating bodies in the opening are a testimony to the incredible muscle control and strength these two dancers possess.

Tara Dyberg and Chengxin Wei (in) habitat

A stark stage with muted lighting flooding the space in every direction, a man stands muscular, powerful. Motionless on stage left, he commences by moving his arms in an angular fashion, as if starting the engine of his being. He seems unsure when to begin. Is it fear holding him back?

The Strange Adventure of Myself

Anna is a modern dancer who is looking for a new place to live. Technophile Patrick just happens to have put up a sign for a newly available basement suite at her dance studio. Sweet dreams are made of this.

Daniel Arnold and Medina Hahn in Any Night

This is a big month for adaptation of children’s classics. Last week, David Benedictus’ Return to the Hundred Acre Wood was released, the first authorized sequel to the original A.A. Milne books from the 1920’s.

Josue Laboucane and friend from Love You Forever. Photo by Tim Matheson

Productions at Langara College’s Studio 58 are one theatrical experience I’m always excited about. Although I’m not partial to biblical stories, Lot’s Wife, advertised as offering “new and unique perspectives of the story of Abraham”, intrigued me.

God (Benjamin Elliott) and Abraham (Byron Noble) in Lot's Wife at Studio 58

Summer 2009 may seem sometime ago (especially by internet standards) but really was it so far back? Justin Haigh submitted his final round-up of mini-reviews for Toronto's SummerWorks Festival right in the middle of the Victoria and Vancouver Fringe Festival madness. We had to table the reviews - and Justin's take on the overall Festival experience - until now, when we've had a bit of a chance to catch our breath.

Feeling melancholy that summer play is over or the Melancholy Play from last summer.

They say there's strength in numbers. This is particularly true when it comes to sketch comedy where a larger cast offers several advantages: the ability to construct complex scenes with a multitude of characters, a more diverse collective mind to bolster the creative process, and the ability to cast roles according to suitability rather than sheer necessity.

Accidental Company: two guys who share everything

The inspiration for MK Woyzeck is Georg Büchner's 1837 play, simply called Woyzeck, which was left unfinished at his death. According to the program notes for the production currently on at the Frederic Wood Theatre out at UBC, the mounting of a version of Büchner's challenging political play has become a rite of passage in theatre circles.

Moneca Lander, MariaLuisa Alvarez and Fiona Mongillo in MK Woyzeck; Photo: Tim Matheson

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