Danceworks at 40

Danceworks 40th anniversary show opened at Harbourfront last night.  Now contemporary dance isn’t really my thing but I was invited in part on the assumption I’d write about the music.  Fair enough but I thought we could do better than that so I asked my partner Katja, who has at least some dance in her background to guest review.  She has done this in rather more detail than I might have expected so what follows is basically her work.  I have added a few comments, mostly about the music, and I have made it clear where it’s me talking.  It would be obvious anyway as I am, as the good lady points out, a “grumpy old bastard”.  Over to Katja…

Joanna de Souza & Esmeralda Enrique-Amalgam-photo 03 by Hervé Lelbay_preview

Photo: Hervé Lelbay

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The Play of Daniel

The Play of Daniel (Danielis ludus) is a 12th or 13th century Latin liturgical play from Beauvais in nothern France.  It appears in the liturgy for January 1st, The Feast of the Circumcision, and appears to have been an attempt to channel the traditional post Christmas disorder into more acceptable channels.  It was probably performed by the sub deacons of the Cathedral; young men in minor orders.  Alex and David Fallis have run with this setting and tried to create a piece that would evoke the same sort of reactions from a 21st century audience as the original did for those who saw it in Beauvais.  That’s a huge ask but, to my mind, they succeeded admirably.

Belshazzar - Olivier Laquerre (l) Noble – Bud Roach (r)

Belshazzar – Olivier Laquerre (l) Noble – Bud Roach (r)

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