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Interviews, essays and commentary published by The Dance Current.

Wednesday, December 1, 2010

IN THE STUDIO | EN STUDIO: Alison Denham

playing in space | espace de jeu
Photos by/de Peter Eastwood and/et Chris Randle
Interview by/de Megan Andrews



“It is the role of the interpreter that deeply resonates with me and where I focus my attention. I’m continually working on my body and my technical abilities while also looking outside those boundaries into what other aspects of my life I can draw upon to make something work – to make it real – so that if someone asks me to try something, I can be physically healthy, available and open to taking emotional risks.
“My interest is in working with many different artists. The contrasts in movement vocabulary, creative processes and artistic sensibilities keep me curious and challenged. Some come naturally and some feel uncomfortable, but they’re all engaging. With every new project there’s an opportunity to see where else I can go as a dancer.
“Being a dancer is a powerful position and I am most fulfilled when there’s a sense that my artistry and a choreographer’s vision have met.”
– Alison Denham

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« C’est le rôle de l’interprète qui a le plus de résonance pour moi et sur lequel je concentre mon énergie. Je travaille mon corps et ma capacité technique continuellement, tout en me tournant au-delà de ces frontières, vers d’autres aspects de ma vie qui peuvent être des sources pour créer quelque chose qui marche, qui est vrai. Ainsi, si quelqu’un me demande de faire quelque chose, je peux être saine physiquement et capable de prendre des risques sensibles.
« Travailler avec plusieurs artistes m’intéresse. Les contrastes de gestuelle, de processus de création et de sensibilité artistique piquent ma curiosité et me mettent au défi. Parfois, les propositions en studio me viennent naturellement, parfois elles sont inconfortables, mais toujours, elles sont intéressantes. Avec chaque nouveau projet, il y a une occasion de découvrir une autre facette de mon travail d’interprète.
« L’interprète à un rôle de pouvoir et mon sentiment d’accomplissement est à son comble lorsque mon travail d’artiste et la vision du chorégraphe se rejoignent. »
– Alison Denham


Originally from the Sunshine Coast in British Columbia, Alison Denham moved to Vancouver to attend the dance program at Arts Umbrella and the Ballet British Columbia Mentor Program. From 2000 through 2005 she danced with Toronto’s Dancemakers under the artistic direction of Serge Bennathan. Ali has worked with many choreographers in Toronto and Vancouver including Wen Wei Wang, Alvin Erasga Tolentino, Lola MacLaughlin and Peggy Baker, among others. She is the 2006 recipient of the Isadora Award for Excellence in Performance. Ali is currently involved in new creations with Out Innerspace Dance Theatre (Tiffany Tregarthen and David Raymond), Simone Orlando, The Plastic Orchid Factory (James Gnam), and Tribal Crackling Wind (Peter Chin).

Native de la Sunshine Coast en Colombie-Britannique, Alison Denham se rend à Vancouver pour participer au programme de danse de Arts Umbrella et au programme de stagiaire de Ballet British Columbia. De 2000 à 2005, elle danse au sein de Dancemakers sous la direction artistique de Serge Bennathan. Ali travaille avec de nombreux chorégraphes à Toronto et à Vancouver y compris Wen Wei Wang, Alvin Erasga Tolentino, Lola MacLaughlin et Peggy Baker. En 2006, elle est lauréate du prix Isadora pour l’excellence en arts de la scène. Actuellement, elle participe à de nouvelles créations avec Out Innerspace Dance Theatre (Tiffany Tregarthen et David Raymond), Simone Orlando, The Plastic Orchid Factory (James Gnam), et Tribal Crackling Wind (Peter Chin).


In your artistic statement you say that, “Being a dancer is a powerful position”. I think of so many stories about the opposite situation, in which a dancer is at the beck and call of the choreographer, with no voice whatsoever. How do you experience power as a dancer?

What I find powerful is that dancers are the representatives of the work. There’s this responsibility to the choreographer’s vision, which, depending on the chemistry between individuals, can sometimes be a difficult process. I think dancers are such an important aspect of the work and, in my opinion, often get the least amount of respect. If you stripped away the elements of performance – lighting, costumes, sound, set, etc. – you’d be left with the work that the choreographer and the dancers have done together. I think both entities deserve an equal amount of credit for bringing the choreography to life.


As a performer, one spends most of one’s time in rehearsal and very little time overall actually performing. Therefore, it’s important to really enjoy creative process. What do you find most engaging and rewarding about being in the studio with a choreographer? What works for you and what doesn’t?

In creative process, I am up for anything if I can feel that the choreographer is honestly exploring something. I appreciate people who are serious about their work but have a sense of humour and communicate openly with dancers as to what they are trying to do. Then there’s a sense that altogether we know where we are trying to go and can accept failure in the process. I have been involved in work that asks for an extreme amount of technical detail and I enjoy the daily attempts to master these tasks. I also find a lot of freedom in structured improvisation or being asked to create my own movement within a context. Partly why I am drawn to working with different people are these differences in process. I won’t deny that there are days when I feel resistant to what I am asked to do. Too much of one way of working can drain me, but I am determined to keep that to myself and tackle whatever is asked of me. Some days I just feel creatively empty and would rather be told what to do. Other days I am brimming with energy and want to create movement and experiment. My favorite thing about dance is that I am an adult who gets to play on a regular basis with a bunch of fun people in a big open space. I couldn’t ask for a better job.


In your artistic statement, you note that you’re always working on your body. Obviously there’s the overall need to stay fit and healthy. I’m curious to understand a little more specifically what you are working on. Can you elaborate on your approach to training?

I see training as a chance to work on the relationship between engagement and release, as a tool for dynamics in my quality and for longevity in my career. I spent many years working with pure force and I am realizing that this is one-dimensional and can’t be sustained. I find Pilates is pivotal in balancing my structural differences and for strength and stabilization. I am working on being aware of my entire body at all times, so I can avoid injury and approach the demands on my body in a healthy and efficient way. As I get older, I am definitely noticing the wear and tear from dancing. I approach movement from more of a relaxed place than I did ten years ago. I try to use just the right amount of energy for each movement, giving everything the value that it needs to work. I feel this gives me more dimension – choosing when to push the energy and when to pull it back.


Related to staying healthy, nutrition is a key element. What choices do you make in general to ensure that your body is getting what it needs to replenish from the demands of daily intense physical exertion?

I drink a lot of water. I am convinced that dehydration causes many problems emotionally and physically.

Artists often talk about “openness”. You note that you aim to be “available and open to taking risks”. I think this ability to be open is required both in rehearsal and in performance, though perhaps it’s slightly different in each context. Can you describe what this state feels like for you? How do you cultivate this state in your body/self?

The openness I strive for in rehearsal is this feeling that the work is beyond the individuals. It’s something bigger and needs space to figure itself out. Resistance doesn’t facilitate progress so I try to be non-judgmental of myself, the choreographers and the other dancers, to be willing to try whatever is asked of me with curiosity even when my inner critic might rear its head. I will voice my opinion when asked or when I strongly feel it’s necessary. Generally, when there’s tension or doubt in the room, I try even harder to be positive.


You’ve worked with numerous choreographers, many of whom make very technical work, Serge Bennathan and Wen Wei Wang, for example. For some, including these two, the emotional investment required is as important and challenging. Have you ever been asked to do something you weren’t sure you could? What was it and how did you approach the situation?

I’ve never been asked to do something that I wouldn’t at least try. There’ve been times when I could feel my technical ability wasn’t proficient enough for certain tasks but I would keep trying ‘til I got it or the choreographer changed it to work better for me. The first time I was asked to perform nude, I hesitated. That was a whole lot of exposing myself. I decided I wanted to do it though because I wanted to be okay about my body. To prepare myself, I started being a model for life drawing classes and I got over my shyness pretty quickly. In my first year with Dancemakers, Serge Bennathan was creating The Satie Project. One day he started making a solo for me and then he put it at the beginning of the piece. I felt this intense pressure as the youngest dancer in the company to open the show. I felt anxious and nervous about it up until opening night at the Canada Dance Festival. I actually felt like I might throw up backstage at the five-minute call. I collected myself and realized that it was an honour to do my solo at the top of the show and it was my chance to step up as a dancer.


While some dance works involve narrative and character or character-like figures, much contemporary dance is abstracted from such conventions. As a performer in story- or character-based work, one can draw from the plot or persona to fulfill the movement expression and bring it to life. As a performer in more abstract work, it is still essential to anchor the movement itself within a deeply embodied “world” – to “make it real” as you say in your artistic statement. Inside an abstract work – how do you develop this motivational through-line, if we can call it that, for yourself?

It depends on how much information the choreographer has given me about intent and context. I will ask questions related to motivation if I am struggling, but generally I just make it up for myself. Sometimes it’s purely kinetic: reactions to how the movement feels, the dynamics between the other performers onstage, the mood of the lighting and the music. Other times I relate things to my own life, create stories, scenarios and characters. I trust the choreographer to redirect me if they notice something I’m doing isn’t working for them. I had a big imagination as a child so I have no problem making worlds up for myself.

While performing, what filters through your awareness? Are you focussed on bodily sensations, physical/technical elements, etc.? How aware are you of the audience when you’re performing and how does their presence register for you?

I definitely notice the audience when I’m performing. It almost feels like a type of radiating heat coming off them. I am aware that they are witnessing as I try to stay focussed on the work. I concentrate on keeping my mind clear of excess thoughts. I focus on bodily sensation, my inner dialogue and interaction with the other dancers to keep myself from wondering who’s in the audience or self-judging what I’m doing in the moment. Some shows are magically integrated and I feel like I transcend being human. Other shows aren’t as successful and I go in and out of being caught in my head.


Have you ever fallen, wiped out, tripped or otherwise “changed” the choreography accidentally in performance? How did you recover?

Onstage at the Premiere Dance Theatre in Toronto performing Wen Wei Wang’s Unbound, I was running in a big circle around the stage when I slipped on sweat and went hurtling forward. I somehow rolled right out of it and kept running without breaking the flow. My heart was pounding in my chest and as I kept dancing I remember thinking, “Am I hurt?” , but I couldn’t register all the details of my body because I was so charged.

How would you describe the feeling of your most rewarding performing experience?

There have been many rewarding performances. There was something so incredible about the ensemble energy of every performance with Dancemakers. We were so connected and so well rehearsed. Performing Lola MacLaughlin’s Provincial Essays in Toronto the same day that she passed away was one of the most powerful experiences I’ve ever had. It was such an honour to dance her work on that day and be able to grieve her in that way.


You note that it’s the role of the interpreter that resonates for you as an artist; yet, you have begun to choreograph as well lately. What have you discovered in your experience making work that informs your process as a performer? How different is it for you to perform your own work versus that of others?

I would much rather choreograph on other people. I don’t like the all-encompassing responsibility of dancing my own work. I love working with dancers, drawing things out of them, being inspired by them. I see my choreography and my dancing as very separate crafts. Strangely enough, I feel more freedom as an interpreter in other people’s work than in my own.
 
Do you see yourself further developing your choreographic voice in the future, to the point where you may transition more into choreography than performance?

I will definitely continue to explore choreography but at this point I don’t have aspirations to fully engage in it. Images and ideas drop into my head and then I feel like I need to make a piece. Choreography is a whole other world for me and I don’t know if it will ever have a hold over me the same way that dancing does. Things shift and change though, so we’ll see what unfolds.



Alison Denham performs Firebird by Simone Orlando and the Turning Point Ensemble from March 2nd through 5th at the Vancouver East Cultural Centre, Vancouver. | Alison Denham, présenteFirebird de Simone Orlando et Turning Point Ensemble du 2 au 5 mars au Vancouver East Cultural Centre, Vancouver.


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Feature: The Benefit of Striving

Kids’ Health and Dance
Summary Sommaire

Out and About (2007) by Robert Glumbeck for Canadian Children's Dance Theatre (2008) / Photo by David Hou

Humans are born striving – nobody works harder than a baby, learning to rock, flip, crawl, stand and walk. Very soon after that instinctive push to mobilize, children need sustained guidance in healthy levels of activity, which are developmentally imperative, and eventually enable them to make long-term choices about health and fitness...

L’humain s’efforce dès la naissance ; nul ne travaille plus fort que le bébé qui apprend à se bercer, à basculer, à ramper, à se tenir debout et à marcher. Très vite après cet élan instinctif de mobilisation, l’enfant a besoin de conseils soutenus pour maintenir un sain niveau d’activité physique, impératif à son développement, et lui permettre éventuellement de prendre sa santé et sa forme en charge...

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Humans are born striving – nobody works harder than a baby, learning to rock, flip, crawl, stand and walk. Very soon after that instinctive push to mobilize, children need sustained guidance in healthy levels of activity, which are developmentally imperative, and eventually enable them to make long-term choices about health and fitness. A discussion of such issues ranges today through fields from education to social justice, because Canadian children’s health is at serious risk. Video games, television, the Internet, social networks, all are ubiquitous – and sedentary. Inactivity, and the prevalence of high-fat snacks and prepared food contribute to childhood obesity, an issue that is rapidly escalating in Canada. Statistics included here reveal the scope of the problem. While the physical and artistic benefits of dance are not simply interchangeable with “fitness”, imparting children with a sense of well being, within a framework that promotes healthy choices over the long term, seems vital in our computer- and media-dominated culture – and dance offers this potential. The term “physical literacy” has importance as a way of newly classifying the benefits of physical education and sports, and it is now endorsed and promoted in Canada as a desired outcome of physical education. Certainly the concept of embodied intelligence philosophically aligns with the experience and underlying values of dancing. In this article, several teachers and directors of young dancers share some thoughts about the benefits and values of dance, in its essence and in the bigger picture.

L’humain s’efforce dès la naissance ; nul ne travaille plus fort que le bébé qui apprend à se bercer, à basculer, à ramper, à se tenir debout et à marcher. Très vite après cet élan instinctif de mobilisation, l’enfant a besoin de conseils soutenus pour maintenir un sain niveau d’activité physique, impératif à son développement, et lui permettre éventuellement de prendre sa santé et sa forme en charge. Étant donné que la santé des enfants canadiens est très à risque, une discussion sur ces questions recoupe plusieurs domaines, de l’éducation à la justice sociale. Les jeux vidéo, la télévision, Internet, les réseaux sociaux sont omniprésents – et sédentaires. L’inactivité, et la prévalence de collations à haute teneur en gras et d’aliments préparés contribuent à l’obésité des enfants, un problème qui s’amplifie rapidement au Canada. Les statistiques publiées ici révèlent la portée du problème. Les bienfaits physique et artistique de la danse ne sont pas simplement interchangeables avec la question de la santé et de la forme physique. Néanmoins, transmettre à l’enfant un sentiment de bien-être dans un cadre qui promeut des choix sains à long terme semble essentiel dans notre culture dominée par l’écran ; la danse offre ce potentiel. Le terme « savoir-faire physique » devient important comme moyen de catégoriser les bienfaits de l’éducation et des sports, et est maintenant appuyé au Canada comme le but de l’éducation physique. Nul doute, le concept d’intelligence incarnée s’aligne philosophiquement avec l’expérience et les valeurs sous-tendues en danse. Dans ce numéro, plusieurs enseignants et directeurs de compagnies de jeunes danseurs proposent leurs réflexions sur les bienfaits et les valeurs de la danse, autant à son essence que dans un cadre élargi.

Learn more >>
Gladwell, Malcolm. Outliers: The Story of Success. (2008, Little, Brown & Company.)

Active Healthy Kids Canada
www.activehealthykids.ca

Canadian Council of Food and Nutrition Conseil canadien des aliments et de la nutrition
www.ccfn.ca

National Dance Education Organization, USA
www.ndeo.org

Eat Right Ontario
www.eatrightontario.ca

Physical and Health Education Canada/Canadian Association for Physical Health, Education, Recreation and Dance
www.phecanada.ca

Physical Literacy
www.physical-literacy.org.uk/

Right To Play Canada
http://righttoplay.com/Canada

Shields, Margot. “Measured Obesity: Overweight Canadian Children and Adolescents.” (Statistics Canada – Cat. No. 82-620-MWE (2004).)
Originally available at www.statscan.gc.ca.

“Healthy active living for children and youth.” (Healthy Active Living Committee, Canadian Paediatric Society.)
www.cps.ca/english/statements/HAL/HAL02-01.htm

Tremblay, Mark S., Margot Shields, Manon Laviolette, Cora L. Craig, Ian Janssen and Sarah Connor Gorber. “Fitness of Canadian Children and Youth: Results from the 2007-2009 Canadian Health Measures Survey”. (Publication: Health Reports 2010: 21(1).)
Originally available at www.statscan.gc.ca/healthreports

Mandigo, Dr. James. “Time to Move – Keep the Physical in Education, An Advocacy Resource Developed for Physical and Health Education Canada.” (Brock University Centre for Healthy Development.)
www.phecanada.ca.



Read the full article by Carol Anderson in the December 2010/January 2011 issue of The Dance Current print magazine. Lisez l'article intégral de Carol Anderson dans l’édition imprimée de décembre 2010/janvier 2011 du Dance Current.

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Ofilio and Apolonia: A High-Octane Partnership

Boom, pop, boom, ba da boom pop pow!
Summary | Sommaire

Ofilio Portillo and Apolonia Velasquez / Photo by Jesse Milns

“We’d like to have people go see street dance the same way they would go see a ballet or Cirque du Soleil.” Ofilio Portillo and Apolonia Velasquez are commercially successful performers and advocates for the street dance styles they love...

« On aimerait que les gens aillent voir la danse de rue de la même façon dont ils iraient voir un ballet ou le Cirque du Soleil. » Ofilio Portillo et Apolonia Velasquez sont des interprètes qui connaissent un succès commercial et des partisans des styles de danse de rues qu’ils adorent...

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“We’d like to have people go see street dance the same way they would go see a ballet or Cirque du Soleil.” Ofilio Portillo and Apolonia Velasquez are commercially successful performers and advocates for the street dance styles they love. Originally from Montréal, they’ve only been in Toronto for a few years but the couple is making their mark on a number of fronts. You’ve probably seen one or the other, maybe on television for So You Think You Can Dance Canada or in music videos for Shawn Desman and Jully Black. Or in commercials for Nike or Virgin Mobile. In addition to living, teaching and breathing street dance, they are committed choreographers and community builders. Working individually, together and with an ad hoc group of talents that periodically come together as Gadfly, Portillo and Velasquez are integrating street dance within the established Toronto community, hosting showcase events such as the recent day-long Toronto Urban Dance Symposium, which took the pulse of street dance as industry and shared that info with everyone who cared to show up. They were commissioned to create a work for Dance Ontario’s Dance Weekend at the Fleck Theatre upcoming on January 22nd and 23rd, 2011, and they are working on a new multi-media creation for later in spring 2011.

« On aimerait que les gens aillent voir la danse de rue de la même façon dont ils iraient voir un ballet ou le Cirque du Soleil. » Ofilio Portillo et Apolonia Velasquez sont des interprètes qui connaissent un succès commercial et des partisans des styles de danse de rues qu’ils adorent. Originaires de Montréal, ils sont à Toronto depuis seulement quelques années. Néanmoins, le couple fait sa marque à plusieurs endroits. Vous avez probablement vu l’un ou l’autre, peut-être à la télévision pour So You Think You Can Dance Canada ou dans un vidéoclip de Shawn Desman et Jully Black. Ou dans des annonces pour Nike ou Virgin Mobile. En plus de vivre, d’enseigner et de respirer la danse de rue, ils sont des chorégraphes et des organisateurs communautaires engagés. Travaillant seul, ensemble ou avec un groupe de talents ad hoc qui se réunit périodiquement sous le nom Gadfly, Portillo et Velasquez intègrent la danse de rue au sein de la communauté existante à Toronto. Ils tiennent des événements-vitrines comme le récent Toronto Urban Dance Symposium. Ce colloque d’un jour prenait le pouls de la danse de rue comme industrie et proposait cette information à ceux qui voulaient bien s’y présenter. Dance Ontario leur commande une pièce pour la Dance Weekend au théâtre Fleck pour les 22 et 23 janvier 2011, et ils travaillent à une nouvelle création multimédia pour le printemps 2011.

Learn more | Pour en savoir plus >>
http://gadfly.ca/



Ofilio Portillo and Apolonia Velasquez perform at Dance Ontario’s Dance Weekend on January 21st through 23rd at Harbourfront’s Fleck Dance Theatre, Toronto.

Read the full article by Kathleen M. Smith in the December 2010/January 2011 issue of The Dance Current print magazine. | Lisez l'article intégral de Kathleen M. Smith dans l’édition imprimée de décembre 2010/janvier 2011 du Dance Current.

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ASTUCES POUR PROFESSEURS : TIPS FOR TEACHERS

Enseignement : recherche et préparation
De Katharine Harris de l’École nationale de ballet du Canada
Traduction de Marie Claire Forté


Aujourd’hui, il y a de fortes chances que le professeur de danse compose avec plusieurs charges de cours, parfois à plusieurs studios de danse. Ajoutez à cela les exigences quotidiennes de la vie et il peut être un défi de planifier du temps pour réviser votre plan de cours, et encore d’évaluer et de développer votre approche pédagogique. Les bénéfices d’une réflexion sur votre métier sont pourtant inestimables, et pour vous, et pour vos élèves.

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Comme professeur de danse, vous devez maîtriser deux domaines très différents : la danse et l’enseignement. Si la formation, les connaissances et l’entraînement soutenu nécessaires à une bonne technique de danse vont de soi, nombreux sont les professeurs de danse qui ne sont pas capables de se consacrer autant à la pédagogie. L’enseignement fait appel à l’intégration compréhensive de plusieurs habiletés : le leadership, une compréhension de la psychologie, des connaissances en neurologie et en développement, une conscience des différents modes d’apprentissage et la capacité d’employer une variété de stratégies pédagogiques. Plutôt que de trouver ces exigences accablantes, le professeur de danse doit se rendre compte qu’il y a une richesse de ressources pour le développement de ses compétences en enseignement. Voici quelques approches à considérer.

1 : Lorsque vous cherchez de l’information sur l’enseignement, trouvez un expert dans votre région. Le département d’enseignement d’une université et les professeurs d’expériences peuvent être d’excellentes ressources. Si vous êtes plus autonome, la section de pédagogie dans une librairie peut aussi offrir des pistes. D’autres options comptent les magazines et sites Web axés sur les enseignants et propriétaires de studio de danse. Il y a aussi Teachers TV (www.teachers.tv), qui se penche sur l’enseignement en général et propose de l’information utile sur la gestion de classe, la méthodologie de l’enseignement et la planification de cours.
www.teachers.tv

2 : Lorsque vous vous penchez sur votre plan de cours et votre approche pédagogique, soyez curieux et cherchez au-delà du milieu de la danse. Lisez des articles sur les tendances en enseignement ; vous pourriez y trouver des informations utiles. Ciblez votre recherche Internet sur votre rôle comme professeur plutôt que de la limiter à la danse ou aux arts. Les mondes des affaires, du sport et de la science génèrent de la recherche et des écrits de qualités sur la méthodologie de l’enseignement. Comme professeur, vous travaillez avec différentes personnes qui apprennent de différentes façons. Toute information qui porte sur l’enseignement et le processus d’apprentissage est pertinente. À plus petite échelle, soyez à l’affût d’approches intéressantes à l’enseignement et à l’apprentissage. Si vous avez un passe-temps, si vous prenez des classes ou si faites un sport d’équipe, pensez aux techniques d’enseignement dans ces champs et à leur application potentielle à votre pratique.

3 : Pour une approche plus personnelle, tenez un journal d’enseignement. Notez quelques lignes après vos classes. Si vous avez intégré quelque chose de nouveau, comment les élèves ont-ils réagi ? Si vous avez gardé votre approche traditionnelle, avez-vous observé la réaction des élèves ? Un professeur occupé se trouve facilement à enseigner par habitude plutôt que par intention. Prendre des notes est un bon moyen de maintenir une réflexion sur votre pratique et de conserver la vitalité de votre approche. Un plan de cours bien pensé est excellent, mais il est également important de pouvoir s’adapter et d’essayer de nouvelles choses dans vos classes. Les notes quotidiennes servent aussi lorsque vous faites un retour sur votre travail à la fin de l’année.


Teaching Preparation and Research
By Katharine Harris of Canada’s National Ballet School
Translation by/Traduction de Marie Claire Forté


Dance teachers today are all too likely to balance multiple teaching jobs, sometimes at multiple dance studios. Add in the daily demands of everyday life and it can be a challenge to schedule time to review your lesson plan let alone assess and develop your approach to a class. But the benefits reaped from reflecting, both for you and your students, are invaluable.

As a dance teacher, one must have two very different skill sets: dancing and teaching. While the training, knowledge and maintenance required for proper dance technique is unquestionable, many dance teachers aren’t able to dedicate the same time and study to their teaching practice. Teaching involves blending many abilities into one comprehensive package: leadership, psychological understanding, neurological and developmental knowledge, awareness of students’ different learning modes, and facility with a variety of pedagogical strategies. Rather than be overwhelmed by this, dance teachers should realize there are great resources out there to assist them in developing and strengthening these abilities. Here are a few approaches to consider.

1: When looking for information on how to teach, consider finding a local expert. Departments of education at universities can be great resources, as can experienced dance teachers. If you’re more self-reliant, the education section in bookstores can be informative. Other resources include dance magazines and websites geared toward teachers and studio owners. There’s also Teachers TV (www.teachers.tv), which focusses on education in general and has lots of helpful information on class management, teaching methodology and approaches to lesson planning.
www.teachers.tv

2: When assessing your lesson plan and approach to teaching, be curious and look beyond the dance world. Read articles about trends in education. You may come across helpful pedagogical information this way. Focus an internet search on your role as a teacher rather than restricting it to the dance or arts field. The worlds of business, sports and science generate great research and writing on teaching methodology. As a teacher you work with different people who learn things in different ways, so all information about the teaching and learning process is helpful. On a smaller scale, be on the lookout for interesting approaches to teaching and learning. If you have a hobby, take classes or play on a sports team, think about what teaching techniques those fields rely on and how you can translate them to your own practice.

3: For a more personal review of your teaching methodology, try keeping a teaching journal. Jot down a few notes after your classes. If you incorporated something new, how did your students react? If you went with your traditional approach, did you notice how it impacted the students? When you’re a busy teacher, it’s easy to find yourself teaching a class out of habit rather than thought. Taking notes is a good way to stay reflective and to keep your approach fresh. Having a well thought out lesson plan is great, but it’s equally important to be able to adapt and try something new in your classes.
Daily notes can also be a great tool when you’re reviewing your work at year end.

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HEALTHY DANCER: Ingredients for the Ultimate Snack

By Nathan Payne

At any point, you could be caught in the middle of the day, hungry and desperate for a snack. Before that happens, stock a handful of staple ingredients and build an arsenal of energy-dense snacks that are ready to go when you are.

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To incorporate flavour and nutrition, purchase the following ingredients: dried fruit, nuts and seeds, gluten-free flours, natural sweeteners and spices. By combining a few staple ingredients, you can tailor the nutritional makeup of your snack for the ultimate energy boost, whenever and wherever you need it.

Granola
Recipe created by Chef Matthew Kennedy

Ingredients:

4 cups thick cut rolled oats
1 cup coconut
1 cup wheat germ
1 cup flax seeds
½ tsp ground ginger
½ tsp ground cinnamon
1/8 tsp ground allspice
1/8 tsp ground nutmeg
2/3 cup sunflower seeds
2/3 cup pumpkin seeds
2/3 cup sultana raisins
2/3 cup dates - diced
2/3 cup cranberries
1 cup unsweetened apple juice
2 tbsp honey

Instructions:

•Preheat oven to 350 degrees F.
•Combine oats, coconut, wheat germ, flax seeds, ginger, cinnamon, allspice, nutmeg, sunflower seeds and pumpkin seeds in a large stainless steel bowl.
•Combine raisins, dates, cranberries, apple juice and honey in a medium stainless steel pot and bring to a boil. Turn heat down to medium and simmer until mixture becomes thick and syrupy, stirring often with a wooden spoon. Remove from heat.
•Carefully mix hot fruit mixture into dry ingredients until evenly distributed. Spread out on an oven-safe baking sheet and place in the oven for 10 minutes.
•Remove from oven and carefully mix, paying close attention to the corners as they will cook faster. Return mixture to the oven for 5 minute intervals until mixture is golden brown.
•Remove from oven and cool.
•Store in an airtight container for up to 6 weeks at room temperature.

Matthew KennedyAfter graduating with honours from the New England Culinary Institute, Matt Kennedy moved to France to work in the some of the finest restaurants in Paris, Chambery and Val D’Isere. There he learned and cultivated a true appreciation for local, seasonal cuisine in a sustainable environment, best explained by the French term “Terroir”. Upon his return to Toronto, Matt joined the team at North 44 restaurant and participated in the hit reality Food Network show, Heat with Mark McEwan. Matt is currently the Chef/Owner of a boutique catering company called Kennedy Catering.




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Tuesday, November 2, 2010

Top 10 Conference Takeaways

Reflections on the CDA National Conference
By Ronald Holgerson

Counting down …

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10. Incredible time management and resource challenges faced by the Canadian dance community generally, and independent choreographers/dancers in particular, can be overcome in part by the support of friends and colleagues, but constantly require superior effort, resilience and courage.

9. Enhancing and enriching Canadian dance history is essential, and requires ongoing curatorial and collection resources with a view to generating a legacy of renowned choreography for future generations.

8. The broadest “field” of Canadian dance includes many remarkable acts of creation, offered to audiences that increasingly want to view and/or participate in diverse dance forms and cultural expression, creating an expectation for informed producers and presenters to educate, inform, collaborate and promote.

7. The energy and invigorating spirit of the newest generation of creators reflects expansive intercultural understanding, oblivious to colour, geography, origin and traditional dance definitions, providing an exhilarating injection of research, discovery, innovation and commercialization potential.

6. Following the example of the United Kingdom, the Canadian Dance Assembly and its members have an ownership/leadership role to play in mapping the full expanse of dance with the intention of repositioning and branding Canadian dance as integral to society and cultural expression.

5. The power and influence of Canadian dance is most clearly understood when all elements of the “field” are present, including research and development, creation, participation, presentation, and both live and digital dissemination.

4. National and international touring continue to enrich Canadian dance for creators, dancers, and audiences, while live/electronic programming will benefit from more mixed series/programs that demonstrate the wide variety and excellence of Canadian dance expression.

3. New models, practices and structures that replace or reposition the current duality of independent choreographers/dancers and professional companies will be needed as twenty-first-century dance emerges as a movement-based, non-linguistic cultural expression easily shared by all.

2. The Canadian cultural mosaic, federal government model, and disparate financial support systems result in resource inequities that demand national collaboration, involving all members of the dance community, to overcome fiscal and cultural division. United, the dance community is strong.

1. At the core of Canadian dance as integral to society is the overarching demand for quality artistic creation and presentation, a quality of which Canadians can be proud and that demands increased understanding and celebration on the part of Canadian citizens.



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Monday, November 1, 2010

Not Your Average Dance Conference

CDA National Conference Sept. 23-25, 2010
By Kate Cornell

It was no coincidence that the Canadian Dance Assembly’s (CDA) conference happened at the National Ballet School in Toronto during Culture Days. The dance community’s contribution to Canadian culture was very much one of the topics of discussion. The conference began with the much-anticipated introduction of the CDA’s new executive director, Nathalie Fave. A visual artist, writer and social advocate, Fave was eager to learn from the distinguished audience, which included representatives from the major dance service organizations, companies and funders. She presented an ambitious proposed plan, including a national review of policies and procedures, to make the CDA a positive force in the dance field. Her bilingual speech focussed on improving the social safety net for dancers.

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Fave’s address was followed by three reports on current research into the state of emerging, mid-career and established artists. Garry Neil, the Dancer Transition Resource Centre’s board president, presented preliminary findings of the DTRC’s Senior Artist Research Project. Consultant Mary Elizabeth Luka presented her initial research (co-conducted with Barbara Richman) into a National Training Subsidy program particularly aimed at emerging artists. Then Shannon Litzenberger, a Metcalf Arts Policy Fellow and former executive director of CDA, offered her research on the Alliance of Independent Mid-Career Dance Creators (AIMCDC), entitled “Stuck in the Middle”. All three painted a picture of a sector in economic distress and with not enough opportunities. Although the standard complaints about the lack of public funding arose, these researchers are looking for new models in order to break this unsustainable cycle.

The tenor of the conference became more hopeful on Friday morning when Simon Brault, vice-chair of the Canada Council and director general of the National Theatre School, gave the keynote address to a large crowd, including National Ballet of Canada Artistic Director Karen Kain. Brault, the author of the handbook No Culture, No Future, spoke passionately about the significance of Culture Days, now a national initiative that he helped start in Quebec in 1997. Brault wants to stimulate a public conversation about the value of culture equivalent to the dialogue about healthy living prevalent in the media today. He cited the economic meltdown, changes in technology and a resulting crisis in ethics as signs of a major shift in our society. He argued that our consumer-focussed society will be replaced by something new that does not rely on the constant increase in supply. Brault insisted that the arts community must move beyond economic justifications for funding, to arguments based on engagement and participation in the arts. Brault concluded by stressing that dance has powerful assets – such as passionate donors, internationally recognized stars, and mainstream popularity – for the new economy and that our community needs to recognize and utilize those assets.

Brault’s message of hope inspired creative thinking throughout the conference. When the panel on Provincial Funding Cuts presented a bleak outlook, especially in BC, Amy Bowring, Director of Research at Dance Collection Danse, proclaimed, “If you attack one of us, you attack us all, and we won’t stand for it any more.” Bowring urged each Canadian company performing in a particular month to donate one dollar of every
ticket sold to a proposed fund to support an advocacy mission with the goal of returning the BC Gaming Funds to BC arts organizations; gaming funds represent a higher proportion of funding for BC dance companies than arts council grants.

Later, the National and International Touring panel proudly asserted that touring is alive and well in Canada. The panelists proposed that Made in BC and La danse sur les routes du québec are touring models for the rest of the country to consider. During the Diversity of Practice panel, Kevin Ormsby, artistic director of KasheDance, stated that we need to see and acknowledge the pluralities in Canadian dance in order to move forward. Then at the Planning for Preservation panel, legacy was proffered as an asset. Miriam Adams, co-founder of Dance Collection Danse, asserted that the Canadian dance repertoire informs who we are as Canadians and who we will become. The panels will hopefully act as calls to action.

Unfortunately, artist panel discussions often shifted away from assets and problem solving, to bitterness and complaints. For example, during the panel on Shifting Realities of Mid-career Independent Artists, a sense of an exhausted frustration with the existing funding system was expressed, but there was also camaraderie in finding ways to move forward. Notably, moderator Peggy Baker suggested that the term “independent artist” should be changed to interdependent artist. Then finally at the ominously titled Burn-out Factor panel, complaints surfaced about the demanding culture in dance and the lack of life skill and time management training for dancers. Sadly, not enough artists attended the conference. Throughout the event, a disconnect between what artists expect and what administrators (and presenters) can deliver was perceptible, but the desire for collaboration and mutual support was also evident.

The major topic of discussion at the conference was the Mapping project put forward by the Canada Council’s Dance Section. The project to map the Canadian dance field will be modeled after the British research conducted in 2008/09 by development consultants Susanne Burns and Sue Harrison. Burns explained that the UK Mapping project was not about needs analysis, but about understanding the network of relationships in the subsidized and commercial dance community. The resulting document is a window on the dance field and is a tool for dance advocates to make the case for investment to both private and public funders. Caroline Miller, the executive director of Dance UK, demonstrated that the Mapping research was a very valuable tool; she showed the DanceVote 2010 video from the latest British election, which was full of well-presented statistics and persuasive arguments. After the two UK presentations, Lorraine Hébert, executive director of the Regroupement québécois de la danse (RQD), presented the preliminary findings of its mapping-based examination of dance in Québec. Following these presentations, representatives of each of the seven CDA standing councils made statements and directed questions to Anne Valois, head of the Dance Section at the Canada Council. Valois asserted that this Mapping project would help the dance field to see and work with our assets. In general, the proposed Canadian Mapping project was well received, with modest skepticism based on the typical Canadian complications of language, geography and politics.

In the end, this was not just your typical dance gathering (where everyone just complains about federal funding limitations, although that did happen). It was clear from Brault’s persuasive keynote address to the anticipation around the Mapping project that the way forward is through collaboration and the search for new ways of working.

Read "Top 10 Conference Takeaways"

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IN THE STUDIO | EN STUDIO: Sasha Ivanochko

resilience & love | résilience et amour
Sasha Ivanochko and Brendan Wyatt / Photos by/de Joseph Michael Photography
Interview by/de Megan Andrews



“My process is based in a combination of rigorous in-studio explorations of the psyche soma connection, voice work and character study. Both the abstract and the non-linear narrative are represented in my choreography, which is tightly crafted and embraces the creative and embodied performances of the interpreter. Grounded in a physical base that is athletic, core centric and emotionally driven, my interests lie in exploring contemporary themes surrounding the human condition. I draw inspiration from my own experiences as a citizen of the world, creating work that is explicit and revealing, challenging audiences with visions of a raw humanity. I believe that art, with it’s non-violent immediacy, seeping into the viewer via images and sound, is a transformative tool of great power, provoking feeling and reflection, creating the possibility of political and social dialogue and change. My new thirty-five-minute duet is a response to my 2008 character-driven self-solo The Future Memory Heartbreak Junction. By introducing the heartbreak man I’m interested in exploding the assumptions made by the audience in watching the solo.”

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« En studio, mon processus s’inscrit dans un mélange d’explorations rigoureuses de la connexion psyché soma, de travail sur la voix et d’étude de personnages. Les récits abstraits et non linéaires sont tous deux représentés dans ma chorégraphie. Je crée des pièces très pointues qui reçoivent l’interprétation créative et incarnée du danseur. Ancrés dans une gestuelle athlétique, axée sur le centre du corps et poussée par les émotions, mes intérêts portent sur l’exploration de thèmes contemporains de la condition humaine. Je puise mon inspiration dans mes expériences comme citoyenne du monde ; mon travail est explicite et révélateur. Il met le spectateur au défi avec des images d’une humanité mise à nu. Selon moi, l’art – avec son immédiateté non violente, s’imprégnant dans le public via images et son – est un outil transformateur très puissant, qui provoque sensation et réflexion, qui crée la possibilité de dialogue et de changement politique et social. Mon nouveau duo de trente-cinq minutes est une réponse au solo que j’ai créé sur moi-même, guidé par un personnage, The Future Memory Heartbreak Junction. En présentant le don Juan, je veux faire exploser les suppositions que le public pourrait avoir après leur lecture du solo ».


Sasha Ivanochko is a Toronto-based dancer, teacher, choreographer and artistic director of blackandblue dance projects, a dance theatre company she founded in 2005. Along with a growing company repertoire, she has also received commissions from Toronto Dance Theatre, Winnipeg’s Contemporary Dancers, TILT sound+motion, DanceOntario’s 2004 DanceWeekend, and independent dance artists Helen Husak (Calgary) and Naoko Murakoshi (Kobe, Japan). Ivanochko taught teaches regularly at The School of Toronto Dance Theatre and at LADMMI, l’ecole de danse contemporaine. She is a four-time Dora Mavor Moore nominee, two-time recipient of the Chalmers Family Fellowship, the 2007 K.M. Hunter Award recipient, and has been featured in the Bravo Documentary Freedom Series.

Établie à Toronto, Sasha Ivanochko est interprète, enseignante, chorégraphe et directrice artistique de blackandblue dance projects, une compagnie de danse théâtrale qu’elle fonde en 2005. À son répertoire grandissant s’ajoute des commandes du Toronto Dance Theatre, des Winnipeg’s Contemporary Dancers, de TILT sound+motion, du DanceWeekend de DanceOntario en 2004, et des artistes indépendants Helen Husak (Calgary) et de Naoko Murakoshi (Kobe, Japon). Ivanochko enseigne régulièrement à la School of Toronto Dance Theatre et à LADMMI, l’école de danse contemporaine. Elle a été en lisse pour un prix Dora Mavor Moore à quatre reprises, elle est deux fois lauréates du Chalmers Family Fellowship, récipiendaire du prix K.M. Hunter en 2007 et elle fait l’objet, parmi d’autres personnes, de la Bravo Documentary Freedom Series.


You state that your artistic work is “informed by rigorous and playful in-studio investigation of the psyche/somatic connection”. Some philosophers, most influential being Descartes, have argued that there is a distinct separation between body and mind. Other thinkers, particularly in the psychoanalytic tradition, have taken an opposing view, denying any such separation, even suggesting that the body/movement reveals psychic truths. How do you understand this relationship of psyche and soma?

My understanding of the connection [between psyche and soma] is experiential. I’ve had many profound instances both in the studio and in my personal life where a physical posture or movement evokes an emotion or memory. And vice versa. My channel, for lack of a better word, has always been open, but it has been nurtured most in the past six years or so when I began using more imagery in my creative process. I get a lot of information from my spine, my eyes and how they are placed in their sockets, and also the root of my tongue.

Choreographically, working connectedly has freed me from step making. In the past, I would spend an enormous amount of time on movement and phrases to make a statement. Working with images and accessing the channel within myself and with interpreters has actually made my process more efficient, with more discussion and less physical micromanaging. It’s also way more fun and collaborative for me, and empowering for the interpreter. Artistically and personally, it has simply opened up new worlds for me. I’m an inner space explorer and working connectedly is essential.


Your choreographies often deal with character, emotion and abstract narrative, and you talk about your character work in relation to archetypes. In your new duet for yourself and Brendan Wyatt, premiering this month, you also indicate that the piece explores the pleasure/pain reflex. Is your process perhaps informed by Jungian or other psychoanalytic theory? How do these characters/archetypes arise in the studio?

My process is foremost informed by my experiences as a human being. I’m certainly influenced by countless things – cinema, literature, theory, relationships, dreams, etc. – However, I work intuitively in the studio, and often spontaneously, especially at the beginning of a process. I approached the duet with clear concept and inspiration, but the subtle content of the work was not aimed at but felt, explored and finally developed during the research period. The two basic themes we are exploring are the big ones – love and death. Archetypes surrounding both arose naturally, and dealing with them has been a delicate and exceptional honour. The work demands an enormous willingness from Brendan and me to bare ourselves and to work with uncomfortable emotions. Every rehearsal is made a safe zone, by which I mean, everything that comes up is welcome and cool and stays in the space. All this was supported by the attentive direction of Dan Wild and sensitive facilitation of Katherine Duncanson. And we couldn’t do the work we are doing without trust. We spend a lot of time talking about the work and coming up with strategies to support our well being throughout it. We also make clear the separation of the characters and ourselves, calling them he and she.


Since you started making your own work, you have made a number of self-solo works, including Perfect Pretty, Is This Love? and The Future Memory Heartbreak Junction. When working at the interface of psyche and soma on character development, specifically when making solo work for yourself, I imagine, as you’ve alluded to above, the personal blurs into the art making. Perhaps this is an important part of the journey. How do you distill the “mucky-ness” of the personal into performative expression?

All art is personally revealing of the artist. Even if the work, or the language the artist uses to describe the work, is coy or deflective, that indicates a lot. This kind of question relates to your first one, about the divide between mind and body. For me, there is no divide. But for sure, I don’t put everything I make on stage. What I put on stage I can defend because I’m clear about what my intentions are, and my skill as a craftswoman supports this. Time allotted to investigation also supports clarity, and it’s a thorough process that allows me to take performance risks.


Your dances have a strong quality of movement specificity to them. I find them to be concentrated, in the intensity of focus of the performers, yes; but more particularly in the clarity and precision of choices in the movement palette. I think of the specific and distinct complexity of certain wines or perfumes. I have a sense that this quality derives from a very conscious and detailed approach to crafting movement material. How do you begin a new work, i.e. do you start with from an exploration of physicality or a movement device like repetition for example, or do you indeed start with a concept, image or character?

I like having my work compared to wine or perfume! Thank you! The way I approach creation has changed a lot recently, and quickly. I currently spend very little time on movement generation before I begin structuring. Creating a skeleton structure allows me to fill in the content intuitively, with inspiration from my performers and feedback from my outside eyes. My movement is internally supported, either through imagery, narrative or simply through an intense focus on physical coordination. Because my narratives are non-linear and idiosyncratic, my recent challenges have been in coming up with a language to describe what I’m doing, rather than focussing solely on form.


Your company is called blackandblue dance projects. I immediately think: “bruised”. When I reflect on your work, from the tumbling, crumbling, dark and despairing King and Queen of Ruins to the manic striving of the character in Perfect Pretty, the series of jumps and collapses at the end of Heaven, and the beaten-down-but-carrying-on torch singer in The Future Memory Heartbreak Junction, I note an emotionally tormented, persist-in-the-face-of-futility, get-knocked-down-but-get-back-up-again thematic. Do you agree that your work tends in this direction? Why do you feel it’s important to address this aspect of the human condition through your work?

My work is about resilience and life force and love. People often focus on the weight of my work, which is certainly remarkable, but there is only one piece in my repertoire that is brutal in how I deal with the protagonists: Sunshine, a TDT commission from 2007. All of my work pits the characters against something, usually an internal obstacle. My works are not simple, but they are bound with love. The reason I make work like this is because I’m compelled to. People tell me they find my work moving and provocative. I want people to feel my work.


Your new work is a duet for yourself and Brendan Wyatt and it forms a diptych of sorts with your 2008 solo The Future Memory Heartbreak Junction. Why did you decide to make a response to your previous solo work? How do the two pieces relate to one another?

The duet is a response to the solo, an opportunity to deepen the character of the woman and also explore her situation from a new perspective. This is a different kind of choreographic challenge for me and I wanted to see if I could do it. Performance wise, I’m at a place where my physical and dramatic skills are aligned (a really precious and small window of time for a dance artist) and it is important to me to live this time period fully. The character of the woman is a beautiful artistic challenge.

I created the solo with imagery that suggested to the audience a distinct non-linear narrative. The duet revisits a lot of the same vocabulary and structure from the solo, but by adding the other half of the relationship, the man, a whole picture emerges which explodes the myths created by the solo.


What feeds your creative process? What are you currently reading? Which artists (and in what disciplines) are you currently following or find particularly stimulating? How do these influences inform your work?

I mostly lean towards music and visual art for intellectual stimulation. I read when I’m not too tired, mostly novels, or essays for professional development. I’m a people watcher, both in my daily life and in the studio. My collaborators inspire me more than I can say. But the biggest source that I draw upon for my work is my own imagination and reflection. I do my best work when I’m not stimulated, but relaxed and have idle time where I can actively daydream.


Teaching is a big part of your professional practice. You often teach in professional training programs and create group work for students. How different is your creative approach when working with pre-professional dancers? How do those experiences support or shape the dances you make for yourself and through your company?

Creating on and with students is an educational activity. I’m there to serve a purpose in their training. The goal is different. I love teaching, and creating with students puts me in contact with younger generations and a diversity of individuals that I would not have access to otherwise. I am pleased by the work that I have done for the dance programs, but I approach those pieces as exercises and studies. I suffer from a kind of self-pressure that is debilitating when I’m faced with commissions, so I need to approach the work more intellectually. Always though, I explore themes with students that I am interested in for my self-directed projects.

On your website, you write that you “believe art is a non-violent medium for thought and discourse”. In your artistic statement here, you reference art’s potential to effect change. Could you expand on this further? I’m particularly interested to understand if you see art, dance, as thought/discourse in itself, or whether you mean that art can be a catalyst to provoke thought and discourse among artists and the public about experiences, issues and ideas?

I do mean both. Creating my work gives me an opportunity to meditate and reflect on issues, and experiencing the work of others gives me the same opportunity, but in response to another’s ideas. More thoughtfulness on this planet is a good thing. Thought, and discourse, informs choice and action, or non-action.



Sasha Ivanochko, blackandblue dance projects, presents The Future Memory Heartbreak Junction Parts 1 & 2 and a new duet with Brendan Wyatt as part of DanceWorks Mainstage Series from November 4th through 6th at The Enwave Theatre, Toronto. | Sasha Ivanochko, blackandblue dance projects, présenteThe Future Memory Heartbreak Junction Parts 1 & 2 dans la série Mainstage de DanceWorks du 4 au 6 novembre au théâtre Enwave, Toronto.


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www.blackandbluedanceprojects.ca


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Reconsidering Public Space:

The Complete Artist Interviews
By Brittany Duggan

Emily Law and Masuyo Higashide of cube 3 in Yamagi, Ghost Tree for DIMBY (2010) / Photo by Andréa de Keijzer

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Eroca Nicols
Producer of Dance in my Backyard (DIMBY), Toronto

You have created a number of works for public spaces in the last several years or more. For our readers, can you simply list a few examples of spaces in which you’ve performed your work recently?

A backyard, a park, another park, a strip club, a beach, a rock club, the street.

In what ways do you hope to affect the public’s perceptions and experiences of these spaces with your work?

I’m a fan of absurdity and finding things in places they “don’t belong”. If nothing else, just a little break in the monotony of the day-to-day visual landscape.

Looking back, we can find examples of artists who have created from similar motivations in the past. Why do you feel it’s important to make this kind of work today?

I think one of the reasons artists look to making work in public spaces is that they don’t have the resources to present their work in other contexts. Dance artists, especially emerging, have to be nimble and crafty in order to get their work seen. Showing work in a guerrilla fashion provides performance opportunities that might not otherwise be available to artists starting out.

I’m very interested in making dance for more than just regular dance audiences. I prioritize performing in my community and for my community, people who are not necessarily going to see dance shows in theatres on an ongoing basis.

What have you learned or discovered about the nature and experience of public space through your performance work?

You have to be willing to improvise because you never know how people are going to react. In a theatre context, audiences generally understand the rules of engagement –how they are expected to behave in this space as audience members. When you take work outside that space you are entering into a different kind of social contract with the people engaging with the work. This kind of situation presents its own set of beauties and challenges. Keeps me on my toes!

Gerry Morita in her own work we were here and there (2010) / Photo by Studio E Photography

Gerry Morita
Artistic Director of Mile Zero Dance, Edmonton

You have created a number of works for public spaces in the last several years or more. For our readers, can you simply list a few examples of spaces in which you’ve performed your work recently?

Recently, I have shown dance in Edmonton’s downtown in Churchill Square, on a sod box, in a plexiglass container and on a four-foot cube of ice. I am currently working on an art gallery installation, an interactive lobby performance, a piece for an outdoor breezeway and work situated on the banks of the North Saskatchewan River.

In what ways do you hope to affect the public’s perceptions and experiences of these spaces with your work?

I am interested in allowing people to choose their own perspective when watching dance outside of the theatre. Sometimes I plan for distance and perspective, and other times close viewing is intended. I enjoy challenging the audience’s memory or perceived “use” of a space by placing something unexpected in the pathway.

People have varying attention spans and levels of investment. When you remove an audience from the theatre, I believe that their reactions are very honest.

I try to consciously appeal both to passersby and to people who watch for the entire duration of the work. I create a ‘moving image’ that can be very easily captured, but it is complex; the longer you watch it, the more information you receive.

Most people have few opportunities to see dance up close. Site-specific dance can be a major way to reach entirely new audiences.

Looking back, we can find examples of artists who have created from similar motivations in the past. Why do you feel it’s important to make this kind of work today?

The same question could also be asked of anyone who performs on a proscenium stage.
I initially began creating this way because I saw so many missed opportunities.
In times of financial restraint, I feel like artists need to remain visible to the public.
Performance artists have long been questioning the idea that art outside of traditional institutions cannot be taken seriously. When I see major dance artists like Fortier [making] site-specific dance, I feel like it is a genre of dance whose time has come.

Also, this type of work needs to be seen live. The experience of the collective audience in these performances can be very transformative.

What have you learned or discovered about the nature and experience of public space through your performance work?

Although many of our public spaces are quite grand and full of performance options architecturally, if there is not something happening within them, they can appear quite cold.

Part of the appeal of performance in public spaces is the public. My performances offer audiences a chance to actually look at each other.

Site-specific dance differs greatly from stage work. Safety is a major concern, as I often find myself working on concrete. Poor weather conditions are uncontrollable, but can actually make the dance look better. As an improviser, I welcome the unexpected situations that arise.

As an artist working in this “genre”, what’s your burning question?

My questions are: What does this space offer in terms of movement? What can I learn from this location? and sometimes: How can I make this location suck less?

Terrill Maguire in her own work Sanctuary for Water Sources/Art in Open Spaces at Trinity Bell Plaza, Toronto (June 1999) / Photo by David Langer

Terrill Maguire
Contract Faculty in the Department of Dance at York University, Toronto

You have created a number of works for public spaces in the last several years or more. For our readers, can you simply list a few examples of spaces in which you’ve performed your work recently?

When I start to reflect on performances I’ve been involved in, in public spaces, the list soon becomes very long! Such activity began early on in southern California – where I was born and raised – as both a personal and later, professional practice.

Within two weeks of first arriving in Toronto, in the early 1970s, I was “recruited” to dance for the project of a composer, Bill Fontana. He’d composed a piece for all of the carillons at the downtown churches, such as St. James Cathedral and Metropolitan United Church. My improvised solo dance to this music took place in the green space out front of the Metropolitan United. Somehow, a photograph of me dancing turned up the next day on the front page of The Toronto Sun!

When I’ve had the opportunity to choose my own sites, I’ve often been attracted to those involving woods, trees and water. Concerning the latter, I’ve danced or created dances for some amazing fountains, including the Noguchi sculpture garden fountain in New York City, the fountain in Confederation Park in Ottawa, the pool/fountain/stream at Trinity Bell Plaza, and around the ponds/wetlands on Toronto’s Brick Works … among others.

In what ways do you hope to affect the public’s perceptions and experiences of these spaces with your work?

I think of being an animator of the particular environment, but also of creating a kind of interface with it … I believe it’s important to allow the site to be a partner in the process, to ‘suggest’, as it were, the kind of performances best suited to the space. The integrity of the site must always be accommodated and respected, and “featured” by the performance.

Looking back, we can find examples of artists who have created from similar motivations in the past. Why do you feel it’s important to make this kind of work today?

I’ve always felt that dance deserves a bigger space in our lives than solely in the theatre, although there is no question that the theatre can be the ideal location for many presentations and types of dance. But historically, dance has been an activity that served a greater purpose than art and/or entertainment spectacle. Dance is something that is innate in the human body, and when barriers between performer and spectator are minimized, the opportunities to connect on aesthetic, visceral and kinesthetic levels are increased. (Admittedly, the barriers to personal privacy and even safety are also lessened … which can be an issue of the less desirable kind) …

What have you learned or discovered about the nature and experience of public space through your performance work?

I have often discovered a depth of understanding or even communion with a place, particularly if it is a natural one. I’ve discovered the pleasure of “playing” in places; of having permission to enjoy them fully! I’ve made connections with people from various walks of life, from the homeless guy who’d bathe every morning in the fountain we rehearsed in at Trinity Bell Plaza, to the Indonesian architect who came to tell me how moved she was by my piece at the Toronto Music Garden, to the many other people who felt free to give their feedback or application, given the lack of distance between us, as performers and audience. I’ve often had people say that they looked anew at a particular place once it had been the site of a performance event; or that they’d felt included in the performance, due to the physical proximity and the openness of expression from the interpreters.

As an artist working in this “genre”, what’s your burning question?

Hmmm … I think it has something to do with, “How can we maintain the integrity of public performance, so that it does not become so common that there is no more sense of magic, or serendipity? How can we be democratic and encourage everyone who wishes to practice public performance, yet keep the quality high?”

Deanna Witwer, Caileen Bennett, Naomi Brand and Kirsten Wiren in The Sanitastics by Melanie Kloetzel (currently in post-production) / Photo by kloetzel&co.

Melanie Kloetzel
Associate Professor in the Department of Dance at the University of Calgary, Calgary

You have created a number of works for public spaces in the last several years or more. For our readers, can you simply list a few examples of spaces in which you’ve performed your work recently?

In the past ten years, I have made site-specific works for my company, kloetzel&co., for an old wooden bridge in Brooklyn, NY, a photography museum and a downtown plaza in California, and a defunct hotel and railway station, circa 1915, in Idaho; I’ve also created two site films – one in a decaying egg farm and one in the Calgary Skyway Plus 15 system.

In what ways do you hope to affect the public’s perceptions and experiences of these spaces with your work?

I am excited for people to look at their local public spaces anew. In my opinion, site work (which is what I would call a great deal of the work for public spaces) is the equivalent of today’s “locavore” movement (those dedicated to eating locally-grown food). It is about people noticing their local environments, considering the configurations and functions of these environments, and working to either protect or change them, depending on the circumstances. This is what I hope my work might do; that it might help us examine and consider through physical, intellectual and sensual means our choices regarding architecture, design, environment and urban planning.

Looking back, we can find examples of artists who have created from similar motivations in the past. Why do you feel it’s important to make this kind of work today?

Yes, work that falls under this category can be dated back to Anna Halprin’s experiments in public spaces in California in the 1950s, Simone Forti’s, Lucinda Childs’s, and Steve Paxton’s work in New York in the 1960s, and the continued efforts in the past four decades by such luminaries as Meredith Monk, Ann Carlson, Joanna Haigood, and many more [see the book, Site Dance, for more details]. These people were interested in breaking the boundaries of the theatre space and making art where people could access it readily. I believe that this work has grown more, rather than less, critical as our culture has become more invested in virtual space and less invested in the history and sensations of the world around us. I still believe it is necessary for people to experience art in a physical way on an everyday basis and making work in public spaces means that people 1) can’t avoid such work, and 2) can re-experience the joy and relevance of art in our daily lives.

What have you learned or discovered about the nature and experience of public space through your performance work?

One thing that has grown increasingly clear to me is that art in public spaces can really push the buttons of the authorities if those authorities have not specifically asked for that art. Municipal powers appreciate art in public if it is a festival or some such event that is controlled by them. Other works, however, signal danger for authorities and the level of surveillance can be extreme. In our recent experience of filming in the Calgary Skyway, security personnel pestered us multiple times per day due to our stillness or our unusual movement on the “pedestrian highway” of the Plus 15s. I had to be able to name-drop an entire list of security bigwigs to prove our legitimacy. Even during our moves from one filming site to another (toting our supplies in plastic bags and looking like an itinerant circus or perhaps a homeless troupe), we received many uncomfortable glances or angry stares from other travellers, an understated community policing to curb any perceived difference. Yet, such experiences also make it abundantly clear that art in public spaces is critical. In a tongue-in-cheek way, our filming exposed and critiqued the character of the Skyway with its incessant surveillance, and some of the reactions we received were very telling. For example, a Brazilian couple tearfully approached us to tell one of the characters (a woman wreathed in flowers) how much she reminds them of a journey home; instead of stopping us and asking for paperwork a security officer (dressed in the identical blue shirt and black tie of the surveillance superhero characters) mimicked a dance movement he witnessed; a businessman hooted in surprise at our off-hand comment that it is casual Friday; a group of teenagers with prohibited skateboards begged to be in the film after sporting their tricks. These reactions demonstrate that art in public space can help us ponder our surroundings, and potentially challenge the design and dictates that we have created for those spaces.

Students from the Simon Fraser University Dance Department in Brownian Motion (a work about the economy) at the Firehall Arts Centre, Vancouver (2010) Rob Kitsos / Photo courtesy of Kitsos

Robert Kitsos
Assistant Professor in the Department of Dance at Simon Fraser University, Vancouver

You have created a number of works for public spaces in the last several years or more. For our readers, can you simply list a few examples of spaces in which you’ve performed your work recently?

Most of my work in that past ten years has focused on urban environments and the body. Most of these works were performed in theatres with live dancers interacting with projection of urban spaces. These projections were often public performances of their own: shooting dancers on video in the streets, on rooftops, busy intersections, public elevators, parking lots, etc. A collection of people passing by would always stop to watch. I always saw this as part of the process and a contribution to an awareness of contemporary dance by many people who wouldn’t necessarily go to see a performance in the theatre.

In what ways do you hope to affect the public’s perceptions and experiences of these spaces with your work?

I struggle to find ways to bring attention to the visceral possibilities and aesthetic significance of pedestrian movement vocabulary in my work as a teacher and choreographer. In my last full evening work Wake, I wanted the audience to have an experience that provoked them to see the city and the way they moved through it in a new way. The design of our environments has a huge effect on our physical instincts, and the way we move often has an effect on how public spaces are constructed. When we make this connection, we have a deeper appreciation for the prosaic dances we do everyday, and a window into the inspiration behind many contemporary artists in the field of dance.

Looking back, we can find examples of artists who have created from similar motivations in the past. Why do you feel it’s important to make this kind of work today?

It was the Judson artists in the early 1960s who really established the connection of public spaces and human movement. Artists like Trisha Brown choreographed dancers on New York City rooftops, along the walls of museums and in the streets. Another huge inspiration to me was dance films created by innovators like Anne Teresa de Keersmaeker and Thierry de Mey as well as Dv8. These artists found amazing interiors of abandoned buildings, factories and natural environments as stages for great movement and poignant narratives. More recent artists include site-specific choreographer Noémie Lafrance, who creates works in spaces like empty swimming pools, parking lots and rooftops, and Vancouver’s own Aeriosa Dance, who have performed rappelling on many of the cities tallest buildings.

Our art form is a difficult one for most people to understand and yet it’s completely connected and inspired by what we all experience as human beings moving on the planet. This kind of work is important because it reminds us that dance and life are connected and we (the dance artists) are not so hard to understand.

What have you learned or discovered about the nature and experience of public space through your performance work?

One fascinating thing to me about movement and public spaces is the way different cultures adopt movement tendencies that directly relate to the architecture of their environments. For example, the works I made when in Hong Kong were all around the efficiency of having to move in confined and crowded spaces, just like the millions of families that live in small apartments in giant buildings. In general, I am much more aware of public spaces and their influence on our bodies. This awareness gives me many more ideas for new work.

As an artist working in this “genre”, what’s your burning question?

I believe the mysterious nature of an abstract art like contemporary dance can seem unattainable and I don’t think it needs to be (and if it is unattainable, the ideas probably weren’t clear to begin with). It might be my presence in academia that influences this as well, where many people make the mistake of thinking if an idea is complicated or in a language that only a few people can understand, it’s deeper or more important. The reality is, it’s much more difficult and useful to say something complicated in a simple way, so we can all understand it. I think dance should do this and putting it in public makes it easier for me.

Aimée Dawn Robinson in an untitled improvisation at Waterfowl Park, Sackville, New Brunswick (2009) / Photo by Eric Chenaux

Aimée Dawn Robinson
Co-artistic director of Up Darling and the director of multi-disciplinary performance series, A Month of Sundays, Toronto

You have created a number of works for public spaces in the last several years or more. For our readers, can you simply list a few examples of spaces in which you’ve performed your work recently?

Recently, I have performed improvised dance solos [in Toronto] on and alongside the railway tracks near Wallace and Lansdowne, on the rooftop of 401 Richmond, in Stanley Park (Toronto) during a nighttime amateur baseball game, in the snowy courtyard of the Music Gallery, and (for camera and incidental audiences) in streams, along railways, inside cars and vans, in marshes, ditches, beaches, boardwalks, rocky hillsides, campgrounds and parking lots between Toronto and St. John’s (Newfoundland).

In what ways do you hope to affect the public’s perceptions and experiences of these spaces with your work?

Even the most humble space contains magic.

Looking back, we can find examples of artists who have created from similar motivations in the past. Why do you feel it’s important to make this kind of work today?

I feel that the root of much of human suffering stems from our increasing alienation from nature. It is essential that we continue to be penetrated by the complexities of the natural world. Therefore, I prefer to dance outdoors where there are insects, dirt, snow, waters, winds, vegetation and all manner of organisms that live beyond our control or comprehension.

What have you learned or discovered about the nature and experience of public space through your performance work?

I have learned, through performing outdoors and in public spaces, that we tend to adhere to unwritten rules of acceptable codified movement behaviour in public. Viewers often find instances of “breaking the rules” invigorating; however, only if these transgressions occur within another coded structure called “performance”.

Aeriosa Company in rehearsal for In Situ by Taffe on the Collonades of Library Square, Vancouver / Photo by Colin Zacharias

Julia Taffe
Artistic Director of Aeriosa Dance Society (vertical dance), Vancouver

You have created a number of works for public spaces in the last several years or more. For our readers, can you simply list a few examples of spaces in which you’ve performed your work recently?

Inside the promenade of the Vancouver Library Central Branch and outside on the ledges and colonnades of the building’s north and south plazas; on the concave front face of the twenty-two-storey Government of Canada office tower at 300 West Georgia in Vancouver; on three walls of the heritage designated, Edwardian-era Vancouver block building at Granville and Georgia; on two glass walls of the Kinnear Centre for Creativity and Innovation at the Banff Centre; the interior roof of the Richmond Olympic Skating Oval; the Vancouver Art Gallery: both outside of the Hornby Street aspect of the building and inside the three-storey rotunda; on the concrete pylons under the Granville Street Bridge; outdoors on a thirty-five-foot truss arch in Whistler Mountain square in February: (snow, ice, sub-zero temperatures); on the seven-storey north wall of the Dance Centre building; on the cinder block façade of the Centennial Plaza Parkade in Victoria.

In what ways do you hope to affect the public’s perceptions and experiences of these spaces with your work?

I hope to surprise, delight and confront people by putting live art in their path. I’ve spent time thinking about the ritualized relationship between performers and audiences; the well-behaved theatre patron follows traditional rules: pay up, sit there, be still, watch me, clap now. Although I enjoy playing that role for worthy performances and performers, in my personal experience, the ritual has sometimes felt contrived (especially as a young dancer when I experience performing in works that lacked integrity ad caused me personal embarrassment). By creating site work on location I can try to transform people’s quotidian encounters with public space by using it in unexpected ways. In my work two things are true: all the world’s a stage, and people can fly.

Looking back, we can find examples of artists who have created from similar motivations in the past. Why do you feel it’s important to make this kind of work today?

It concerns me that dance is so remote and misunderstood in Canada – that dance is customarily defined as a high art form or a commercial entertainment spectacle. Unlike sports, it is not taught in schools or regarded as something that everyone should participate in or even simply witness and comprehend. I want people to know what working dance artists do – that the practice of dance making is a natural activity for humans and the process of engagement is often just as compelling as the finished performance.

What have you learned or discovered about the nature and experience of public space through your performance work?

I’ve learned that lots of people want to talk about the work – to relate their encounters, and ask questions and be acknowledged in turn. I’ve also learned that a few people will scowl and feel territorial about “their” public space. I’ve realized that some folks have their blinders on when they are out and about and they honestly don’t see what is going on around them. I’ve noticed all kinds of people who come back, day after day, to watch the process unfold because they are completely swept away. After performing I’ve been hugged by people weeping with joy and something less definable. During shows I’ve seen dozens of people lie down on the pavement because they discover that’s one of the best ways to take in the work. It has become obvious to me that many people whose lives would otherwise be enriched by performing arts do not have access to shows and I think that’s a terrible shame. In that sense my site work has a socio-political context.

Perhaps more important, it is really my own perceptions and experiences as an artist that have been affected by working in public space. When I was a contemporary dancer working in the sanctity of the studio, I thought I needed to put space between myself and the world to protect and polish my artistry. After many years of public practice I’ve become more resilient, affable, collaborative and intuitive as a choreographer.

As an artist working in this “genre”, what’s your burning question?

In a practical sense my burning questions are: where is our next stage, who is our audience and what is our relevance in their landscape. It is important for me to absorb and reflect upon the local surroundings so that what I impose upon public space will be respectful and considerate of the denizens. I’m immersed in the concept of risk and how it shapes us: perceived risk, actual risk, the management of risk and the power of risk to move us forward or hold us back. My work addresses risk-taking on all of these levels.

I’m also intrigued by the study and expansion of the vertical dance lexicon and new movement possibilities for the single point harness and rope system. I feel like a scientist studying the implications of new gravitational laws – and unless I continue to catalogue and master the complex physical possibilities, I won’t be able to communicate with the articulation that the work deserves. Once the vocabulary is in place for me the central question is still about communication – how do I get a message to resonate through a large space with multiple bodies as conduits?

Currently, for both myself and my dancers, the most sought-after work sites are iconic buildings in the range of thirty to eighty meters. However, the opportunity to work in these locations is inherently rare and expeditionary in nature.

Gdalit Neuman, Jennifer Templeton and Samantha Clowes, in Garden by Susan Cash / Photo courtesy of Cash

Susan Cash
Assistant Professor in the Department of Dance at York University, Toronto

You have created a number of works for public spaces in the last several years or more. For our readers, can you simply list a few examples of spaces in which you’ve performed your work recently?

Most recently: Toronto, Ontario, at Shaw Public School; Stanford University, California, in a lecture hall; Guatemala City in an outdoor arts festival; York University, Toronto, in Vari Hall and outdoors; London, England, in Westminster by the Thames; Bratislava, Slovakia, in a historical building.

In what ways do you hope to affect the public’s perceptions and experiences of these spaces with your work?

I am interested in bringing attention to the unconscious relationship we have to place, so we can have more awareness of and respect for the power of art in movement to affect a visceral attachment to and understanding of space.

Looking back, we can find examples of artists who have created from similar motivations in the past. Why do you feel it’s important to make this kind of work today?

[This kind of work] humanizes dance, includes the on-looker as a participating partner; it embraces the environment and immediate architecture highlighting it in much more of an accessible manner to a general population who might not be going to concert dance and whose experience of dance might only be via the flat screen of reality TV.

What have you learned or discovered about the nature and experience of public space through your performance work?

There is an exhilaration and immediacy in performing in public spaces that is unlike any other performing experience I have encountered. It has the power to make an impact on many levels. It is in some ways much more challenging to engage in this kind of performing and requires a different set of skills than a traditional concert dancer or commercial dancer might need to acquire.

As an artist working in this “genre”, what’s your burning question?

What would happen if every morning on our way to work we saw a dance? We hear music in the subways, see sculpture in the park and buy beautiful visual art for our offices. Could dance be more of a contender in assisting the aesthetic quality of our everyday lives?

Allan Dobbs and company members in Passage (1991) by Karen Jamieson for Karen Jamieson Dance at the National Art Gallery, Ottawa / Photo by Bruce Law

Karen Jamieson
Artistic Director of Karen Jamieson Dance, Vancouver

You have created a number of works for public spaces in the last several years or more. For our readers, can you simply list a few examples of spaces in which you’ve performed your work recently?

National Gallery of Canada: public spaces; Rotunda of the Vancouver Art Gallery (VAG); Streets in the Downtown Eastside of Vancouver (Gore, Hastings, Pender, Columbia); Museum of Anthropology; A hall in Skidegate, Haida Gwaii; Roundhouse Community Centre: public spaces

In what ways do you hope to affect the public’s perceptions and experiences of these spaces with your work?

Each piece I do is so different, each space fulfilling a different objective. I hope
to affect the perceptions and experience of the audience by providing them with a structure that allows them to discover what I have discovered in the process of creation: the special properties of the space through the dance. For instance:

National Gallery of Canada: This work was commissioned by the National Gallery to accompany a show by Emily Carr. Instead, it became a dialogue between dance and architecture and it was here that the compelling idea first emerged in my work: to embody the spirit of a place.

Rotunda of VAG: In this work I was exploring the poetry of vertical space. Architectural rotundas are like the set for Dante’s The Divine Comedy. Spatial structure that rises vertically and falls through several layers

Streets of DTES: The streets [of Vancouver’s Downtown Eastside] are the most appropriate performance venue for my community-engaged work, work that is created for and with the community. It is necessary to perform it where [these individuals] are. The work provides the opportunity for the participants to recognize their own community, space, ground and creative power. The work provides an opportunity for the audience to experience this also, by their presence in the same space, experiencing the same dance structure.

Museum of Anthropology: Works addressing cultural dialogue. The MOA is a symbolic space, filled as it is with First Nations artifacts, built upon an intellectual foundation of museology. The space is a meeting place, a forum for dialogue, a space as much inner as outer.

I have created for and with many more different spaces, including proscenium stage space. I enter into these spatial creations in dance in a spirit of investigation and hope the audience will experience some of the richness that I discover.

Looking back, we can find examples of artists who have created from similar motivations in the past. Why do you feel it’s important to make this kind of work today?

I do [this work] because it’s exciting and full of discovery. It’s quite possible that others have made these discoveries before me. But dance is ephemeral. It only happens in the moment of its presence and creation in a space. So even if others have done this before, the audience coming upon [my work] in that space has no experience of it until I do it.

As an artist working in this “genre”, what’s your burning question?

What is the spirit of this place and how can it be embodied in dance?

A. Azéma, M-P. Bazinet, M. Bélanger, É. Bergeron, J. Blanchet, A. Boulet, V. Bousquet, C. Chan Tak, M. Coquoz, J. Douville, M. Demers, V. Dray, I. Escach, K-M. Germain, L. Goodhue, S-È. Grant, S. Hamelin, É. Hardy, C. Hausler, I. Krouglik, M-È. Lafontaine, F-J. Lapointe, C. Larocque, J. Latreille, É. Lombardo, S. Lombardo, J. Marquis, I. Milicevic, M. Rixhon, L. O’breham Rondeau, E. Ruest, S. Spi, S. Talbot, K. Théoret, A. Thériault, M-È. Tremblay, L. Vallée and M. Williamson in Corps anonyms, a project directed by Katya Montaignac presented during the event Recommandation #63 at Tangente in Montréal (May 2010) / Photo by Christian Semaan

Katya Montaignac
Choreographer, Montréal

You have created a number of works for public spaces in the last several years or more. For our readers, can you simply list a few examples of spaces in which you’ve performed your work recently?

I’ve been working in different spaces for twelve years.

First works:
My first work for public space was for a dance video in 1998 called “35”. The choreography was made in (and for) mechanical stairs of the subway in Paris.
Video on http://www.youtube.com/kytdancing#p/a/u/1/Jbcdqu-6GwE (réal. Catherine Alvès; choreography Vincent Lahache). Since this piece, I have worked and performed in different spaces for other dance video works, like in squares, parks and in the streets during different festivals in Paris and in Montréal. For example, “Ysé” (2003) http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=k283SXTqeU8 (réal. Philippe Mihailovich, choreography Vincent Lahache), “Liberscriptus” (2000) http://vids.myspace.com/index.cfm?fuseaction=vids.individual&videoid=45838815 (real. Séverine Thévenet, choreography Vincent Lahache & Katya Montaignac).

From 2001 to 2006, I created a work called “Raymond”: it was a solo for different performers (dancers or not). More than fifty people have participated to this project. Each of them danced the same movements but each in his own way, choosing his own music and his own rhythm. This project has been performed in different spaces in Paris and Montréal.

U.D.O (Unidentified Dancing Objects):
From 2007 to 2008, I created several dance capsules called “Invisible Dances” in urban spaces: one with i-pod for a bus stop and another one with cell phones. I presented these works in Paris and in Montréal for different festivals (Festival Soukmachines and OuDaPo – Ouvroir de Danse Potentielle – in Paris, and in Montréal for the event The Art (prononcez dehors) on Place des Arts, ATSA, Off-Biennale de Dare-Dare Art Centre and for the event L’écho d’un fleuve). At the bus stop : http://www.dailymotion.com/video/x5wj31_in-situ-1-labribus_creation (réal. Clotilde Amprimoz, choreography Katya Montaignac). With the cell phones: http://www.vimeo.com/6812184 (réal. Clotilde Amprimoz, choreography Katya Montaignac).

Since 2009, I created a new project called “Corps Anonymes” (Anonymous Bodies). It’s an “U.D.O” (Unidentified Dancing Object): some choreographic infiltrations in urban spaces. A big group from twenty to forty people listen to the same mp3 files with instructions of movements. And everybody executes them with their bodies in the urban space. This work has been presented at ATSA in 2009, and in 2010, at Tangente for the event Recommandation #63, at the event Pas de danse, pas de vie !, at the Festival OFFTA and the Festival Transatlantique.

Private spaces:
Since 2007, I performed also for different dance projects in a apartments with the choreographer Léna Massiani but also with the group La 2e Porte à Gauche with whom I organized two dance events in an apartment in 2008 and 2009: the project “7½ à part” in 2008 (it can be translated by “7½ to share” in english) where we invited six choreographers to work in the same flat and “9½ à part” in 2009 with twelve performers for a collaborative dance show.

In what ways do you hope to affect the public’s perceptions and experiences of these spaces with your work?

I like to add some ‘perturbations’ in the use of public spaces. I hope my proposals bring to the public a different look at the urban spaces that they cross everyday. I add just an element, or do something different, which can change our look on the city. I like to underline something we don’t see anymore because it has become very common: for example the homeless problem. We are so used to seeing them everyday in the streets that we don’t look at them anymore. We don’t really react to a body lying on the ground but what happens if we meet twenty people lying down? So I work with a big group in homeless positions and suddenly people can’t avoid this reality: twenty people are lying down in the street … I hope also to change the look of contemporary dance by proposing a different perception of the body in movement.

Looking back, we can find examples of artists who have created from similar motivations in the past. Why do you feel it’s important to make this kind of work today?

In the past, motivations were similar but the context could be different. For example, in the United States in the 1960s and 1970s, the social and political contestations were very important (more than today!). Dancing outside during this time was a real event, like a manifestation or a political statement. Nowadays, dancing outside has become quite usual. It’s even an excellent way for festivals to improve their visibility in city life. It has also become sometimes a cultural animation, like a tourist event. So today it’s more and more difficult to have real visibility and especially real power of acting because you can see everything (for the best, but for the worst at well!) in the streets or in the public spaces.

What have you learned or discovered about the nature and experience of public space through your performance work?

Through my performance works in different spaces, I have discovered that the public is ready to see everything about contemporary art, but only if we give some keys to understand why the artist does it. People don’t like when an artist does something without a clear intention. Dancing outside is very difficult because we dance for people who don’t choose to see us. It’s a relation very different than in theatre where the audience has paid to see a show. For that reason, artists have to be very clear when they perform outside.

As an artist working in this “genre”, what’s your burning question?

I think we always should ask ourselves “why dance outside?” And what does it mean? If people don’t understand your work when you perform outside of the theatre, don’t believe that it is because they are stupid, but ask yourself if your own work is clear and think about your intentions and the ways you aim to express them. I don’t think that because someone is an artist (or calls himself “artist”), that what he does is genius. I think that being an artist should be a modest act. Unfortunately, it’s often the contrary. I think artists have to go to their audiences; it’s their responsibility.

David Danzon and Michael Caldwell in Les moutons for CORPUS at Festival de la cité, Lausanne, Switzerland (2009) / Photo by Anita Guerin

David Danzon
Artistic Director of CORPUS, Toronto

You have created a number of works for public spaces in the last several years or more. For our readers, can you simply list a few examples of spaces in which you’ve performed your work recently?

Shopping malls, ecological gardens, busy downtown intersections, theatre lobbies, parking lots and rooftop buildings.

In what ways do you hope to affect the public’s perceptions and experiences of these spaces with your work?

By transforming a public space into a performance space, I invite audiences to re-evaluate their surroundings and daily routines. I try to offer a new and perhaps unsuspected reading of what we generally take for granted (a parking lot is for parking cars, a shopping mall is for shopping, etc.)

What have you learned or discovered about the nature and experience of public space through your performance work?

It’s increasingly difficult to surprise audiences in a theatre setting (i.e., stage). I also sense that audiences are hungry for less formal and less passive performance experiences. The street (or other public space) offers an open format, both for spectator and artist, with fresher possibilities for intimacy and interaction.

Bill Coleman in Calendar – July by Tedi Tafel, performed in an enclosed backyard garden in Montréal (July 2010) / Photo by Tafel

Tedi Tafel
Dancer and choreographer, Montréal

You have created a number of works for public spaces in the last several years or more. For our readers, can you simply list a few examples of spaces in which you’ve performed your work recently?

In 2006, I created a performance series entitled Life-World. This work was made for a storefront space and consisted of twelve different pieces using various configurations of solos and duets, video images from nature, pieces of furniture and installations made of natural materials (branches, leaves, flowers). The work was seen from the street.

This year, I am presenting another series entitled Calendar: twelve site-specific works in twelve different locations around the city, one a month throughout 2010. Launched last January, the project is a collaboration with composer Monique Jean and dancers Leslie Baker, Marc Boivin, Bill Coleman, Dean Makarenko and Lin Snelling. It follows the cycle of a year of seasonal changes and is being presented in both indoor and outdoors spaces. Some of the performance locations have included: an old railway building formerly used for unloading cargo and now owned by sculptor Jean Brillant (January); a two-storey house, viewed from the street (February); an enclosed backyard garden (July); a fire escape on a six-storey building, viewed from the back alley (August); an historic Bank of Montreal building (September).

Looking back, we can find examples of artists who have created from similar motivations in the past. Why do you feel it’s important to make this kind of work today?

I do not know how similar my motivation is to artists of the past, but I do know that as a young choreographer I was deeply affected by some of the experimentation of the Judson Church Group and other artists of that time. What especially excited me was the work that pushed at the boundaries between art and life; choosing everyday, recognizable actions over stylized movement and taking the body outside of traditional performance venues to place it in public spaces. They created events and encounters that challenged the audience’s way of seeing dance and that explored how the human body interacted with its immediate environment. I think these issues are as vital today as when they were revolutionary.

I create the things that I need to see in the world. Though I live in the city, my inspiration comes through extensive retreats in nature. My creative process revolves around a desire to transplant something of this experience back into urban settings. I transform chosen sites into places of heightened attention, imagination and metaphor, drawing upon the imagery and themes that come to me during these retreats and from the direct experience of the performance space itself. I do this as a way to remind us of our sensual involvement with the surrounding world, something that can get lost in our routine functioning in the city. I try to confront habitual ways of being and relating that can be dictated by urban life and shake up our expectations of performance. I need to make pieces that acknowledge and celebrate the deep intimacy we have with the natural world because we tend to forget this as we go about our day and I believe it is imperative that we don’t. I need to live in a world that contains poetry, surprise, mystery and elements of the wild, so I create performed events that interrupt, and intersect with, everyday life.

What have you learned or discovered about the nature and experience of public space through your performance work?

A site is chosen because it has a presence, qualities that give it its particular sense. It has a history, a character and a mood, all of which must be paid attention to. It inspires images and metaphors and makes us feel, imagine and think certain things. Though I had already been aware of this, working on Calendar has definitely heightened my ability to pay attention to these things.

As we spend time in spaces, they transform us. For Calendar, sites were chosen because they seem to be appropriate homes for the developing themes, images and ideas of each piece. But the place is the context and, once on-site rehearsals begin, it inevitably affects the content. Certain things have to be let go of; others need to be allowed in. Of course this works the other way. The dance also transforms the space, revealing an imaginary vitality invisible in its everyday existence. This is an intimate conversation between the world of the dance and world of its setting – a continual back and forth between the interiority of the imagination, memory and desire and the external surroundings. If one ignores this process, one is imposing instead of listening and the opportunity for finding the richness of this meeting place is lost.

I have been making site-specific pieces for over twenty years now. I have come to see that our relationship to our surroundings is a porous one; that we affect and are affected by the spaces we inhabit often in ways that don’t reach our consciousness. Making dances for places that we live in, that we move through, lets me explore and express this reciprocal exchange and perhaps encourages audiences to view their own experiences of place differently.

Cara Spooner and Alicia Grant in their own work Mourning Sunshine (2007) / Photo by Andy Schmitt

Alicia Grant & Cara Spooner
Choreographers and performers, Toronto

You have created a number of works for public spaces in the last several years or more. For our readers, can you simply list a few examples of spaces in which you’ve performed your work recently?

We have performed our work in backyards, bike shops, alleyways, food courts, horse stables, public benches, laundromats, bars, restaurants, cafes, an abandoned factory, a river (Alicia) and a public park (Cara).

In what ways do you hope to affect the public’s perceptions and experiences of these spaces with your work?

Spaces can be animated so that the space underlines the movement and the movement underlines the space. You can see both more clearly. The space provides context that is real. There are no imaginary surroundings being created.

The space affects how audiences experience the work; the atmosphere, the memories and associations that a space holds are a part of what they feel as they walk into it. Those feelings are magnified by what we do in those spaces. The unconscious associations become tools to help us communicate the work.

Looking back, we can find examples of artists who have created from similar motivations in the past. Why do you feel it’s important to make this kind of work today?

We started to make site-specific work out of necessity and a lack of funding. Once we started making the work, we realized the power it held for our audiences and how much we enjoyed what came out of making site-specific work. Now it is a choice, not just necessity. It is important to make this kind of work today because we can keep ourselves, and our audiences, on our toes.

The theatre can actually be a very limiting place. Everything has to be constructed rather than found and the dimensions are pre-determined. There is a hierarchy between performer and audience member where the audience member is only able to sit in rows in the dark and look up or down to an elevated, lit stage. It seems unbalanced to us and we are interested in offering another kind of experience.

In the theatre, the audience’s ability to choose what to look at, where to go and how to respond is stunted. We are interested in blending the barriers between audience and performer. In our work in public space, the audience is also a part of the spectacle. Who is watching who?

Why now? It has to do with theatre politics and etiquette, arts funding and the necessity to keep a broad scope of creation.

What have you learned or discovered about the nature and experience of public space through your performance work?

It is better to ask for forgiveness than ask for permission. We always have to be flexible and open to the space contributing to the piece as much as we are. As much as it is “site” specific it is also time specific and context specific. The work changes every time we visit the space because the weather/people/traffic/collective unconscious is always changing. It is not a controlled environment and learning the space and how we can interact in it is the work.

Kenneth Emig in his own work Diffract for Canada Dance Festival, Ottawa (2008) / Photo by John Richardson

Kenneth Emig
Multi-disciplinary artist, Ottawa

In what ways do you hope to affect the public’s perceptions and experiences of these spaces with your work?

I want to show the public how I experience the spaces that surround them as an alternative to their experience. Public spaces are often perceived through habitual personal experience. I hope to offer the possibility of altering that experience.

What have you learned or discovered about the nature and experience of public space through your work?

By working in public spaces as an artist, I have discovered that many more options have opened to me. I became aware of more movement, shape, colour and experience possibilities than I was before. Performing in public spaces challenges my own habits and makes me more intimately aware of my surroundings.

Melt in New York City (2010) by Noemie Lafrance / Photo by Lafrance, courtesy of Sens Production

Noémie Lafrance
Artistic Director of Sens Production, based in Brooklyn, NY

You have created a number of works for public spaces in the last several years or more. For our readers, can you simply list a few examples of spaces in which you’ve performed your work recently?

The salt pile, Frank Gehry–designed Fisher center for the performing arts at Bard College, the McCaren Park Pool

In what ways do you hope to affect the public’s perceptions and experiences of these spaces with your work?

I hope they can see a space differently and go beyond the practical and see the emotions, the past life, the vibrations, the intonations, the echoes the smells, the sounds of a site.

Looking back, we can find examples of artists who have created from similar motivations in the past. Why do you feel it’s important to make this kind of work today?

Because art exists everywhere not just inside the controlled environment of theatre or museums. Art reflects on our life and life happens in real places. Spaces affect us in many ways and I want to include the feeling that a place gives in the experience of art.

What have you learned or discovered about the nature and experience of public space through your performance work?

Public spaces are for everyone to share. They are not meant to be under anyone’s control in particular, which means people may have different ideas of what they are or should be used for.

As an artist working in this “genre”, what’s your burning question?

How does the audience get involved, how can they be more a part of the work?


Learn more >>

Dance in Public Space: Videos

Site Dance: Choreographers and the Lure of Alternative Spaces, edited by Melanie Kloetzel and Carolyn Pavlik, University Press of Florida, 2009.

Susan Cash: www.yorku.ca/finearts/dance
Merce Cunningham: www.merce.org
David Danzon: www.corpus.ca
Kenneth Emig: www.emigresearch.com
Free Dance Lessons: www.wagpress.net/features/files/freedance.html
Lynda Gaudreau: www.lyndagaudreau.com
Bill James: www.danceumbrella.net/localheroes_1990.htm
Karen Jamieson: www.kjdance.ca
Robert Kitsos: www.sfu.ca/sca
Melanie Kloetzel: www.kloetzelandco.com
Noémie Lafrance: www.sensproduction.org
La Ribot: www.laribot.com
Terrill Maguire: www.yorku.ca/finearts/dance
Katya Montaignac: www.la2eporteagauche.ca
Gerry Morita: www.milezerodance.com
Move: Choreographing You at Haymarket: www.southbankcentre.co.uk
Meaghan O’Shea: http://standupdance.com
Aimée Dawn Robinson: www.motherdrift.blogspot.com
Slow Dance with Teacher: www.mammalian.ca/template.php?content=social_slowdance
Tedi Tafel: www.calendarproject.ca
Julia Taffe: www.aeriosa.com
Thrill the World: http://thrilltheworld.com


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