Ballet BC’s Giselle is running for 3 nights only at the Queen Elizabeth theatre. A contemporary re-imagining by choreographer José Navas, this performance is both accessible to the uninitiated and bursting with artistic depth, passion and integrity.
I believe that a production should stand on its own merit without any background knowledge. I like to go in to a performance as “blind” as I can without having read any reviews or even the program notes in order to get a clean, unbiased experience.
When it comes to ballet I consider myself an ignorant enthusiast. My friend that typically joins me...
The techno-dance aliens have landed. There are twelve of them. They wear beige unitards, have their hair pasted to their skulls and their eyes whited out. The unitards give them the look of shaven Caucasian babies, with adult sexual organs straining to break free of the latex epidermal membrane.
We first encounter them in a circle, facing in, with their arms outstretched to the heavens, from where they have apparently been teleported to Earth. Nature sounds—birds singing, etc.— fill the air. These are soon obliterated by a machine-made pulse. The techno-babies have come to dance and they prefer to...
Dance House’s presentation of Carte Blanche, a program of the Norwegian National Company of Contemporary Dance
I'd really like come comments on this one because I liked it so much that I wonder if it's just me. I loved everything about this piece, from the stand-up type intro to the general silliness and occasional gross-ness that ensued, to the touchingly beautiful body-images. I found Pieter Ampe and Guilherme Garrido's performance refreshing, open and engaging.
Still Standing You is a strange mix of contemporary dance, comedic physical theatre and a brotherly wrestling match. This exploration of masculine relationships has an innocence and curiosity to it that makes it more like watching children on a playground than a...
Encore at the Queen Elizabeth Theatre is a collection of reprised popular works from the previous two seasons at Ballet BC. This ”best of” performance consists of three acts separated by two intermissions. While each piece has a unique mood and message, they share a strength of choreography and provocative imagery. The troupe of dancers that participate in the evening are exceptional. Not only are they talented and possessing of amazing physical prowess and grace, but they are so full, so present on stage that even the smallest movement is overflowing with life and meaning.
The Mikhailovsky Ballet's production of Swan Lake offers a treat for classical ballet affectionados. The St. Petersburg based company brings this undeniably Russian 'love conquers all' story to Vancouver for a brief run at the Queen Elizabeth theatre.
Some things are just done better the old fashioned way, and hearing the orchestra tune up upon entering the theatre, I already knew it would be a good evening. Listening to Tchaikovsky's score, conducted by Valery Ovsyanikov, live as opposed to the canned version was rare a luxury in itself.
The set and costumes by designer Simon Virsaladze were so detailed and...
Ballet BC presents the world premiere of Bliss at the Queen Elizabeth Theatre this week. Resident
choreographer Jose Navas created this work in collaboration with the dancers in the company. He has expanded on the shorter piece, The bliss that from their limbs all movement takes, to create a bright and emotionally charged evening of dance.
Blush, which was performed by Gallim Dance from New York City, at the Playhouse Theatre on March 23rd and 24th was, simply, a boundary shattering monument to the extremes of originality, creativity, and excellence in choreography and dance, as well as lighting and music. I left the theatre breathless, as though winded by the exhilaration of merely watching this company perform their exquisitely detailed and extremely demanding piece.
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Gallim Dance in "Blush", photo by Christopher Duggan
In the spirit of Valentine’s Day, which is today, I’d like to begin by saying that Entity, which was performed by Wayne McGregor’s company, Random Dance from the UK, at Vancouver Playhouse on February 10th and 11th, caused me to remember what made me fall in love with contemporary dance in the first place. It’s been a while since I developed such a crush on a show, but sitting in the dark and watching the exhilarating choreography and stunning dancers of Entity, I could feel my heart beating a little faster. I think it might be love.
The exploration of “acquisition and attrition” which was my experience of Craig’s List Cantata, played itself out under lights suspended from the ceiling. A pulley system lifted the lighting-rig as the show began and the scavenged, salvaged, pre-loved, gently-used, antique lamps with their fringed shades hanging soft, laced and beaded, illuminated the stage.
