Vancouver East Cultural Centre
11 November 2010
Hero & Heroine- The Response
Amber Funk Barton - great turner/ whips around like a ballerina let loose on ice. I get the sense of cartoon hero/heroine, depicting comic strips; taking the frames and stringing them together in movements. Amber Funk Barton and Josh Martin are "Mr and Mrs Smith" without the context. I lose interest quickly. The constant changing dynamics and use of slow-walking to end ideas becomes predictable. There are some extremely powerful and breathtaking moments. These talented dancers are a joy to watch. They command the stage and dance well together. I see so much potential in Amber's work, but I would like to see her tackle more mature themes (or if she is going to stick with relationships, tackle them from a more mature perspective). I find that her works speak to her youthful side, but if she is to grow into her years, she needs to start digging deeper.
Audible - 605 Collective
605 Collective are my guilty pleasure, but after this show I wonder if I need to feel guilty about it anymore. They are -for my money- the most charismatic ensemble that Vancouver has to offer right now, helped enormously by Shay Kuebler's lack of self consciousness on stage. They have a great sense of composition, they exude energy even when standing still. They work together. They work smart and hard and you can tell they care about us, the audience. I saw Audible in 2008. Their style is so 'hip'/current; they are almost in danger of being "so 2008" with this piece. They have given this work a wonderful touring life recently but I am ready to see what they do with a new idea that can speak to their ability to be relevant, youthful and intellectual with their work. I hope the demand for this particular piece does not trap them creatively, because if we are patient I am sure their next piece could blow our socks off all over again and with even more gusto.
Tuesday, November 16, 2010
Tobari by Sankai Juku Writing Trial
Sankai Juku
Tobari- As if in an Inexhaustible Flux
presented by DanceHouse
Vancouver Playhouse
5 Nov 2010
In the words of artistic director, choreographer and designer Ushio Amagatsu, Tobari, in Japanese, “is a veil of fabric hung in a space as a partition. Since olden times, tobari has been used poetically to express the passage from day to night in expressions like wrapped in the veil of night.”
The work is divided into seven scenes with titles like: From Unlimited Nothingness, Reflecting on Each Other, A Vertical Dream of the Future, and In an Inexhaustible Flux.
White, textured stage.
Black oval cuts across centre.
White reflects under,
Drawn to the glow.
Top tinted blue.
Show starts
Soloist gestures
British/Canadian eyes see a peace sign.
Space, marked!
Movements cut through time.
Space of body, marked!
Long gaze to the horizon line
Expansiveness lies beyond sight.
Hovering centre.
Bended knees just off ground.
Slow walks to the edge and...
Physics and skepticism tested
Hover gone.
Dancer leaves.
Hover re-created.
Bodies, all knowing, wise without force, capable without pride, gracious without righteousness, skilled without pretension.
Reveal starry skies
Orbit centrality.
...placing feet in the spaces of feet before.
Intimacy.
Respectful consideration for
Already-marked space.
Constantly moving
Territory, marked?
A defense?
Continuity.
Life?
In the middle of the inexhaustible flux, not sure of its beginning or its end, yet its existence defines our own.
Planet revolves
Oval Hovers.
Earth?
Reflections.
Scene and seen.
Nature and Experience.
Steady, inevitable.
Piercing /caressing.
Life. Death.
Personal moments of realisation only change our personal perceptions of the world. They do not and can not affect the way in which the ‘world’ turns.
Sophisticated.
Specific.
Minimal.
Beautiful.
Torsos,
Legs,
Strong.
Supple...
Hands light and percussive, holding petals, sensing air.
Synchronous technical feats.
Four: elbow, forearm, drop body, drop hips, turn onto backs, pause, flip, rest.
Six: kneeling, heads dropped, hands reaching up.
Repetition (a direction, a move, a speed) sets up the meditative.
Unified repetition.
Double time gestures feel quadruple time against the butoh-slow.
Punctuating the meditative.
Stacatto, theatrical-ity and practical-ity, scuttles and stops.
Mark scene.
New.
Night?
Dark blue dress robes
Waist-to-knee orange,/black/white
Brief release from chalk covered, bare chests
Decorative, processional.
Grateful contrast.
Night.
Solo contrasts groups.
Face creates images
Open hands open more
Action reveals action
Mesmerizing.
Hallucinatory.
Revolving.
Indulgent?
On reflection...
Forbearance, compassion, tolerance, liberality attract/repel restraint, necessity, strictness,moderation.
Generosity.
Invitation.
Graciousness.
Transparent authenticity.
Hands raise slowly to hearts.
Connected in the current of a wave.
Claire French © 2010
Tobari- As if in an Inexhaustible Flux
presented by DanceHouse
Vancouver Playhouse
5 Nov 2010
In the words of artistic director, choreographer and designer Ushio Amagatsu, Tobari, in Japanese, “is a veil of fabric hung in a space as a partition. Since olden times, tobari has been used poetically to express the passage from day to night in expressions like wrapped in the veil of night.”
The work is divided into seven scenes with titles like: From Unlimited Nothingness, Reflecting on Each Other, A Vertical Dream of the Future, and In an Inexhaustible Flux.
White, textured stage.
Black oval cuts across centre.
White reflects under,
Drawn to the glow.
Top tinted blue.
Show starts
Soloist gestures
British/Canadian eyes see a peace sign.
Space, marked!
Movements cut through time.
Space of body, marked!
Long gaze to the horizon line
Expansiveness lies beyond sight.
Hovering centre.
Bended knees just off ground.
Slow walks to the edge and...
Physics and skepticism tested
Hover gone.
Dancer leaves.
Hover re-created.
Bodies, all knowing, wise without force, capable without pride, gracious without righteousness, skilled without pretension.
Reveal starry skies
Orbit centrality.
...placing feet in the spaces of feet before.
Intimacy.
Respectful consideration for
Already-marked space.
Constantly moving
Territory, marked?
A defense?
Continuity.
Life?
In the middle of the inexhaustible flux, not sure of its beginning or its end, yet its existence defines our own.
Planet revolves
Oval Hovers.
Earth?
Reflections.
Scene and seen.
Nature and Experience.
Steady, inevitable.
Piercing /caressing.
Life. Death.
Personal moments of realisation only change our personal perceptions of the world. They do not and can not affect the way in which the ‘world’ turns.
Sophisticated.
Specific.
Minimal.
Beautiful.
Torsos,
Legs,
Strong.
Supple...
Hands light and percussive, holding petals, sensing air.
Synchronous technical feats.
Four: elbow, forearm, drop body, drop hips, turn onto backs, pause, flip, rest.
Six: kneeling, heads dropped, hands reaching up.
Repetition (a direction, a move, a speed) sets up the meditative.
Unified repetition.
Double time gestures feel quadruple time against the butoh-slow.
Punctuating the meditative.
Stacatto, theatrical-ity and practical-ity, scuttles and stops.
Mark scene.
New.
Night?
Dark blue dress robes
Waist-to-knee orange,/black/white
Brief release from chalk covered, bare chests
Decorative, processional.
Grateful contrast.
Night.
Solo contrasts groups.
Face creates images
Open hands open more
Action reveals action
Mesmerizing.
Hallucinatory.
Revolving.
Indulgent?
On reflection...
Forbearance, compassion, tolerance, liberality attract/repel restraint, necessity, strictness,moderation.
Generosity.
Invitation.
Graciousness.
Transparent authenticity.
Hands raise slowly to hearts.
Connected in the current of a wave.
Claire French © 2010
Saturday, February 13, 2010
Olympics, Hearts, and Art
2010 Vancouver Olympic Winter Games have begun. I am in Vancouver. I live here. I am an artist living in a province of Canada that seems to only value the cultural or entertainment aspects of arts practice. The Olympics is full of entertainment, and culturally focused events, of which I am a part. Once the Olympics leave the city, so does provincial support for the arts. But the artists will remain. Arts will remain. I don't think we are willing to go back underground?
I have received several contracts through Olympic-related events. I have been paid professional rates for my services as a choreographer, and rightly so. This to me shows an element of respect for my training, skill, perspective and practice. I am however well aware that I was not paid these rates solely for my perspective and my personal artistic vision. I was paid to provide a requested service deemed useful/ functional for a community by somebody else- and in this capacity I was a cultural worker, using my skills to enhance the cultural experience and highlight aspects of a community for others in the community. Arguably this did not have to be an artistic gig. Someone with skills in logistics, and with the patience of a good teacher could have done most of it. The experience and end result would have been different but the job would have been done, just as efficiently and just as on time. The power of the deadline. I did community and cultural work for the Olympics. I just happen to be an artist.
I received a parking permit for one event which declared me an entertainer. I tried to smile all day.
I watched the Opening ceremonies last night. KD Lang stole the show for me. Her song was a dance-- of grief, passion, beauty, strength, grace and skill. The visuals were astounding, breath-taking.
I stood on Robson in an international crowd- proud to be in Vancouver.
Is that so wrong?
I have received several contracts through Olympic-related events. I have been paid professional rates for my services as a choreographer, and rightly so. This to me shows an element of respect for my training, skill, perspective and practice. I am however well aware that I was not paid these rates solely for my perspective and my personal artistic vision. I was paid to provide a requested service deemed useful/ functional for a community by somebody else- and in this capacity I was a cultural worker, using my skills to enhance the cultural experience and highlight aspects of a community for others in the community. Arguably this did not have to be an artistic gig. Someone with skills in logistics, and with the patience of a good teacher could have done most of it. The experience and end result would have been different but the job would have been done, just as efficiently and just as on time. The power of the deadline. I did community and cultural work for the Olympics. I just happen to be an artist.
I received a parking permit for one event which declared me an entertainer. I tried to smile all day.
I watched the Opening ceremonies last night. KD Lang stole the show for me. Her song was a dance-- of grief, passion, beauty, strength, grace and skill. The visuals were astounding, breath-taking.
I stood on Robson in an international crowd- proud to be in Vancouver.
Is that so wrong?
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