Festival Blog

• Feat by Feat No.1 – “Global Dance” – July 1, 2012 – by Larissa Swayze
• Feat by Feat No.2 – “Edmonton Contemporary” – July 3, 2012 – by Larissa Swayze
• Feat by Feat No.3 – "ChoreograTease” – July 6, 2012 – by Larissa Swayze
• Feat by Feat No.4 – "Made in Alberta” – July 13, 2012 – by Larissa Swayze

Ecuador, Italy, Sri Lanka, Israel—just a few of the countries featured in the Edmonton Folk Arts Council’s Celebrate Canada Day 2012. And what better way to say “happy birthday” to Canada than a free dance performance at the Jubilee?

The audience came dressed in red and white for the occasion. Before the lights went down, Danny the Clown—wearing a vest covered in so many buttons it was hard to tell what colour was underneath—entertained with balloon animals. But colour wasn’t missing once the performance began and dancers moved across the stage in vibrant costumes. Most memorable were the peacock “feathers” worn by the four young ladies representing the Sri Lanka Canada Friendship Alliance, which sparkled brighter than even Danny the Clown’s buttons. Still, the costumes had nothing on the smiling dancers who leapt, spun and—in the case of the Lowicz Polish Folklore Ensemble—sang in celebration of Canada and its diversity.

In attendance, Mayor Mandel noted that “the dancing, the costumes, the emotions truly represent Canada Day.” As for the multiculturalism evoked by the varied dance styles, MLA Gene Zwozdesky stated that Canada is a “unique experiment.” A country where people don’t need to shed their cultures and instead are encouraged to embrace them. This combination of experimentation and tradition is one of the great things not just about Canada, but also about dance. No matter what style, dance evolves as new generations take the steps of the past and infuse them with fresh energy. Celebrating the past—and looking forward to the future—it’s what Canada Day is all about.

Day two of the Feats Festival’s contemporary master classes saw a great turnout—no pun intended—with more than a dozen of our city’s professionals gathering on a rainy Tuesday morning at the Edmonton School of Ballet. Walter Kubanek, though he called himself “a dancer more than a teacher,” skillfully led the group through a series of exercises that centered on weight transfer. We began with a walk around the room, followed by partner work that allowed us to focus on completely shifting from one foot to the other. Next up—several combinations had us rolling, balancing, pirouetting, plié-ing and just reveling in the loveliness that is contemporary dance. Most exercises were done in groups of two, with the rest of the dancers observing from the studio’s perimeter because, as Kubanek said, “watching each other is just as important.” My favorite thing about a dance class is studying the other students, finding inspiration from their strength and their ability to express themselves—often with something as simple as lifting their hand. After attending Kubanek’s class, I’m proud to say that Edmonton is home to some truly beautiful dancers. My advice? Join in and check them out!

From Feats Festival’s master class organizer, Raena Waddell:
“Feats Festival of Dance is proud to announce their support for working dance artists in Alberta by offering a 2 week Master Dance Class Intensive running July 2-13. Dancers of all disciplines are invited to attend a morning technique class which will be geared toward the intermediate/advanced contemporary dancer. Each morning from 9:30-11:00am will feature a different contemporary dance teacher who will lead participants through a warm-up and various movement combinations in effort to prepare the dancer for the day ahead. Each teacher has a varied dance background and will offer the participant a wide variety of training philosophies. All classes will take place at the Edmonton School of Ballet.”

Please contact Raena Waddell at raena@telus.net for more information.

Since the only names I recognized from the Choreogra-TEASE program were the good women of Edmonton’s Good Women Dance Collective, I assumed the pieces featured in last Friday’s show would be contemporary. And—while there was contemporary a-plenty—I was delighted to also see Indian dance, tap, dance on film and an excerpt from a movement-based play courtesy of Floating Stones Theatre. Even better—not only was each work engaging and unique, but the question and answer period that followed the performances allowed the audience a peek inside the minds of the artists. Choreographers and dancers had so much to say they were routinely cut-off by a loud chime—and the interruptions quickly became the evening’s running joke. Thankfully, facilitator Kealy Litun graciously allowed the discussions to continue after the warning bell sounded and the audience was treated to a fascinating dialogue that deserves a recap.

RGB and Bound Together
A projected video of red, green and blue dancers greeted us as we filed into the theatre. Little did we know that—as the film’s producer/director Andrew Denton later told us—ninety computers were required to process the captured movement and turn out the final footage. “The camera is a dancer” Denton explained, a statement that also applies to his and Jennifer Nikolai’s other featured piece, Bound Together. Black, white and silent, dancers are shown from unusual angles as they move around each other holding two cameras attached with a Thera-band. As Nikolai sees it, the two bound handhelds create a “forced relationship” between the dancers. They may be able to move apart—but they are also constantly reminded of each other.

Conversations Collide and Your Window
Two juxtaposed pieces brought dancers from the 49th Parallel Dance Company to Edmonton from three distinct cities—Calgary, Vancouver and New York. The playful, high-energy Conversations Collide featured Ariana Champlin and Carolyn Schmidt, while the moving Your Window was performed by Schmidt and Cayley Hanrahan. The dancers believe their living in such different communities means their company holds a unique identity. Technologies like Skype and Dropbox allow them to communicate across the distance, while festivals like Feats allow them to communicate their ideas to others.

Dimension in Thirds
This innovative piece by the aforementioned Good Women Dance Collective incorporates Facetime and explores the differences between digital and physical interaction. Ainsely Hillyard noted that she’s interesting in exploring the area between her two usual choreography styles—abstract and narrative-driven—and that, with this piece, she wanted the audience to feel like “voyeurs in an experiment.” Dimension in Thirds will be featured later this summer in the Edmonton International Fringe Festival.

Abhignyaa
Based on a Hindu story about the goddess of knowledge, Abhignyaa was a fitting piece for a show focused on questions and answers. Choreographer Malavika Venkatsubbaiah pointed out the relevance of the traditional tale in modern times, as its underlying theme is—“If you put your mind toward anything, you can achieve it.” Venkatsubbaiah also noted that, in creating the piece, she focused more on storytelling than pure technical dance, but the communicative movements allowed each dancer to showcase their individual personality.

Altered Condition
As one audience member commented during the talkback period, Jeannie Vanderkerkhove’s piece for the night was “haunting.” With its atmospheric music and low lighting, Altered Condition carried a dreamlike quality that underscored the comments made by dancer and collaborator, Deanne Underwood: “I’m never lonely when I’m alone, but I’m often lonely when I’m out with others.” A dancer experiencing a moment of solitude in a room full of people is something Vanderkerkhove wants to further explore, eventually creating a series of similar scenes to be performed as an installation in a house. The audience would then be permitted to observe the dancer from many angles in order to “create their own experience.”

Echoes
An excerpt from a longer work that will premiere at the Fringe in August, Echoes focuses on communication in its many forms. Ainsley Hillyard’s choreography and dancing had the audience giggling as her masked creature interacted with Morgan Smith’s character—a young woman on a quest for a stolen object. Director T. Erin Gruber called the storyline “simple,” stating that this minimalism means the narrative can be communicated on many levels. She also pointed out that the form of “visual storytelling” the play focuses on is something dancers know very well.Rigor Mortis
Filmed on Canada Day in a funeral home parking lot, Gianna Vacirca’s Rigor Mortis uses comedy, dance and members of her family to explore death and its intricacies. Vacirca explained that she and her mother, Teresa Krohman—who danced alongside her in the footage—experienced very different emotions when it came to the piece’s ending. Anne and Richard Krohman, Vacirca’s grandparents and her mother’s parents, are sent skipping off into the great beyond. This visual led an audience member to admit they felt “offended,” but Vacirca took the comment in stride, noting that “death is everywhere—and it’s just a matter of time.” Her frankness may have encouraged a smattering of nervous laughter, but in art (and death)—this type of honesty is a must.

So What Happened Last Night in Tunisia
Closing out the night, tappers Jamie Ausmus and Barbara Vargas used a weaving peddle named “Gary” to create a musical piece on stage—and then they danced to it! As “tap dancers working in the realm of music,” Ausmus and Vargas admitted they’ve had to spend a lot of time learning to “speak like musicians.” As they explained, the kind of tap they do isn’t just about dancing—it’s also about composing. This alternate approach to their dance style is something Ausmus feels a responsibility to expose: “If we want to connect with the community, we have to reach out to them.”

Reaching out and connecting with the community is exactly what a festival like Feats does. Whether a person is a dancer, a dance fan, or just someone who’s curious about what local dance artists are up to—shows like Choreogra-TEASE are the perfect blend of entertainment and education. And, with two more mainstage shows to go, Feats Festival of Dance still has plenty of reaching out to do.

Friday, July 13: Made in Alberta (8PM, Westbury Theatre, $15)
Saturday, July 14: Fresh Feats (8PM, Westbury Theatre, $15)

The second mainstage show of the festival featured several pieces cultivated from the past week’s professional intensives. Works as diverse as Alberta’s choreographers were presented and included performances in contemporary, jazz, tap and stilt dancing, as well as a breathtaking aerial number from Calgary-based Leda Davies. Davies’ number, Cage D’oiseau had her dangling from a trapeze—a feat that certainly took guts—but she wasn’t alone in the chance-taking department Friday night. iDANCE’s (Dis)quiet in the Peanut Gallery, a critique of theories on “disability,” had the performers precariously balancing on each other, while Raena Waddell’s choreography in Bound got the dancers all tangled up. In piECes: poems from another planet, Allara Gooliaff danced on stilts with more confidence than the average person does on the ground.

Because of the heat wave, the theatre was hot in more than just the metaphorical sense. Those audience members who couldn’t bear the humidity long enough to see the second half missed out on tapper Danny Nielson’s unbelievable solo and the remaining spectators hootin’, hollerin’ and—in the case of the woman sitting next to me—repeatedly exclaiming “Oh my god!” A group of equally talented tap-dancing ladies followed Nielson and the final performer of the evening, the aforementioned Davies, made me add trapeze to the ever-growing list of things I want to try. Other notable performances—the four men from one of two Jeannie Vandekerkhove pieces performed with both grace and charm in What Now? And the charm continued with Vandekerkhove herself, alongside sister Jodi, in the appropriately entitled (and appropriately silly) Sisters. Lastly, Edmonton dance show staples, the Good Women Dance Collective, presented an excerpt from Counterpart that illustrated just how in tune these women are with their bodies and with one another. Despite the weather—or maybe even because of it—Made in Alberta was a hot (and sweaty) success.

Feats 2012 Dance Magic Dance contest winner: Krystal Moss