Ballet BC's Rite of Spring: a wonderful rite of passage for human artistic endeavor and technology

It had been a very long time since I had attended a ballet
performance. I sat in the QE Theatre, soaking up the
atmosphere, the conversation, the anticipation.  It was all there
– everything for a great date event.

Ballet BC's final performance
for their 2004 to 2005 season had everything one could wish for. 
The dancing evoked both the pathos and atheticism of the human
spirit.  And it was downright sexy to watch. The sound system
was full if a bit loud for the first act.  For the latter
performances, live musicians played off to the side of the stage or
downstage and never detracted from the performances, but somehow made
it more present.  The music was contemporary, classical, or
modern.  Something really for everyone.

And then there was the world premier of John Alleyne's “Rite of
Spring” based on the piano score by Igor Stravinsky, accompanied by the
mult-imedia video presentation of Jamie Griffiths.
A wonderful combination that updated a musical canon with provocative
dance and cutting edge digital video technology.  But more of
that later.

The show opened up with “Like You” by Nicolo Fonte.  The first
thing I was aware of was the almost overwhelming droning of the music,
like a full 5.1 surround system with massive sub woofers.  It was
a very pleasant contrast to the tinny pre-recorded music that
accompanied so many ballet or contemporary dances of the past. 
Today's audience is used to digital home theatre surround sound. 
This set the atmosphere for the magnificient grace and beauty of
Fonte's “Like You.” 

The costumes were simple.  Red singlets for the men, that
really showed off their gluteus maximus muscles (Did I mention it had
been a long time since I last saw the ballet? I think it was the
Joffrey's dances set to the music of Prince in 1993).  The women
wore red dancing shifts that flowed easily and evocatively.  I was
really taken by the beauty of the physical human body, and how
deceptively smooth and light the dancers moved on stage. 
Sometimes in pairs, trios or in large groups, movement flowed up and
around, swirling like swallows in a meadow, playfully, artfully,
deliberately.

15 Heterosexual Dances choreographed by James Kudelka contrasted
with the first piece by Fonte, both with it's lightheartedness and its
choice of classical music – Beethoven's Kreutzer sonata #9, Opus 47.
And yet it complimented the previous program by building a
balance… to the seriousness of the opening piece.  

Kudelka is known as an innovative choreographer for this works with both the National Ballet of Canada and Les Grands Ballets to
push the envelope.  He created mechanical repetitive movements
that at times seemed comical but were still deeply moving for the
overall presentation.  Master musicians Jane Coop and Andrew Dawes
performed the Beethoven  Sonata for Violin and Piano
from the left side off the stage.  A spotlight shone on them,
highlighting the virtuosity of their performance but never detracting
from the dancers who moved in the dances of couples. It is a
beautiful piece that fit beautifully with the dancers and reminded
me of how I always and forever will associate J.S. Bach's Concerto in D
Minor for Two Violins to the beautiful choreography of  George Balanchine's “Concerto Barocco.”

Very sexual without being explicit, always heterosexual, evocative,
sometimes angry, provocative, sometimes coy, seductive sometimes
disfunctional – in all the ways that heterosexual relationships are
known to be (and homosexual relationships too for that matter.) 
The classical music was beautiful in its simplicity, as were the
costumes that were simple work clothes, dance shifts, velour gowns, or
pants.

What really stood out for me was that the dancers seemed to be colour-blind casted in their roles.  The Ballet BC Dance dancers roster
is mostly visibly caucasian with two Chinese dancers and two
African-American dancers who were not always paired together to be a
“nice racial couple.”  In fact, the dancers interact simply as
dancers, in inter-racial pairs or trios, as if race doesn't or
shouldn't make a difference.  This seems to be in contrast to the
challenges faced by Asian Canadian actors for theatre, television or
movies as many local groups such as Firehall Arts Centre and Vancouver Asian Canadian Theatre challenge the Myths of  Casting. 
My event companion and both were struck by this, as we are very
aware that classical music is very integrated racially. Since we
are both multi-generational Chinese-Canadian, the recognition of dancers of Chinese
ancestry resonates strongly for us, especially since we are both involved in
inter-racial relationships ourselves.

John Alleyne (who incidently was born in Barbados)  recieved the inaugural 2005 Vancouver Arts Award
for performing arts.  He has greatly advanced his craft while
helming Ballet BC as artistic director.  Bravo to Alleyne for
pushing the envelop on what is to many people, a “warhorse” both for
dance or for music. His version of Igor Stravinky's “Rite of
Spring” is intimate, opening with four-hand piano duo – banishing any memory recollections to the
moving dinosaurs in Walt Disney's Fantasia set to
Stravinsky's orchestral score or even of the large company of dancers
traditionally used  for this piece originally choreographed by Ninjinsky for its 1913 premier.  It was Ninjinsky's
ritualistic choreography combined with Starvinsky's primal musical
score outraged the Parisan audience causing a riot.

Thankfully, 21st Century audiences are much more appreciative of modern
and post-modern art.  We have witnessed the sexual revolution in
both society and in art.

Alleyne's contribution for his version of “Les Sacre
du Printemps (Rite of Spring en francais) were not only to update a
more sexually provocative work, but also to ask multi-media artist
Jaime Griffiths to create
interactive video imagery including “live capture” as part of an
interactive moving video projection as a component part of the set.

The dance opens with scrim creating a “wall” between the audience
and the stage upon which a gentle image of leaves blowing, leaves
growing and leaves changing… was subtly projected.  The dancing
was strong and provocative, and behind the scrim, it seemed projected
into a dream.  It developed to demonstrate force and beauty,
with primal energy as conflict rose and ebbed between the
dancers..  Okay… sounds like a cliche – but watching
it in the moment, it was very exciting.  I am at a loss of words
to describe it otherwise.

The  piano duo James Anagnoson and Leslie
Kinton
performed a fourhand one piano score as part of Alleyne's more intimate
and minimalist presentation.  The pair is known as one of Canada's
foremost piano duos, and they provided a marvelous minimal soundscape,
emphasizing the beauty and immediacy of live music.  Personally, I
loved hearing Stravinsky's score performed as a fourhand one piano
piece.  This was adapted from the actual piano rehearsal score
that Stravinsky created for Nijinsky to work with.

http://www.joeink.ca/press-kit-releases.htm

Alleyne's
Rite of Spring marries the technology of video and light with the
beauty of
dance and Stravinsky's modern music. While Griffiths is known for her
cutting edge work with Joe Ink. for their collaboration of Grace, her
role with Ballet BC was much more subtle and complimentary. 
Images of the dancers are “captured” and digitally enhanced/distorted
and then projected on the screen.  It emphasizes movement as the
images decay on the screen.  It also opens up possibilities of
what else could be done, as this new media merges more closely with
contemporary arts as we presently know it. 

When Griffiths first showed me a video of her Grace performance, I was
very excited, as it reminded me of the exciting work done by Edouard
Locke and LaLaLa Human Steps, as they played with the interaction of
physical dance, light and sound.  Griffiths as an artist is also
at that same innovative forefront.  But while Grace was an
“in-your-face” performance theatre work, Griffiths contributions here
are much more subtle and complimentary.  They enhance the dancing
experience as opposed to becoming the star or the object of the show.

“John was very trusting, and gave me lots of room,” says
Griffiths.  “He has a clear vision of what he wanted to achieve
and he did it. Most other people I have worked with, have a general
idea that becomes focussed in the process, but John always knew what he
wanted.  It's not a fully realized collaboration. This was meant to be a stepping stone, for
working with the interactive media. There's only so much you can
accomplish by having only a few days to work together.”

One can only imagine what will happen with John Alleyne and Jamie
Griffiths collaborate fully on a project.  Ballet BC takes Rite of
Spring to Vancouver Island for additional performances.  For
Griffiths, she takes Grace to the Edinburgh Festival, where it will be
introduced to presenters from around the world.

Check out Alex Varty's pre-performance interview with John Alleyne in the Georgia Straight:
Rite Angles

Check out Kaija Pepper's review for the Globe & Mail:

Ballet B.C. offers a more intimate Rite of Spring

Lunch with Silk Road Music's Qiu Xia He and Andre Thibault

I had lunch today with Qiu Xia He and Andre Thibault – the husband-wife
core of the music ensemble Silk Road Music, led by Qiu Xia.  They
have recently returned from Easter concerts on Hornby Island, and
Vancouvr Island + an extended tour of Toronto area schools in Ontario
from January to February.  For a rave review of their recent
Toronto concert appearance click here.
http://www.thelivemusicreport.com/clubs/hughSroom/
silkRoad/silkRoadJan05.html

They are a wonderful couple, wonderful human beings, with good hearts
that I truly feel comfortable with.  It has been very nice getting
to know this musically exciting multicultural couple.  And it was
made extra special by the presence of Andre's daughter Anita, and her
friend Janie.  

Qiu Xia was born in Xi'an China and came to Canada in 1985.  Andre
is French Canadian (originally descended from Acadians from Nova
Scotia) and came to Vancouver in the late 1970's.  They have now
been part of the Gung Haggis Fat Choy family since Fall 2003 when Silk
Road Music was featured in the CBC TV performance special.  Qiu
Xia and Andre also performed with me for the 2004 GHFC dinners at
Flamingo Restaurant and then this year for the First Night Vancouver at
Library Square.

Today we remarked how strange it was to actually be able to talk and be
relaxed.  Usually we only see each other when we are doing shows,
or having meetings…  But there is a very nice mutual respect and
friendship that I sense with this couple.  And today, we discussed
some recent discoveries about the mutual connections in our lives that
were uncovered when I phoned my cousin Wayne on Hornby Island to ask if
it was possible for a visit over Easter Weekend.  Wayne replied
that the rooms were full because Silk Road Music was staying up at with
them at Hornby Island, and that he had known both Qui Xia and Andre for
many years.   I explained to Andre how the family connections
worked, and we discovered that he had actually met Wayne's younger
brother who had studied classical guitar at the Paris Sorbonne many
years before.  Another connection is that they know Wayne's older
brother Joe Wai, the architect who helped design the Dr. Sun Yat Sen
Gardens, where they have performed many times, and where Qiu Xia has
set up the “Enchanted Evenings” summer music performances.

Andre showed me their music practice room, with guitar and pipa all set
to go.  I was amazed at how many flutes that Andre had.  He
told me that he even has a chinese “shung” or reed flute.  Qiu Xia
was very excited when I told her that my paternal grandmother had been
a trained Chinese court musician playing a chinese auto harp.  She
told me the Chinese name and showed me a similar instrument that she
has hanging on her wall which is more like a Chinese koto.  Qiu
Xia was also fascinated to learn that I am 5th generation Canadian of
Chinese descent.  Having been in Canada now for almost 20 years,
she is fascinated about the transition of becoming Canadian and would
like to learn more to see how other Chinese have become Canadianized
over the years and over generations.  Perhaps I will invite Qiu
Xia and Andre to one of my family dinners so they can meet all my
cousins, aunts and uncles and see how almost everybody is now marrying
non-Chinese.

Go see the play Tales of an Urban Indian at the Firehall Arts Centre.

Tales of an Urban IndianWritten by and starring
Darrell Dennis

I saw the play last week on opening night and I thought that actor
Darrell Dennis was extremely funny and serious in his one person
play.  He definitely touches on all the positive and negative
experiences of what it is like being an urban indian, drawing on
personal and shared/communal experiences.

The opening features a slide show of traditional and stereotypical
depictions of First Nations people, that slides into cartoons and
playboy charicatures. 

“Now that we've got that out of the way…” says Dennis, he tells
what it was like growing up on a Reserve, moving to the city as a
child, then moving back to the Reserve.

“Tell us again, what are White people like,” they beg the new story
teller, as all the other kids have only seen White people on tv
before. 

Comedy turns to achievement, then tragedy, and finally
redemption.  It's a great story, and gives you a wonderful way to
experience what it is like walking in the shoes of an urban indian.

Tickets are $14 – $22 and are available at the Firehall Box Office,
604-689-0926 or online at www.firehallartscentre.ca

George Elliott Clarke at the Vancouver Public Library: reads from new novel “George and Rue”

7:30pm

February 16th, 2005

Alice Mackay Room

George Elliott Clarke is an amazing speaker.  This
award winning poet, author of Canada Reads' “Whyllah Falls,” and
Governor General Awards' “The Executioner's Song,” is always
entertaining, his warm exuding manner makes any literary event seem to
be an intimate gathering of friends.  At Wednesday night's reading at the Vancouver Public Library's Central Branch, he greeted friends upon arrival.  After
an almost embarrassing laudatory introduction by VPL's Mary Paz, he
himself recognized and introduced friends and his Harper Collins
representatives to the packed audience of 60.

But
on Wednesday night, the natural good-heartedness of the author
contrasted with dark violent story of his latest work, George and Rue.
It is a novel based on real life events in which the cousins of
Clarke's mother commit a heinous and unforgivable murder in Halifax
that rocks the Afro-Acadian community in Nova Scotia.

I
first became a fan of George Elliott Clarke when I serendipitously
popped into a Vancouver Public Library's Alice Mackay room one evening
in Fall 2003, to find Shelagh Rogers moderating a panel about the jazz
opera “Quebecite,” organized by the Coastal Jazz and Blues Society.  On stage with Shelagh were poet/opera librettist Clarke, musician/composer D.D. Jackson, and two of the singer/performers.  The music and performances were so amazing, I went to the last of the two weekend performances.  It
is a wonderfully Canadian story about a Canadian woman of Chinese
ancestry falling in love with a Nova Scotian of African heritage, while
their friends an Indian immigrant woman and a Haitian immigrant man
also meet and fall in love – all in Montreal. Oh – the wonders of our
multicultural tapestry.

The story of George and Rue, is also a part of our Canadian intercultural landscape.  Only two generations removed from American slavery, two brothers in 1949 murder a white taxi driver out of sheer greed.  They
are both later hanged, and a crowd of thousands turns out in the
streets of Halifax creating a carnival atmosphere that includes the
Salvation Army band, and the Ku Klux Klan.  Clarke
fictionally explores the social climates that raise these two brothers
of African and remote MicMac First Nation's heritage.

Clarke's novel reading style spits out words with hard short hits of sounds that stick in the air then cut to the ground.  It reveals his true calling of poet, and fascination and meticulous attention to the sound of words.  After
reading several passages of the novel, he tells a story (he always
tells stories about stories) about how he loved the way his uncle
described the exploits of cousins George and Rufus. How he loved the
way his uncle and his father used words.  How he loved the way the rhythm of the Haligonian African-Canadian language expressed itself.  How he loved the way it revealed a time and place in Canadian culture.

I
asked a question referring to his comments about how it was important
to explore the topic or racism, and the impact of the murder in his
family history.  “Like the internment of
Japanese Canadians in Joy Kogawa's “Obasan,” the head tax and Exclusion
Act of Chinese Canadians in Wayson Choy's “Jade Peony,” and the
Residential School issues of First Nations peoples, it seems that it
takes a few generations to go through the initial negative identity and
shame, before we can talk about it.  It appears that now it is okay to talk about racism, whereas we couldn't talk about it twenty years ago.  Can you please comment on its impact on Canadian literature and society?”

George
obviously enjoyed the question, and turned to the audience and
playfully asked, “Is it okay if I give my patriotic speech now about
how great it is to live in Canada?”

“Canada
is the greatest county to live in,” Clarke began and went into an
explanation about how 40% of Americans don't have health care. “But it
is important for us to address our own issues before we criticize
others,” he said.  “Racism is part of our history, it has shaped us.  I
don't want to hear another mention about the Underground Railroad,
about how great we are as Canadians because of the Underground Railroad
that helped American Blacks escape to Canada.  I want to know about what happened when they got here, how they were treated with similar inhospitable attitudes.  Slavery
was abolished in New England before it was in Canada, and there was an
underground railway from Canada to New England where slaves fled to.”  Clarke
then went on to name each of the years when slavery was abolished in
the United States, the British Empire and Brazil in the 1890's. 

“That's only just over one hundred years ago.  There are people in Brazil today, whose parents were slaves.  You can't just abolish slavery and expect everything to be all-okay, its effects linger on, and it takes time to deal with it.  My father's grandfather was a slave in America.  I'm only the 3^rd
generation removed from being a slave,” remarked the English professor
from University of Toronto – before he went on to talk about his
disgust of racial profiling experiences at banks and by the Canadian
government's department of Justice. 

The World Poetry Reading Series @ the Vancouver Public Library
Fourth Anniversary Gala Celebration!

February 11, 7:30 PM, 2003
Vancouver Public Library,
Alice McKay Room,
350 W. Georgia,
Vancouver, BC

It was a big evening for festivities and accolades as Ariadne Sawyer
and Alejandro Mujica-Olea presented World Poetry Life Time Achievement
Awards were presented to Addena Sumter Freitag, poet and actress and
also to Dugald Christie, poet and crusader for justice.

Addena is a 7th Generation Nova Scotian African-Canadian who grew up in
Winnipeg Manitoba and has also spent time in the North West
Territories.  She is a compelling performer, reading her poem
accompanied by African drumming, with a commanding stage
presence.  She was definitely the highlight of the evening for
me.  Michelle Lee Williams, editor of The Afro Newspaper,
introduced Sumter-Freitag, commenting how wonderful it was to publish
Addena's work in the Afro Newspaper, and how fitting it was to present
the award during Black History Month. 

Dugald Christie, whom I first met last month at the Gung Haggis Fat
Choy World Poetry evening, told some revealing stories about himself
including his frustrations with the Canadian justice system, as well as
racial and social inequity in Canada.  The Honourable Mr. Justice
Duncan Shaw, BC Supreme Court Justice, introduced him by telling a
story about how Christie had rode a bicycle from Vancouver to Ottawa in
order to burn his robes on the front steps of Parliament.

World Poetry Special Group Recognition Award went to Pandora’s
Collective: Bonnie Nish and Sita Carboni. They were introduced by
Strathcona Branch Library's Mary Duffy.  Filipina native Anita
Aguire Nieveras was given a World Poetry Ambassador Medallion. 

The evening ended with a Woven Word Tapestry Group Poem: “Oh, Canada”
by Alejandro Mujica-Olea.  15 poets participated in the reading of
the poem by each reading a few lines in different languages.  A
wonderful way to demonstrate the global heritage that is uniquely
Canadian and easily found in Vancouver.

Honk!
a musical – Music by George Stiles
Lyrics by Anthony Drewe

Director: Shanda Walters, Musical Director: Marcia Carmichael

January 14 to 23
Pinetree Secondary School

by Todd Wong – Reviewed January 14th, 2005
photo by Paul vanPeenen/NOW
The Cat played by Laura Du Preez, prepares to make a meal of Ugly played by Mike Horntvedt.

I haven't seen a high school stage production since I
was in high school. In the past year, I have reviewed the Vancouver
Opera's production of Madama Butterfly, the action-musical Terracotta Warriors, Battery Opera's Reptile-Diva + attended the touring production of Rent,
theatre plays at Firehall Arts Centre, Waterfront Theatre, Theatre in
the Park, and the inaugural production in Nanaimo for Denise Chong's
“The Concubine's Children.”  All have good and bad moments, some
have great moments, where I have to exclaim “Wow!”  This
production of “Honk” by Treehouse Productions has a number of “Wow!”
moments.

Well, they
needn't have worried.  The all-student cast certainly exceeded
their performance expectations and shine at every opportunity they
get.  Several times during the production, spontaneous applause
erupted in the audience to acknowledge the fine acting on stage. 
This is amazing because many of the students in lead roles had not
acted before, or in the case of the Ugly Duckling's Mother, Ida,
played by Lisa Scott who told me she hadn't acted since Middle School.

Both Lisa Scott and Troy Hatt, exude confidence and
presence in their performances as the Mommy and Daddy ducks, named Ida
and Drake.  They sing and dance with aplomb and experience beyond
their high school years.  These kids were born to be on stage. Wow!

Watching the young woman who played The Cat (Laura Du
Preez), correction – the young actor who became a cat – was
amazing.  She slinked across the stage, with cat-like movements,
with cat-like attitude.  Even during the curtain call, she stayed
in character aloof and embarrassed by all the celebration of the bird
characters and by her own character's misadventures.  Wow!

And
then there was Bullfrog (Jeff Rawlings), more than just hopping onto
the stage, a personality emerged of Frog Wisdom from the swamp, the
equivalent of a Yoda to Luke Skywalker.  He was a singing and
dancing frog that reminded me of the brilliant classic cartoon where a
song sings “Hello My Baby.”  This Bullfrog was full of surprises,
and lots of “Wow” moments.

And then there is Ugly, played by Mike Hornvedt, who
must help his character mature from an unappreciated misfit to a
confident swan.  Hornvedt handles the role well, allowing the
situations to unfold around him, and letting the character experience
growth and confidence through each scene, as he  plays off each
new character he meets.  It is a gentle approach that very much
anti-heroic.

Even the smaller roles were
amazing.  Not over the top and over-acted – but sometimes subtlely
with simple facial expressions and actions, or with deeply thought out
characterizations, expressions and behaviors.  Good examples were
the Swans.  The pretty young female swan Penny (Janelle Eichel) is
rescued by our hero, Ugly. This Swan moves with grace
with through slow balletic motions that conjured up images of
Swan Lake, while simultaneously developing a possible love interest
role like Natalie Portman's Queen Amadilia to the Young Darth Vader.

Oh, and did I mention the musical production
numbers?  There is one number in particular that stands out, Ugly
meets a flock of geese.  He initally meets the the flock leaders,
Greylag and Dot (Troy Hatt, Lauren Frances), who are dressed like Air
Force officers.  Each sing and perform their roles
wonderfully.  Then it gets better.  The rest of the flock
joins them, and suddenly they are all singing and dancing in a Busby
Berkely-like production coordinated like a synchronized swimming team,
moving around a central singing character.  Then it gets
better.  That group next creates a formation that resembles an
airplane… and still there are more surprises.  Imagine what
happens when they put a parachute on The Cat, and take her with them
for a ride! Double and Triple Wow! 

How did all this happen?  How could high school
students, many who had never stepped foot on a stage, nor sung a
musical note before in their lives, suddenly become quality performers
generating spontaneous applause and standing ovations?

The enthusiasm and quality of this
production reminded me of witnessing the National Youth Orchestra's
performance at the Chan Centre this past summer.  These were
simply the best of the best of Canada's young orchestral classical
musicians performing under the baton of conductor Kazuyoshi Akiyama,
following a month of focussed rehearsals.  These are musicians who
train year round, performing in the leading youth orchestras across the
country with one of the most experienced conductors leading them. 
And the Pinetree secondary students simulated a similar drive and
enthusiasm to make their performance special, and give it that little
special extra oomph.  Director Shanda Walters says that she
“believes that student actors are capable of amazing work on stage,”
and the students certainly prove it under the  guidance and
expertise of Walters and Marcia Carmichael, who are themselves the
founders and current or past-presidents of the Coquitlam Drama Teachers
Association and the Coquitlam Music Teachers Association, as well as
actors, directors and performers in their own right.  Wow! and
Wow!

Go see Honk! for the simple reason of
seeing a quality high school musical theatre production.  You will
be amazed at what a simple “amateur” production can achieve.  Wow!

Tickets:Adults $10 Child & Seniors $8.
Call Pinetree Secondary School 604-464-2513
Final Performances are this weekend, January 21, 22.

Coquitlam Now's Preview: Ugly Duckling gets a new look.
Discover the composers' web page here: Honk!
See Tri-City News, and click on Entertainment

More to come…  and hopefully some pictures.

2005 Todd Wong

Review:  Bob's Lounge.

December 17th, 2004

Secret Location

www.batteryopera.com

I performed and survived at Bob's Lounge.