Dance in Canada Magazine Number 11, Winter 1977

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Dance in Canada Magazine Number 11, Winter 1977

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One copy of Dance in Canada Magazine Number 11, Winter 1977

Contains the following articles:
- Editorial by Susan Cohen
- Letters from the Field
- Choréchanges 76/77 by Suzanne Asselin
- Cross-Cultural Exchanges in Regina by Lora Burke
- Dancers Unite: The Toronto Dance Festival by Graham Jackson
- Two Chalmers Winners
- 1975: Lawrence Gradus by Diana Theodores Taplin
- 1976: Judith Marcuse by Elizabeth Zimmer
- Picard en Europe by René Picard
- Le Musicien Balanchine et le Choréographe Stravinsky
- Un Soir à Tel Aviv
- Profile: Oscar Araiz by Casimir Carter
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Choreography Ballet Judy Jarvis David Earle Peter Randazzo René Picard Susan Cohen Dancemakers Toronto Dance Theatre Modern Dance Funding Michael Crabb National Ballet of Canada John Fraser Maria Formolo Susan Jane Arnold Ballet Ys Contemporary Dance Elizabeth Zimmer Judith Marcuse Entre-Six Frank Augustyn Terry McGlade Suzanne Asselin Regina Modern Dance Works Radio Alberta Contemporary Dance Theatre Competitions Festivals Andra Smith Carol Anderson Casimir Carter Diana Brown Diana Theodores Taplin Elizabeth Chitty Graham Jackson Janice Hladki John Butler Karen Bowes Kathryn Brown Kenneth D. Woodley Lawrence Bennett Lawrence Gradus Lora Burke Margaret Dragu Mary Fraker Neena Gupta Oscar Araiz Petre Bodeut Roger Jones Terry Crack Ballet Rambert East-West Cultural Dance Group Les Ballets Jazz The Toronto Dance Festival Adagietto Bat Sheva Changes Continuum Drop Family Scenes Four Working Songs Fratelli Just Before and In Between Lap Le Sacre du Printemps Magnificat Mahler 4: Eternity is Now Mover Peter and the Wolf Sessions The Martinettes Multi-Cultural Events Films Jean A. Chalmers Award in Choreography Violence in Dance
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01/01/1977
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Dance in Canada Magazine Number 11, Winter 1977
Dance Collection Danse

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107.2009-55-2086
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Editorial Susan Cohen Editor I Redactrice As the letter from Le Groupe de la Place Royale in Letters from the Field so eloquently states, dance is facing a time of profound financial uncertainty. In order to survive, dancers are realizing that they must broaden their audiences, they must learn to cooperate in order to su rvi ve economically and especially in modern dance, th ey must give dancers and audience a sense of their trad ition and history so that the continuity of dance wi ll not be broken. Three articles in this issue focus specif ically on these aspects: from Regina, Lora Burke a es a look at the cross-cultural events of Reg ina Modern a ce Works, aimed at breaking down the barriers e een diffe rent fields of movement; in Toronto, writer Gra am Jac kson examines the makings, attitudes and mechanics of the Toronto Dance Festival, where th ree compani es and several independent dancers combined to g ive To ronto a long and serious overview of modern dance in that city; and from Montreal, critic Suzanne Asselin examines Le Groupe Nouvelle Aire's Chorechanges, the workshops that are allowing that company t o experiment with the new, affirm our past, and strengthen Quebec dance's links with the art outside the province. At the same time as the Toronto Dance Festival, Dance Artists, a spin- off of 15, had taken centre stage at a small Toronto theatre . This cooperative ventu re of nine dancers produced some interesting choreograph ic concepts, and one of the dance artists, Elizabeth Chitty, in notes on her piece Lap, examines the contradict ion between the audience's perceptions and her own choreographic intentions. Also in this issue, Dance in Canada looks at two of the winners of the Chalmers Award : t he 1975 winner Lawrence Gradus (in conversation with Waterloo writer Diana Taplin) and the most recent recipient of the Chalmers , Judith Marcuse, interviewed by Vancouver's Elizabeth Zimmer. Also, Winnipeg writer Casimir Carter profiles Argentinian choreographer Oscar Araiz, who has created an important body of literatu re for the Royal Winnipeg Ballet, and , from Europe, our roving Canadian correspondent Rene Picard, takes a look at the New York Ci ty Bal let as it appeared in Paris this fall and the Bat Sheva company, at home in Israel. In Review will return next issue with seasonal wrap-ups of dance in ci ties across Canada. One final note, Dance in Canada publishes in the language of origin. As soon as it is financ ially feasible, we wil l return to our bilingual format. • Comme l'exprime avec tant d'eloquence le Groupe de la Place Royale dans la section "Letters from the Field", la danse traverse une epoque de profonde instabili te financiere. Dans son effort de survivance, le danseur doit voir qu'il lui taut augmenter son auditoire, apprendre a collaborer en vue d'une survie economique, et dans le monde de la danse moderne surtout, ii doit transmettre aux autres danseurs et aux spectateurs le sens de ses traditions et de son histoire pour assurer la continuite de son art. Ce numero vous presente trois articles qu i touchent a ces trois aspects: de Regina, Lora Burke evalue les evenements multiculturels du Regina Modern Dance Works qui visent a abattre toutes les barrieres entre les differentes techniques du mouvement; de Toronto , l'ecrivain Graham Jackson examine le fond, les attitudes et la mecanique du Festival de Danse de Toronto ou trois compagnies et plusieurs danseurs independants se sont reunis pour donner a Toronto un apen;:u serieux et detaille de la danse moderne dans cette ville; et de Montreal, le critique Suzanne Asselin etudie Chorechanges du Groupe Nouvelle Aire, ces ateliers qui permettent a la compagnie d'experimenter avec le neut, d'affirmer notre passe et de renforcer les liens de danse du Quebec avec le monde des arts hors de la province. En meme temps que le Festival de Danse de Toronto, le 15, Dance Artists, a pris la vedette dans un petit theatre de Toronto. De cette aventure cooperative de neut danseurs sont nes des concepts choregraphiques interessants; et l'une des artists, Elizabeth Chitty, dans des notes sur son oeuvre Lap, examine les contradictions entre les impressions de l'auditoire et ses propres intentions choregraphiques. Dans ce numero, Danse au Canada presente egalement deux des gagnants du Trophee Chalmers. Le laureat de 1975, Lawrence Gradus, en conversation avec l'ecrivain Diana Taplin de Waterloo, et la derniere recipiendaire du trophee, Judith Marcuse, dans une entrevue avec Elizabeth Zimmer. De Winnipeg, l'ecrivain Casim ir Carter nous trace le profil du choregraphe argentin Oscar Araiz, auteur d'une imposante documentation pour le Ballet Royal de Winnipeg, et finalement, notre Canadien errant en Europe, Rene Picard, jette un coup d'oeil sur la tournee du New York City Ballet a Paris cet automne et sur la saison locale de la compagnie Bat Sheva en Israel. La section "En revue" reprendra au prochain numero avec une etude de la danse dans les villes du Canada. Une derniere note, Danse au Canada publie dans la langue d'origine. Des que nos ressources financieres nous le permettront, la revue redeviendra totalement bilingue. • Letters from the Field (Ed. note: Because it contains important arguments against what are, in effect, government cutbacks in arts funding as well as an important proposal to consider future cultural policy, Dance in Canada is publishing the following open letter from Le Groupe de la Place Royale to Tim Porteous, associate director of the Canada Council. We hope that the dance community in particular and the arts community in general will respon d to it in subsequent issues.) Dear Mr. Porteous: Th ank you for you r recent letter regarding the li mita tion s i m p osed by the federal governmen t on the Canada Council's 1977 arts budget. na No doubt t his stringency will find favour among those distinguished by an impatience with government spending on "fril ls". We, however, view a policy of continuing financial severity as inimical to the maturing of Canadian cultural expression. Historically, the quality of cultural expression bears a direct relationship to the level of its financial sustenance. Certainly diminishing publ ic subsidies will compromise the exercise of the Council's mandate to foster excellence in the arts. We do not quarrel with the government's general measures to counteract the depradations of inflation and econom ic stagnation. The issue is the net fiscal gain of applying those measures to the arts, which now constitute a "growth industry" in terms of gross revenues and number of employed. Even the most crimson-necked would be hard-pressed to attribute significant inflationary repercussions to the budgets of arts organizations. Indeed the Canada Council's 1974 study of three major performing arts companies found th at of the total funds granted to them by all th ree levels of government, the companies returned at a conservative estimate 127% in th e form of taxes. Good grief! The arts make good investments for government. Why, then, invest in the development of the arts to the point where quality, richness and diversity have emerged and then reduce the scale of support to such proportions that th reaten the livelihood of those cultural resources? A poor investment, in our view. The arts have been more adversely affected by inflation than most other sectors of the economy. Their ability to generate revenue has been outstripped by the rate of increase in costs in areas over which they have no control, such as production materials, rental of facilities, touring and publicity services. Yet the market for the services of arts 2 organizations is not o ne that can absorb these increases in cost s: few "consumers" are prepared to pay $45 a ticket to see a dance concert, f or instance. If present policies are not c hang ed, - a can the future hold for Canadian cul --== resources and institutions? Indeed, wha- :,a.the future hold for Canadian artists? If the inc reases in public subsidies do not even meet the level of inflation, the final result will inevitably affect the quality of the arts. And of course, while the demand for the services that the arts provide is expanding, funding policies are forcing a shrinkage in the programs that arts organizations can offer. Concomitantly, programming becomes "safer" and more conservative every year to appeal to the w idest audience possible. Lawrence Be -,eMa a;~ Le Groupe de la Place R a-t' M on ':fa In such c i rcumstances, how many performing compan ies dare to challenge their public with experimental or innovative (read Contemporary Canadian) works? As well, companies without the means to achieve their artistic goals will have to shorten their seasons. More unemployment. Are these the results the government intends? The arts in Canada have never been embarrassed by an abundance of public or private largesse. Last year the gal loping momentum of ris ing costs and inflation lodged a sol id kick in our collective solar plexus. At a t ime when companies were heaving in the throes of deficit, the government decreed a ceiling of 10% on increases in grant monies. Naturally most provincia l and municipal governments followed suit. It cannot be said that corporate bounty increased to a compensatory level. Popular corporate themes of recent times have been "The Boardroom Blues" and "The Businessman's Lament". Are we to believe that corporate and private donations will materialize in greater proportion next year? If this year's fund ing caused a holding pattern in the growth of the arts, we can anticipate that an even lower percentage of increase next year wil l precipitate serious turbulence, if not some crash landings. In the best of times, arts organizations operate on the precarious basis of " making do". In the worst of t i mes, they are extremely vulnerable without a governmental arts policy. We propose that the federal government institute long-range planning tor the arts. A five-yea r commitment would permit the Secretary of State, the Council and their "clients" to devise their own long-range plans wit h some degree of stability. Since this would requi re a clear set of goals and prio rities all round, it would constitute, ipso facto, a cul t ural pol icy. propose also that the federal government consider means of inducing municipalities to contribute more generously to their local cultural resources . With few exceptions, Canadian cities accept little responsibility for the arts which make them att ract ive as centres of tourism and culture and which he lp to lure new business. Aside from the economic benefits that accrue from a labour-intensive growth industry, the "cultural amenities" constitute the chief mitigating element in the aridity of urban industrial life. We We hate to point, but no one has disproved that nations get the art they deserve. To the Editor: I have read through your recen t magaz -..; and am delighted to find it of suc h : calibre, with excellent articles. Altho ug a were of a high standard, I particularly enjo- _:: the excellent , and appropriately wri ,,.... "Myth , Fact and Fancy" by Lauretta T hist e • has often appeared to me that, in artic es concerning the forming of the National Ba ,;;· of Canada, the actual state of the art in - s country was played down to the exten t a-: Celia Franca appeared literally to em igra:e from England to form - out of nothin g - a National Ballet. I think Ms. Thistle's arti r stated what in fact actually happened. The only point I disagree on is that I belie,'!: Lynn Seymour was not "discovered" Canada. My understanding is that s Seymour did in fact audition for the Natio a Ballet and was informed that "you'll never:::,;; a dancer". She then went to England - ai : the rest is history. Am I wrong? One other comment. Surely Karen Ka and Frank Augustyn are not the first gue:s-: stars invited to dance with the Bo is Perhaps the first Canad ians. Certai nly, remember at least two other Wes e~ ballerinas who performed with the com pai Please understand that this is not picking, but a great and consuming interes, the dance. I think that you have publishec a magazine that is indeed a credit to the ar. Kenneth D. Wool e To the Editor: I would appreciate it very much if you wo : publish the following in the next edi tio Dance in Canada. In late January, 1976, I ended association with Ballet Ys of Canada. Dur'-; the year since it has come to my atten tio n several occasions that my name contin ues:: appear in an advertisement for Ballet Ys Canadian editions of Time Magazine. Please note - I am not in any way in vol e: with this group and have no intention to bes:c in the future, in spite of the apparent err • Karen Bo e:: T oro ::r 1977 WINTER Edi tor/ Redactrice: Susan Cohen HIVER Editorial Letters from the Field esign / Dessinateur: ::>a e Publications Chorechanges 76/77 Suzanne Asselin Cross-Cultural Exchanges in Regina Lora Burke 5 d ,•orial Assistant: ,•1ch ael Kobayashi Dancers Unite: The Toronto Dance Festival Graham Jackson Two Chalmers Winners 1975: Lawrence Gradus T ranslator/ Traduction: ouise Meilleur Diana Theodores Tap lin 1976: Judith Marcuse Advertising Representative: G itta Levi Subscription and Circulation: Orry Danes Special Thanks to/ Sinceres remerciements e Ontario Arts Council e Canada Council Elizabeth Zimmer Picard en Europe Rene Picard Le Muslcien Balanchine et le Choregraphe Stravinsky Un Soir Photo Credits: Andrew Oxenham, pp. 13, 14, 16, 17; Roland Beniak, pp . 6, 9; Dick Gustin, pp. 10, 11, 12; Thaddeus Holownia, pp. 18, 19, 20; Pierre Denault, p. 21; Jacques Segu in, pp. 22, 30; Alan Cunliffe, pp. 24, 25; Peter Garrick, pp. 28, 29. Aviv Profile: Oscar Araiz a: Cover/ Couverture: oto by Andrew Oxenham of To ronto Dance Theatre in Danny Grossman 's National Spirit. a Tel Casimir Carter Noticeboard Dance in Canada is published quarterly in Toronto, Canada by Dance in Canada Association. The views expressed in the articles in this publication are not necessarily those of Dance in Canada. The publication is not responsible for the return of unsolicited material unless accompanied by a stamped self-addressed envelope. Subscription: $6.50 per year. Single copy $2.00. The publication Dance in Canada is included with membership in Dance in Canada Association. Danse au Canada est publiee trimestriellement aToronto, Canada par !'Association de la Danse au Canada. Les opinions exprimees dans les articles de cette publication ne sont pas obligatoirement celles de Danse au Canada. Le redaction n'assume aucune responsabilite quant au renvoi de materiel non solicite, a moins que celui-ci ne soit accompagne d'une enveloppe-reponse affranchie et adressee. Abonnement: $6.50 par an. Prix du numero $2.00. Les membres de !'Association de la Danse au Canada recevront d'office la revue Danse au Canada. All rights reserved . No part of this publication may be reproduced without prior written permission of the individual contributor and the Dance in Canada magazine. Tous drois reserves . 11 est defendu de reproduire toute partie de cette publication sans avoir prealablement obtenu le consentement ecrit de tout auteur et de la revue Danse au Canada. Second class mail registration number 03874. Return postage guaranteed. Please send notification of change of address, subscription orders and undeliverable copies to: Dance in Canada: 3 Church St., Suite 401 , Toronto, Ontario M5E 1M2. ISSN 0317-9737 . 3 ~~mt -'-~ of UAM.,;t: Lois Smith First time ever in North America! Pour la premiere fois en Amerique du Nord! SHANGHAI BALLET DE BALLET CHANGHAI of the People's Republic of China de la Republique populaire de Chine 00 q=t _t:_ lzfl 2 exciting programmes 2 merveilleux programmes The White-Haired Girl La fille aux cheveux blancs a full-length modern revolutionary ballet un ballet revolutionnaire contemporain Mixed Programme Programme varie excerpts from 3 famous ballets scenes tirees de 3 ballets celebres Only North American performar)ces/ Seules representations en Amerique du Nord! VAN COUVER ~een Elizabeth Theatre , a y 5, 6, 7, 8 mai OTTAWA .a ·onal Arts Centre 1a ) 11 , 12, 13, 14 mai ONTREAL ;;, -ce es Arts 19 , 20, 21 , 22 mai 'aa, TOR ONTO :: ee e Centre a , 24 , 25, 26, 27, 28 mai HAMI LTON - a~ 10 Place h :. 1 3 1 mai, June 1 juin Chorechanges 76/77 ...__ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ Suzanne Asselin _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ __..., Les chorechanges est une activite novatrice dans le monde de la danse au Quebec. C'est aussi une activite qui attire !'attention en dehors des cadres de cette province. Une province ou, depuis maintenant deux ou trois ans, ii s'est produit une explosion sans precedent au chapitre de la danse. Ce que la compagnie de danse contemporaine Le Groupe Nouvelle Aire (sous la direction de Martine Epoque) a mis sur pied n'est pas unique en son genre, mais ii a quand meme sa part de nouveaute. Les c horechanges "made in Quebec" n'ont pas encore atteint la renommee des ateliers de danse (ce que les Anglais appellent "workshops") qui se sont tenus a Bonn pour la qu at rieme annee consecutive (comme le rapporte Raoul Gelabert dans !'edition de decembre de la revue Dance M agazine) mais sont en voie de le devenir, du moins au Canada si cette experience continue a se developper com me ses organisateurs l'esperent. Les chorechanges: c'est quoi? es chorechanges, c'est d'abord et avant tout une formule qui repond a un besoin profond qui jusqu'a maintenant avait ete ignore: celui d'echanger, de discuter, de voir et de comprendre surtout ce que chaque compagnie de danse a a offrir. Le mot le dit bien, chor(e) changes: ech ange entre choregraphes et danseurs. Mais ca n'est pas que cela. C'est aussi un echange entre tous les arti stes et le public invite a y participer. Com me l'explique Martine Epoque: "Les chorechanges sont une formule nouvelle de rencontres ... sur l'art c oregraphique et la danse contemporaine. Ces ech anges visent principalement a vulgariser de facon saine, totale et efficace, l'art contemporain, a le esacral iser par un contact direct entre le public et les a istes-ressources invites a y participer." Conc retement, chaque chorechange (ii yen aura cinq ce e annee) est structure de la facon su ivante: cet e en ement se tiendra toujours Jes jeud i, vendredi et sa ed i. A chaque soir, ii y aura un " spectacle-studio" (a eures) pour lequel l'entree est libre (sauf qu'on passe e c apeau a la fin de la soiree) . Cette maniere de r ceder semble avoir reussi au Groupe Nouvelle Aire ·squ'i l avait tente la meme experience l'annee passee. A ·n es les fois que j'y suis allee, le studio etait bonde. En L.S cette an nee, ii ya la "rencontre-samedi" que se tient ae 4 a 18 heures. C'est une rencontre informelle avec les iers de la danse. Au cours de l'annee, cette serie de "e contres racontera l'histoire de la danse au Quebec et - elle effleurera le patrimoine artistique canadien et americain en invitant des gens qui ant oeuvre avant nous (voir la liste ci-jointe pour le programme des chorechanges) . De plus en plus, les compagnies de danse d'ici et d'ailleurs au Canada comprennent !'importance de l'echange. A part une rivalite necessaire mais trop souvent malsaine, les artistes de la danse ant enfin compris que s'i ls veulent que leur art progresse, ii doit y avoir une confrontation des idees et des styles choregraphiques . Sans quoi l'isolationnisme et !'i gnorance s'installent. Malgre leurs divergences souvent profondes, ils ont enfin compris qu'echanger c'est s'enrichir, qu'echanger c'est progresser. Les pionniers de la danse contemporaine au Quebec Comme l'exprime le Groupe Nouvelle Aire, les "rencontres-samedi" visent surtout a nous faire connaTtre les artistes-createurs qui ant ete les pionniers de la danse au Quebec et qui sont meconnus du public. Leur t ravail n'est repertorie nu lie part, sinon dans quelques articles de journaux que tout le monde a oublies depuis longtemps. C'est pourquoi ces " rencontres-samedi" veulent se faire le temoin de notre heritage. A chaque fois (comme on l'a fai t pour la premiere rencontre qui a eu lieu le4 decembre 1976), les conversat ions seront enregistrees su r video. II est meme question de rassembler ce materiel pour en faire un livre. Gilles Henault (l'ancien directeur du musee d'art contemporain) a ete choisi pour etre l'animateu r de ces discussions. Le public est aussi invite a poser des questions aux membres du panel. En meme temps, les differentes compagnies professionnelles du Quebec se produ iront en spectacle dans le studio-theatre du Groupe Nouvelle Aire. Ce sont: La Compagnie de danse Eddy Toussaint, Les Grands Ballets Canadiens, Le Groupe de la Place Royale, l'Entre-Six, Les Ballets-Jazz et le Groupe Nouvelle Aire, bien sOr. Visages de l'Ontario Pour !'instant du mains, l'echange au niveau canadien n'i ra pas plus loin que !'Ontario. Pour la simple raison que trois troupes rencontrees lors du festival de danse a Halifax ant ouvertement manifeste le desir d'echanger avec le Nouvelle Aire. II s'agit du Toronto Dance Theatre, du Judy Jarvis Dance Theatre (Toronto) et des Dancemakers (Toronto) . On prof itera de la presence des personnes invitees pour en faire le theme d'une wl d'Jro Tembeck: Groupe Nouvelle Aire 7 "rencontre-samedi". On voudra savoir comment ces compagnies ont vu le jour, ont evolue et se sont developpees dans un milieu qui est nettement tres different du notre. Ces echanges vont nous faire connaitre les methodes de travail de ces artistes, leurs idees, leurs angoisses peut-etre, les problemes auxquels its doivent faire face et leurs aspirations. Visages des Etats-Unis Entin, cette premiere serie de chorechanges se terminera avec la venue du danseur et choregraphe americain bien connu, Merce Cunningham . A propos de cet artiste, la compagnie Nouvelle Aire nous explique la raison de son choix: "II nous semble important que le public connaisse le genre de recherche auquel ii (Cunningham) s'adonne et se familiarise avec la realisation artistique de ce choreg raphe-com positeu r-professeu r-d i recteu r de compagnie pour completer une premiere information sur la danse-art contemporain. Ce point de vue nouveau aidera le public a mieux situer les recherches et productions realisees par les artistes-createurs de son propre pays. " Chorechange no. I Le premier chorechange qui a eu lieu du 2 au 4 decembre nous a fait rencontrer plusieurs personnalites quebecoises. C'est regrettable qu'il n'y ait eu qu'une vingtaine de personnes. Mais c'etait la premiere fois . Pourtant Martine Epoque se dit tres satisfaire du resultat. Tour a tour, nous avons pu entendre les temoignages de Fernand Nault, Madame Ludmilla Chiriaeff, Elsie Solomon, Jeanne Renaud, Fran9oise Sullivan et Seda Zare. Meme si leurs experiences sont assez differentes dans !'ensemble, on peut tout de meme dire qu'ils onttous un point en commun: !'amour de la danse. Meme si les temps sont encore durs pour ceux qui oeuvrent dans ce domaine, ii n'etait pas plus facile a l'epoque de faire carriere. On devait surmonter les prejuges, !'ignorance crasse des autorites et du public en general qui ne savait pas mieux. La danse restait une cathedrale a batir, pierre par pierre. Pour plusieurs, la danse etait consideree com me un peche, les danseurs comme des effemines, les danseuses com me des filles de mauvaises moeurs et tout ce monde comme des reveurs et des membres inutiles de la societe. En fait, la danse n'etait pas consideree du tout, sauf dans des cercles bien fermes. Fernand Nault, ce canadien-fran9ais "pure laine" com me on dit chez nous (celui qui a cee Tommy), et qui a fait une tongue carriere a !'American Ballet Theatre raconte qu'il a ete eveille a la danse parce que sa propre soeur faisait de la danse sociale et aussi a cause d'un film sur la danse qui l'avait vraiment bouleverse. Puis sa vie est une suite "de miracles" com me ii se plait a la dire. Mais pas completement. 11 avait tout simplement decide de prendre le taureau par les comes, en plus de developper son talent nature! pour la danse. C'est une rencontre fortuite avec Madame Chiriaeff (la directrice et fondatrice des Grands Ballets Canadiens) qui le ramena au Quebec qu'il avait quitte pendant pres de vingt ans. Quant a l'histoire de Madame Chiriaeff, ii est impossible de la resumer en quelques lignes. Pour couper court, disons qu'elle est debarquee a Montreal le 30 janvier 1952 et peu de temps apres son arrivee, la television alors naissante lui a offert des emissions regulieres . Tant et si bien que ceux et celles qui s'en souviennent encore n'ont jamais vu autant de danse de toute leur vie qu'a cette periode. Et c'est d'ailleurs de medium formidable qu'est la television qui a grandement contribue, Madame le 8 Howl d'lro Tembeck: Groupe Nouvelle Aire reconna'it, au developpement de la danse au Quebec. "C'est incroyable comme tout le monde vibrait de creation dans ces studios de Radio-Canada a l'epoque. Nous etions alors payes $40 par emission, en comptant !es semaines de repetition . C'etait bien peu, mais nous avons quand meme survecu . Je me souviens egalement, et j'ai conserve ces lettres, d'un groupe qui m'ecrivait regulierement pour me demander de quitter le Quebec et de retourner a ma Aussie natale." Puis, ce fut la creation des Grands Ballets en 1958 et maintenant le projet de l'ecole Pierre-Laporte (qui a accueilli 80 enfants pour la seconde annee) et qui vise a leur donner une formation academique combinee avec des cours de danse classique, cela tous les jours. Ces enfants ant ete choisis dans toutes les regions de la province et se preparent a assurer la releve d'ici quelques annees. Jeanne Renaud et Fran9oise Sullivan elles, ont vraiment ete des pionnieres dans le champ de la danse moderne. Meme les cours qu'elles ant suivi a New York, ont-elles avoue, ne les ant pas influencees outre mesure. II y avait une realite a exprimer ici. Renaud en particu lier, s'est grandement inspiree des peintres, musiciens et poetes du temps. Elle s'est aussi liee aux automatistes. De dire Sullivan: "On avait les idees claires et precises. On rejetait tout ce qu'on avait appris et on tentait d'explorer le mouvement en faisant des essais." Renaud, qui a etudie chez Hanya Holm entre autres, et qui est maintenant retiree du monde de la danse apres avoir fonde le Groupe de la Place Royale de Montreal (maintenant sous la direction de Jean-Pierre Perreault et Peter Boneham) trouve que la danse moderne pietine enormement a l'heure actuelle. "Je trouve !'evolution tres lente. II ya tres peu de nouveaute par les temps qui courent." De son cote, Elsie Solomon qui a conserve toutes les allures des anciennes danseuses, n'y est pas allee de main morte vis-a-vis la danse moderne actuelle. Je cite ses paroles dans la langue qu'elle a utilisee pour s'exprimer de peur de modifier sa pensee: "This is what bothers me in modern dance. People are so pretentious. These days, everything starts all over again and nobody seems to finish anything. You can't hit it all the time. You have to try. People in dance have it too easy these days." Elle nous a aussi parle du temps du Montreal Dance Group. Cela remonte a 1934. "When we gave performances, it was alw ays packed with intellectuals and people reacted io lently, be it positively or negatively. They were rarely eut ral. It was a militant art because of the era. We were against war and the fascists." D'autre part, le "spectacle-studio" de 4 decembre a presente le Groupe de la Place Royale avec sa Danse pour sept voix qui a ete devoilee pour la premiere fois en ovembre dernier. C'est une polyphonie dansante, une anse instinctive, quelquefois imitative, mais toujours aturelle et petillante. Le Nouvelle Aire a presente une avant-premiere d'lncubus d'lro Tembeck et de Lianes de artine Epoque. Deux oeuvres profondement sensuelles. Le financement e f inancement d'une telle entreprise n'est pas sans sou cis. Pour ce faire, le Nouvelle Aire a fait des demandes aupres du Conseil des Arts du Canada pour l'obtention d'une bourse de type exploration au montant de $4,600. Cette somme servira a defrayer les couts de la venue de erce Cunningham et possiblement deux de ses anseurs. Une autre demande a ete adressee au Ministere des ffaires culturelles du Quebec pour la somme de $15,000 e vue de transformer leur studio-theatre en centre 'essai. Comme me l'explique Martine Epoque, cette som me servira a payer les couts d'installation necessaires our batir un studio convenable. Des eclairages eglables, un appareil Revox - une piste (au lieu du quart e piste qu'ils ont maintenant) et des gradins escamotables composent l'appareillage de base sans q oi un artiste comme Cunningham par exemple, ne iendrait tout simplement pas. Les trois troupes de ' O tario vont se deplacer a leurs propres frais et si cet essai enregistre quelques profits, l'argent sera distribue equitablement entre les invites qui, pour !'instant, ont accepte de participer sans etre remuneres. 'apres Epoque, les gens en general sont tres satisfaits c.e la formule des chorechanges. II n'y a pas que des a seurs qui assistent a ces evenments. II y a aussi beau coup de jeunes qui, de plus en plus, sont attires par ces happenings hors circuit. -= psvole d 'Edward Lock: Groupe Nouvelle Aire Tableau des Prochains Chorechanges Chorechange 2: 13-14-15 janvier Theme: "Visages de !'Ontario" Spectacle-studio et rencontre-samedi: Troupes invitees et personnes-ressources invitees pour les deux evenements. Dancemakers, Judy Jarvis, Toronto Dance Theatre. Nouvelle Aire presente: Jeux de Je (Martine Epoque) A la recherche de (Edouard Lock) (extrait en cours d'apprentissage) Chorechange 3: 10-11-12 fevrier Theme: "Presence des pionniers" Spectacle-studio: Nouvelle Aire presente 3 films de Denis Poulin (creation canadienne) Avant- premiere de Maboul (Martine Epoque) Artiste invitee: Margaret Goldstein Rencontre-samedi: Franc;:oise Sullivan Chorechange 4: 17-18-19 mars Theme: "Presence des pionniers" Spectacles-studio: Nouvelle Aire presente: Avant-premiere de la piece de Judy Marcuse (en apprentissage) Reprises: Compagnie invitee, Les Grands Bal lets Canadiens Rencontre-samedi: Franc;:oise Riopelle Chorechange 5: 7-8-9-avril Theme: "Presence des pionniers" Spectacle-studio: 3 fois Nouvelle Aire presente: Avant-premiere de /'/lot (Martine Epoque) Avant-premiere de Remors (Christina Coleman) Compagnie invitee: Entre-Six Rencontre-samedi: Jeanne Renaud Chorechange 6: 9-10-11 juln Theme: Visages des U.S.A. Spectacle-studio: 3 fois Invite: Merce Cunningham Nouvelle Aire: reprises Rencontre-samedi: Invite: Merce Cunningham N.B. Ce programme est sujet a changement. 9 The Regina Modern Dance Works has its headquarters in a big old brick building on the edge of downtown Regina. Dilapidated frame houses sag at each side; its front windows have a view of the back end of the Regina Inn. Inside is a warren of rooms created by various conversions since the building's first function as the old Labour Temple . The studio itself is the ex-meeting hall: two stories high, ringed by steam radiators and with old city hall-style light globes swinging on chains from the ceiling. Here, a tiny group of dedicated dancers produces an incredible number of dance-oriented activities . . . classes, workshops, performances . . . all designed not only to reach out to the communi ty, but to bring the community into the studio. Cross-Cultura The most recent of these is Cross Cu ltural Events. Intended, as managing director Susan Jane Arnold says, "to bring together diverse community groups fo r an evening of education, en tertainment and discovery," the events have been revelations both for the audience and the participants. Cross Cultural Events began Friday, October 15 with the East-West Cu ltural Dance Group and the Bateson School Of Karate. They - and the RMDW dancers - performed in turn. Subsequent guests have included the Poltava Ukrainian dancers, the YWCA Limbrettes (gymnasts), a demonstration of Yoga by Liz Smith (with audience participation) , Hungarian dancers, the Little Red Hen Story Theatre (puppets and mime), Scottish country dancers, the Emanescue Roumanian dancers and the Martinettes (tap, baton, jazz) of the Martin School of Dance. In addition to these Regina groups, the Doris Sitter dance school (ballet, tap, jazz) of Moose Jaw performed at one of the events. As is immediately obvious, the term 'dance' has been expanded to include all forms of patterned movement. The inclusions of such disciplines as gym nasties, karate and yoga - and their ev ident kinship with the disciplines of dance itself adds a valuable dimension to the whole charisma of body control and expression. For the audiences, who note mainly the differences between the performers, the general reactions to the first five Events have been pleasure and surprise that so many forms of movement are being practised in one small part of the country. For the performers, who noted the similarities beneath the differences, it has been a tremendous learning experience. That learning experience comes from both observation and participation. For example, one of RMDW's contributions to the November 12 Event was a 10 Involved with the community: Marianne Livant's Peter and the Wolf in a school gym The Martinettes, tap dancers Emanescue Roumanian Dancers performance of a work then in progress: Peter And The Wolf. anges in Regina Traditionally, Prokofiev's beloved musical story has been in the domain of ballet companies. This was to be its first interpretation by a contemporary company. Because RMDW was still working on it, both audience and visiting dancers were able to see just how a contemporary company evolves a dance and to understand the way in which spontaneous interpretive movement is incorporated into the final pattern . At the same time, Grant Strate, former head of the dance department at York University and an original member of the National Ballet, was in Regina for three weeks with RMDW , teaching and choreographing . On the night of November 12, he also conducted a class for the young dancers from Moose Jaw who were RMDW's guests for the Event. A few days after the December 10 Event , in which the Emanescue Roumanian Dancers participated , RMDW were receiving lessons from Petre Bodeutz. Mr. Bodeutz, a dancer, choreographer and ballet master from Roumania, was in Regina on a cultural exchange to work with the Emanescue dancers. This kind of interchange and mutual learning is just part of RMDW's objecti ve in promoting the Events. As the RMDW press release said at the beginning of the series: "We hope these exchanges w ill encourage people in the Reg in a community to join with us in doing away with some of the false barriers that exist between professional and amateur; between ethnic and modern ; between recreation and art .. . while each of our disciplines is distinct, we have much to celebrate and to contribute in common . . .. " Viewed retrospectively, the Events become a kaleidoscope of shifting sound and colour: the powerful thrust of t he white-clad Karate group brackets the sinuous jangle of ankle bells on a demure East Indian dancer ; the brilliance of festive peasant costumes and the strutting masculine impudence of the young men in the Emanescue troupe; the thoroughly North American Martinettes with their nifty pink and black costumes and flying silver batons; the soft-stepping intricacy of the Scottish dancers; the 1930's nightclub nostalgia of tap dancers in spangles and high-heeled shoes; the sweetly serious faces of the ballerinas floating en pointe in a flutter of silken skirts. And, woven through it all, the contemporary dancers of RMDW dressed in their motley of leotards bound with bits of colour and offering the innovative expression of modern dance as counterpoint to the time-honoured traditional steps and gestures of their guests. 11 Bateson School of Kara e Mingling: RMDW's Maria Formo/o in conversation with East-West Cultural Dance Group 's Neena Gupta The Events themselves have actually expanded beyond the mere crosscultural; they have become multicultural. The visual arts are represented, too. Exhibitions of the work of Regina artists are being shown in the studio. The exhibitions have been arranged for RMDW by Jerry Roske, supervisor of the Rosemont satellite gallery. Each exhibition stays up two to three weeks. To date, photographs by Richard Gustin, prints by Bea Harding and drawings and watercolors by Lora Burke have been shown. There has also been a display of puppets from the Little Red Hen Story Theatre. In all probability, the main value of the Cross Cultural Events lies in their function as learning experiences for the performers involved. But, as Susan Jane Arnold says, they also make the stud io a neutral meeting place not only for various factions of dance, but for various factions of the community. With five of the seven Events over, Ms. Arnold says, "We find it works best if we mix the groups, rather than having each 12 perform several pieces in a block. And, if we do another series, we'd encourage participants to attend at least one session before they themselves appear. It would give them an idea of the audience and of the contrasts created . They would be able to plan their own contributions to greater effect. "Certainly we would encourage more audience participation and mo re interchange between dancers and audience. We would also like to involve musicians from different backgrounds to fill out the evening in a more rounded manner." The last two of the current Cross Cu l tura l Events are tentatively scheduled for late January and early February. A 'grand finale' is also being considered for late February. All groups who have appeared in the Events would be invited to give 10 - minute performances and it would conclude with food, music and dancing for all, including, of course, the audience. It is interesting to note that, while the nucleus of Events' audiences remained constant, each subsequent Eve brought new faces to the RMD W studios: relatives and friends of the guest performers. The first attracte some 50 viewers; over 100 were prese nt at the fifth. That audience w ill undoubtedly gro . Already, RMDW is well-known to thousands of Saskatchewan childre through performances in the schools. On December 5, some 450 adu lts and children came to the Norman Mackenzie Art Gallery for the public premiere o' Peter and the Wolf, which later tou red elementary schools in Regina. Meanwhile, along with its regular schedule of workshops, classes a performances, RMDW is busy plann i residencies in rural areas. New works are in progress and, from hints dropped by the company, some of these will ha e their foundation in Saskatchewa originated music. Like contempo rary dance itself, the Reg ina Modern Dance Works is constantly innova t i ng . a adapting, making use of commenting on - fragments from the fabric of life. ~-------------Dancers Unite-------------.. . The Toronto Dance Festival ...__ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ Graham J a c k s o n - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - ~ ., y Jarvis, Carol Anderson and Andrea Ciel Smith of cemakers*; Roger Jones, managing director of on to Dance Theatre; and Danny Grossman were all riterviewed the week of December 6, 1976, during the • urth week of the Toronto Dance Festival. : a I started in Halifax this summer during the Dance in a ad a Conference. Jarvis. I was talking with David Earle and several oth er dancers from across Canada in Halifax, and everyone was delighted to be in the same place at he same time. We could talk to one another; we coul d see one another's work; we could share e· r::andazzo's Continuum: Toronto Dance Theatre op inions, problems, ideas. That spirit of working together, co-ordinating, co-operating, recognizing one another as humans was brought back to Toronto. In September, back in Toronto, after some of the conference excitement had died down, Dancemakers applied for space at Toronto Workshop Productions for their fall season and found that Toronto Dance Theatre had asked for the same week - November 15 - and the four following . • Andrea Smith and Carol Anderson present their own opinions, not those of Dancemakers. Smith. The idea of a Festival didn't come up for a couple of weeks and then Toronto Dance Theatre came over and proposed that we put it all together. Jarvis. I got a call from David Earle who said, "Do you remember what we were talking about in Halifax?", and I said, "Yes." And he said, "Do you still want to do it?", and I said, "Yes." What he meant was, do you still want to work with others. So I went to a meeting with the directors ofToronto Dance Theatre, Danny Grossman, Dancemakers, and Margaret Dragu and some managers of the different groups and the idea of a Festival came out and the designer came up with a poster and it was on its way. In less than two months the Toronto Dance Festival was a fait accompli. The Toronto Dance Theatre's proposal for a festival was not embraced by the other participants with entirely unqualified enthusiasm . Though, as Judy Jarvis has said, "It's time dancers started to work together", there are inevitable difficulties involved in arranging a festival of the proportions of the Toronto Dance Festival, co-ordinating both the technical and artistic activities of six participants (the five mentioned by Judy Jarvis above, plus Kathryn Brown, a TOT alumna). Not to mention financing and publicity. Smith. Our first reaction was negative. We were scared about working out details Anderson. Things about program, what would be compatible with what Smith. There was so much to work out in terms of publicity and financing . We thought it was going to be too complicated. This negative response quickly turned positive, however, when they realized the numerous advantages such a festival would hold for them . And of course the memory of their participation in the Olympics cultural program was still fresh in their minds: Anderson. We were part of the COJO festivities in Montreal this summer. We were on a program with the Regina Modern Dance Theatre and Danny and Judy at that time. Smith. We enjoyed that a lot. We enjoyed sharing our program with other people; it was nice being backstage with them. It was good for the audiences to see the comparison. We are really enjoying one another in the dance community right now. Anderson. There's a good feeling, more so that there has been in the past, a co-operative spirit. Because of the size and proven efficiency of the administrative staff at TOT - for a large part of the Festival's planning stage, neither Judy Jarvis nor Dancemakers even had a telephone - it took on not only the publicity, program, and tickets, but also most of the financial burden - up to 70 per cent, in fact. Judy Jarvis assumed 10 per cent of cost or profit and Dancemakers 20. For Margaret Dragu's show, special arrangements were made whereby TOT covered all her in-theatre costs and allowed her the first 150 dollars of each night's take. Jones. We applied to Wintario for half of our publicity budget which was 7,500 dollars. These things take a long time. I hope we get it. The whole artistic community feels very good about the Festival. It was a terrific gamble. We're still clinging to the bank of that very muddy river to maintain our existence. Most modern dance companies - and we're no exception - lose a great deal of money every time they go into a theatre. I think this Festival will end up 14 Barry Smith's Galliard: Dancemakers with a total budget of 30,000 dollars with about a 7,000 dollar loss over a five-week run. That is a nearmiraculous result for a modern dance festival that we should lose a little over 1,000 dollars a week . I wouldn't underestimate the degree to which things have to be subsidized but I am personally very pleased with the financial results; they are considerably ahead of my expectations. I think Wintario will probably support us. If they don't, I'll really have to scramble. With a budget of $30,000, the biggest expense incurred by the Festival was the publicity and, more specifically the poster. Six posters were designed by John Frase r each design evocative of one of the six participants. The were slick, even glamorous, and Roger Jones feels the were responsible for drawing a lot of people to the Festival. (It's a fact that several journalists and med ia reviewers made special mention of the posters in the ir coverage of the festival.) But for all this, the informatior printed on them was only partially correct. Instead o' giving specific dates and times for the participan represented in each design, the posters gave only the dates of the Festival's run, leaving one with the impressio that all the participants were performing all the time. Kat e Pocock, administrative assistant at TOT tells of peop le phoning up to reserve tickets for Dragu's cabaret show, Pick Up, a week after her run was through. Dancemakers and Judy Jarvis were understandably disturbed by th is, fearing it might have cut down on their audience. Although Mark Hammond, company manager of Dancemakers, managed the latter's two-week run , the whole operation was master-minded by TOT production manager, Dave Davis, with the speciai assistance of lighting co-ordinator, Ron Snippe. Dancemakers and Judy Jarvis as well as Grossman and Brown availed themselves of the expert ise of these "seasoned pros" as Roger Jones would have it. Some clash was reported between company managers and the technical crew provided by TOT; and some of the dancers complained that certain of their colleagues' technical people held unprofessional attitudes, but from out front things ran smoothly enough. The performers themselves co-operated well. Mercifully, the facilities at TWP allowed the participants separate dressing rooms; otherwise things might have been truly chaotic, especially on opening night when each Festiva l participant was on hand to present samples of his works. Warm-ups on stage before the performance were fairly casual, each participant taking care to check whether the stage was needed by someone else for a technical rehearsal. Sometimes warm-ups were co-operative; sometimes they were amusing. Smith. Judy and her group always warm up vocally and that was a little hair-raising sometimes because they would get into screaming and chortling while we were trying to put on our make-up. The theatre is not at all soundproof. Artistically speaking , sharing a program proved somewhat less mirthful. Of course, jockeying for prime positions was a factor: Smith. Naturally there are good positions: opening and closing, right after intermission. We did get into a few hassles about that. We didn't come right out and say , "You can't have the best spot!" but it was sort of lurking in the background . More difficult, however, was getting pieces from each group that would be compatible on one program. ith. We felt badly. Also for Margaret. Her show was a 11 :30 pm and her poster said 8:30. TOT was going : ill the end of the run so if somebody turned up in : e fourth week, it was fine for them. But not for us, e were finished. is. I don't object to the posters, they were neautiful. Any objection I have would be to the fo rmation printed on them . For example, in the ase of my own company, we closed out in ovember and it says on my poster that Judy Jarvis d Company will be going until December 19. Now • ere are probably people arriving this week to see ~e and we're closed . That situation is very fusing for the public, and given the cost of the - ster which goes into the high thousands, it really nfo rtu nate. most of the other organizational gaffs - most of ~el ati vely minor - that occured, the fault can be • ~ , att ributed to the speed with which the Festival \WIS se· p. · • In less than two months, the Festival was s~c enly there. We were in a position of having to -€€ d ead lines overnight, printing deadlines for the • ram, flyer and poster. The whole organization e Festival came like a shot. =• :. . i i g ly, there were very few problems with ; t e space at Toronto Workshop Productions. Smith. We found that some things didn't work together because you had to set up the stage or change the scrim or do this and that. Some things couldn't go together artistically. Two works in a row, for instance, that don't have that much dance movement, that are more towards theatre, aren't good together. We thought it was better to have contrast so we tried to put a dance-y work with one less dance-y. Judy was very particular about Changes. She wanted it to come before Session because she felt that after Session it would be a letdown, just two people and no music. Jarvis. We also found that Clouds coming at the end of the second or third part was very good . And that Plurals could never end a program because of its abstract mood . With some things we only knew when we'd danced them . We would have known if we had been in a studio even with a few friends sitting by . This was not a major problem during TDT's three-week run with Grossman and Brown whose dance styles complement TDT's own; but during the first two weeks when Grossman shared the stage with Judy Jarvis and Dancemakers, programming difficulties arose and necessitated program changes every night. Part of the problem in planning programs was that the participants were not familiar with one another's work. Grossman had met with a member of Dancemakers 15 Smith. If we do this again , I'd li ke t o see each company have its own even ing, but over si x evenings in a week, Dancemake rs has three, Judy has three. Next week, TOT has three and Danny has three. In New York , there's a season called Roundabout. They have alternating programs of full evenings of one choreographer or one company. Grossman, on the other hand, suspects that an evening devoted to one artist/ choreographer or even one company w ith the works of several choreographers in its repertoire might be boring and cites his own work as an example. (Ironically, Grossman received more public and critical acclaim for his five works in the Festival than any other participant. If anyone could be called the star of the show, it's Grossman.) Though he sympathizes with t he feel ings of Judy Jarvis and Dancemakers, agreeing that the difficulties in putting together a program that shows everyo ne off to equal advantage are numerous, he suggests that, given the climate of modern dance in Toronto, audiences are still not ready for concentrated evenings of one choreographer. So it would be better, he thinks, for dancers and dance companies to familiarize themselves with each other's work to avoid programm ing confl icts. Danny Grossman 's Fratelli: Toronto Dance Theatre (Noelyn George) and Judy Jarvis in order to map out a program and found that due to this lack of famil iarity, they had to describe their reperto ires to one another in tortuous detail. Danny's pieces didn't have titles. Fratelli wasn't down yet. Dancemakers didn't have titles for Cows or Plurals or Session, some of them were barely into the rehearsal pe riod. How do you program that? I was asking, 'What's the atmosphere? Is there any humour? How long might it be?' And these questions couldn't be answe red. In the future, more time should be spent on prog ramming. One must know at least three months in advance, not two weeks. Jarvis. It should perhaps be mentioned here that although the four works representing Dancemakers in the Festival repertoire were premieres, they were not comm issioned for the Festival; they were in preparation when it came along. The same is true of Peggy McCann's Trapped and Barbra Chaim berg's It's Only Rock & Roll for Judy Jarv is; and Danny Grossman's Fratelli and Triptych. The Festival merely gave the participants a chance to show their wo rks a lot sooner, in some cases, and with a minimal amount of trouble for themselves . As Grossman put it, " I didn't have to put together my own company to show my pieces. " The company - TOT - and the crew - also TDT's - were there for him to use. Even with the many program changes, some of the partic ipants are uncertain about the desirability of sharing a program in such a way wi th other dancers and dance companies again. Although the Festival set-up al lowed Toronto audiences a chance to see and compare at one time the city's major modern dance artists, the participants feel that their works did not show up to advantage; that is, they did not have enough time each evening to make a substantial, focused impression on the audience as dancer or dance troupe. Judy Jarvis feels strongly that, in future festivals, participants should each be alloted more time and Andrea Smith echoes that: 16 Grossman also questions whether a festival set up on a theme - duets, for example - would generate as much public interest as Judy Jarvis foresees. But Jarvis poi nts out that future festivals cannot hope to get by on novelty; the next one won't be historic or unique so that it w ill need something extra - a unifying theme - to sell it. Of course, with a theme festival, Jarvis envisages a shorte r run - th ree weeks, say - and an equitably-d ivided program . Grossman stresses that TOT has eno ugh choreographic resources itself with three artist ic directors and guest artists (like himself and Kathry n Brown) to mount a festival on its own. The attitud e prevalent among the artistic staff at TOT, he says , is "Never aga in!", at least using the current set-up. For t he next festiva l, Grossman foresees that TOT will sponsor the whole thing , artistically as well as administrat ive ly; other artists, Judy Jarvis and Dancemakers, for example, would appear as guests of TOT - if they want - bu TDT's name w ill appear above everything . The only real difference between a festival run as Grossman sees it an d the first festival is that TDT's status as impresario wo uld Judy Jarvis ' Clouds: Judy Jarvis Dance and Theatre Compa n ' ith the final word on programming as well as f inancing, thereby making communications _ , simple, and streamlined. Grossman argues an arrangement would be an advantage to •Bl'!IO"e_ -oncerned and that friction, resentment and the ialJlllfflllllil!"' _ f complaints would be reduced. e you get right down to it, there were amazingly - • c::or-:: aints - about anything. Most would like to see .ra agant poster, not to mention an accurate one, ~ more ads in the paper, and a comprehensive ith the name of the producing company beside so that there is no confusion in the audience is responsible for what. ,1rn11.,,...,....,se the spirit of the Toronto Dance Festival was . . .ra- o s, a fact all the participants stressed. I has been a co-operative effort, certainly on a ist ic side. There's been great goodwill een all six groups involved. I don't know ~ er this means there will be another one -B . s irit of co-operation has become essential to the growth of modern dance in this city. Everyone is feeling very, very much the ous costs of renting a theatre and setting it up '"' ically. I think everyone realizes that unless we co-operate it's just impossible to pay the bills. ch co-operation also means that Toronto er- es w ill see modern dance more often and this, in I provide a much-needed balance in a diet .__r-.;i•.ed heavily by classical ballet. Jones was quick to 1.. th at ballet and modern dance audiences very _ erlap except for a handful of die-hard dance ~cc:in.a1c_os, but feels that the media hype surrounding • nal Ballet's twenty-fifth anniversary season 1•illllmlll!!!l"" 12 - 25) boosted the Festival's audience We basically don't have a modern dance e ce in Canada, particularly in Toronto. People _ st ill looking for Coppelias and Fi/le Mal a·dees. We thought we'd sell a few seats for the ~ week and then be faced with having to paper Judy Jarvis' Just Before and In Between houses for four gruelling weeks. In fact, the box office has stayed steady. We've had four or five sold-out houses and we've never dropped below 100 paid people in the house. If you talk to any of the small theatres this season - like Tarragon -they'll tell you theatre business ain't good. But I think the opening of the twenty-fifth season of the National Ballet helped us a lot because there was so much dance awareness in the press at the time. Jones is pleased, too, that the media was so generous in its coverage of the Toronto Dance Festival, the National's premiere of La Fi/le Mal Gardee notwithstanding; if anything, the media bent over backwards to give the Festival equal billing and more. The media got right behind it. That helps. You can do the best work in the world, but if the media decides it's not into what you're doing, that's the end. It's been true of TOT performances in the past. This time, they decided, this looks like a spunky effort - we should back it. Jones. What was finally most satisfying for all the participants was the audience response. Many people stayed behind after performances to talk about works they had just seen with the works' creators; school classes came to investigate and cheer a form of expressive art they had probably never experienced before; and people who had never been to a dance concert of any kind suddenly found themselves addicted, coming back for more. Danny was really excited one night because he went out to the lobby during intermission and he didn't recognize anyone. That's new. It used to be you could go to (modern) dance performances to see all your friends, it was such a small audience. Anderson. It is likely, too, that modern dance has garnered a few more adherents through the Toronto Dance Festival. But nobody's resting on laurels. "What we should do now," says Danny Grossman, "is go on tour for three months preferably to Europe - and really learn these dances." 17 Lap Lap was choreographed by Elizabeth Ch itty and performed by Elizabeth Chitty and Terry McGlade as part of the Dance Artists series held in November and December 1976 at St. Paul's Centre, Toronto. 1 __ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ __ I became interested in violent, physical contact through my own experience with dance. I stopped dance training in the traditional, technical sense when I graduated from the York University Dance Department (April, 1975). For two years I had been working improvisationally without emphasis on traditional technique. I had grown dissatisfied with the kind of work this usually resulted in (in myself and others) it was largely confined to very sensitive, usually "spacey" energy and movement. Violence is a counter-action. I am interested in real danger and real physical contact as opposed to theatrical physical contact. It has honesty. I am not interested in using movement to express, to create moods or feelings, etc. My previous work has been part of this process of evolution. Mover contained movement that, though very slow and dependent on body awareness and sensitivity, worked with physical reality, (dancers moved another dancer's body as she acted as a deadweight), and Drop, in which I, as a deadweight, dropped on a pulley from a fourth-storey window, contained an undistorted physical reality and added the element of danger. Lap was originally conceived as an attempt at changing progression in a real-time performance piece, using overlapping as a means of choreographic assembly. This metamorphosed into the overlap of video image and 18 performance activity. Their relationship in time changes within the piece as is illustrated by this notation: Video Performance Activity A A B C C + + + + A1 81 91 c1 D E A - sleeve B - laps C - whistle D - no water tape E - fin image (The index indicates the derivative of the original performance activity .) The parts of Lap are derived from two bases. The most important one is violent, physical contact structured in each case by a parameter affecting that activity. The piece · opens with a videotape of the "sleeve" activity as the performers begin "sleeve" live. We don a long sleeve which binds Terry's left arm and my right, and within the limitation which the sleeve provides, we start moving . The movement is very active, usually violent and aggressive and we interact constantly. The only occasions we are not in physical contact with one another's bodies is in recovering from a particularly hard encounter or in anticipation of the next attack. The other parameter affecting the activity is the whistles. We again move violently but with wooden whistles in our mouths which gauge with their sound our movement and interaction. ts Association from the word lap is the other basis. These two bases are of a different nature altogether: the first is a straightforward execution within parameters and the second is imageoriented. The performance-video relationship goes through changes because of this: A 1 (sleeve tape) is directly derivative of A (sleeve activity) as a simple documentation; Band part of 8 1 are both drawn from one meaning of "lap" (the part of the body) then the tape takes on another meaning (lapping as a rhythm, exemplified by waves); the colour "no water" tape, D in the chart, is derived from wo r d association beginning with lapping waves-water-no water-tears-; E, in which I donned fins, snorkel and mask followed the water association. The video-performance relationship changed completely here because the live camera and monitor were what made perception poss ible. (It was dark and the camera had an infrared light source.) frustration, amazing amount of anger, amazing amount of pent-up sexuality that is expressed as male to female relationships that are breaking down and the anger is there, the need to escape, the interdependency in any type of relationship that wells up every now and again and causes anger and violence and frustration. Those are some of the responses I've got from some of the people who saw it." The video aspect of Lap is of equal importance with the performance. Usually when live activity is going on with video, the audience focuses on the live activity. The arrangement of the monitors is important in attempting to shift this emphasis to create a more equal videoperformance space . Three sma l l monitors were placed in the audience, and four large (two colour) were placed at the back of the perform ing space. "I'm sitting comfortably, ready to think clearly and accurately about this work. I expect to relate to Lap in an analytical manner knowing that Elizabeth works in a conceptual way. After a few minutes of watching Terry and Elizabeth frantically and desperately throw each other about, my controlled, structured perception is shaken. I actually "feel" a part of the piece it is so emotionally and physically demanding. But frightening too. Every detail of the fight becomes crucial. Skin scrapes on the wooden floor, joints twist and crack, flesh becomes bruised from repeated blows and falls. Elizabeth has created fear and violence in me. I find myself trying to hang on to a cool, detached role; and for a time I regain a state of organized perception. I am in control. But Lap keeps going; and again 2. - - - - - - - - - - - - - "The. other perspective that has to be looked upon is how the audience reacted to it - the comments that the audience has said back to me are along the lines of an amazing amount of Excerpt from a video interview by Terry McG/ade " offensive; a woman so white and a man so dark, they fight physically - brutally two tv's, black and white, kinetic, methodical but they (the dancers) fight. the bruises that you see are real : and the woman took such a beating and it's so offensive, but so so powerful I think she hates men ." Terry Crack 19 I feel overwhelmed. There's Elizabeth, naked to my eyes, since what coverage is a sleeveless, skin-tone leotard? And Terry comfortable in head-to-foot overalls. How can she keep going back for more? Her greater aggressiveness in contrast to her greater vu lnerability leaves me shaken and wondering. But that's the challenge of Lap and its strength. The work demands that you "go through" both its intense and subdued moments in the same way that Elizabeth and Terry endure. The viewer has no easy, complacent position because Lap somehow makes the nerve endings bare and raw. Objectivity is a myth." Janice Hladki 3. _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ __ __ Lap was created conceptually, intellectually. That's the way I work. However, its impact seemed to be largely emotional. Because an artist is a human being, human content is knew at the time of making Lap; it was simultaneously happening, therefore part of the Lap process. It was not until a week before the first performance that it dawned on me that the piece might be perceived in the light of that remark. So Is a piece what the artist concei ves : as or what the audience sees? perceive from only one of many possi e perspectives limits one's response to a very narrow scope. An aud ie ce hopefully opens itself up to ne perceptual possibilities and an art is: should be aware of the same. Ever though we are geared towards thin ki g of Giselle as Giselle, the identity of a work of art, particularly performance a is undeniably a very nebulous thi This is even more the case with t e avant-garde, in which I believe the most vital work takes place. This is perh a s because new work does not carry wit • such a pattern of pre-program med response which results with the use o• established and recogniza b l e techniques and perceptual approaches A piece is a representation of a process; the process of creating t e piece, the living process of the artist, a also the process of information passi g between the artist and the aud ience Performers are lucky to have a livi context in which to realize that las• potential. inevitably present in her/his work, and I can easily accept that the piece was largely approached by audiences from a different viewpoint than the one in which I created it. Many of the responses I received indicated that the piece was "about" man/woman interaction, sexual frustration, etc. I consider it positive that human content was revealed, though unintentionally, and believe that it actually had more experiential potential because it was not "engineered". To work from an emotional base, to engineer a piece to express an emotion, is to me an unsatisfying way of working partly because it confines itself to a narrative, linear mode of perception . FACT - The entire time I was working on the piece (three months) my life was very emotional - I cared very much for an inaccessible man thus the reference in the colour tape to women suffering from unrequited love. I included it because that was what was happening to me and other women I 20 what is the relationship of the above FACT to the piece? I didn't know while making Lap that it had anything to do with the content people perceived! The discipline of art history teaches that an artist's life and state of mind are relevant to the art. It may be relevant as an available means of grasping a work, but just how important is it in the overall perceptual framework? Something els.e - I've said that I wo from a conceptual, not expressive r narrative content-oriented base. I arr presently very curious about t e relationship between the two. Is idea only a vessel for human content to ma e meaningful? Or, is the recognition • human content merely a percept a handicap of an audience a programmed individuals? Choreographers in Process ....__ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ Two Chalmers Winners: _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _, , When Lawrence Gradus won the Chalmers Award in 1976, he didn 't use the money for any of the th in gs choreographers usually do when they become eligible for art welfare, like making ends meet until the next dance is finished. No, Lawrence Grad us didn't make any dances with that money. Instead, he took his "kids" as he fond ly refers to his company, Entre-Six, to New York City to give them a juicy bite of the Big Apple and watch their delighted eyes do the dancing that week. Unorthodox and characteristically Gradus. I picture him going about his work with a white bird perched on his shoulder, like "Baretta." He's the colloquial, city kid who lives through his instincts and usually comes out right. For the last three years Gradus has been busy at work being himself. He's never been happier. Coming out of the American Ballet Theatre, Lawrence Gradus feels he has found a home in Canada where he can realize a desire he has nurtured for a long time - to choreograph. He hasn't merely transferred a microcosm of the New York milieu to his new home - he has transformed it. Synthesizing his native language with his newly acquired French, Gradus is making a personal vocabulary of dance that can be understood by audiences all over Canada. The smiling Entre-S ix caterpillar, the company's emblem, ripples along carrying her young , Quebecois dancers, Franc;:ois Beau lieu, Jacques Drapeau, Roselyne Forestier, Dominique Giraldeau, Pierre Lemay, Shelly Osher and Ann Sprincis , performing a repertory of works to delight children (like Peter and the Wolf), works to delight the child in every adult (like The Blue Danube) and works which confirm the humanity of dancer and audience alike. Gradus. I was in Ballet Theatre for six years with Jerry's (Jerome Robbins) company and I think that's probably where all my feelings come from. When I was in Les Grands Ballets Canadiens, a person who also really had a mark on my feelings about dance was John Butler. I can honestly say I learned something from him. Taplin. What kinds of things did you learn from him? Gradus. What I learned in a choreographic way, because my mind was on choreography, was partnering ... interesting hand lings in pas de deux work. His work is very sculptured and some of my things are also sculptural but in a different way. It's funny, sometimes you are influenced by people in a kind of unconscious way but from John Butler, I was really aware of the influence at the time. 21 Pierre et le Loup Taplin. You seem to bring out a certain wit and charm in your dancers and dances that seems, somehow, French . Are you consciously shaping that? Gradus. No, I think when I started the company I didn't know what to do. I did simple things. I still do simple things because the company (and myself) takes a long time to develop. I don't think I even wanted a company, that's what's so strange. I think if I had gone out to do a company I would have failed. I wanted to choreograph and I wasn't really happy with what I was doing or where I was doing it. I never really felt myself. I tried so hard but so little came back. Anyway, two years ago I took some students . · .. I really hadn't intended anything . . . that's when it worked. I could be myself and could bring out something much more natural in the sense of choreography. Taplin. You thought you had the situation to evolve in your own time? Gradus. Yes. I wasn't frightened because I didn't have to do anything good and I wasn't working with dancers who were already established. They were my students. I just did something quite natural. I had never felt that before and I don't think many people do. I recognized that what I had done was very simple; still, it was simple in a good way. I had always worked with lots of people, lots of steps, etc., but I had never done this before. It was touching and it was right. Taplin. Are your present company members the students you started working with? 22 Gradus. Yes. I picked them because I thought they had potential. They had no background - some jazz but that's not what I wanted . In New York, kids have a background, they see everything. Taplin. Yes, your dancers have an innocence about them . . . a dance innocence. Gradus. Yes, and I didn't try to give them any notions about what dance is supposed to be. Taplin. Being in New York as long as you were and working with Jerome Robbins who was such a strong influence, did you find it necessary to 'shed' any of that influence to work here? Gradus. I have one rule that I always follow: I never shed anything. I use everything. I think the thing I'm looking for is really in the area of feelings. I don't go out of my way to look for new movement. I can use any movement that comes my way. Feelings more than anything else. That's what I want to get across and I'll use anything to do that. Taplin. Do you pursue one idea throughout several dances or re-work a quality from one dance into a new dance? Gradus. I re-work a lot. I work forever on little things sometimes. I like to have a unity. That's very important. I think a dance, when you loo~ at it, should go _by you . The essence of 1t should stay with you. I work for that .. . so that nothing jars you or disturbs you even if it's a disturbing dance. Taplin. Do your dancers ever question you about your dances? Gradus. Sometimes. I think the mos important thing for a choreographer an d his relationship with his dancers is that they have to let him try. If you feel intimidated or cut off you should stop the dance because nothing will come ou . We never get to that point. Taplin. Someone said to me after ari Entre-Six performance that "you get this incredible projection from the dancers that they are really enjoyi ng themselves - but you know all the t ime that the choreography is bringing t ha out." It shows that people really do pie up on things. There is a form for yo dancers to be in, which brings out thei personal qualities. This seems to be a aspect of your work. Gradus. I'm very much like they are I'm naive myself, even coming from Ne York and working all those years . hadn't really lived in the world because was in a big ballet company . I real . regret that. That's the worst kind ' existence. I'm basically naive and It i • all artists are in some sense. Taplin. critics? How do you react to e Gradus. I think I know my works e best. I'm able to be objective. I'm pie a critic says something I understa a listen. I listen to everything. But I have : do what I want to do. What's the sense:::' doing anything else? There are al a,, : in my mind some works that ma e · more than others. And with the wo r•: that make it you find that you can alwa _ ._ :-e-e'. Sometimes you do a piece that ::. it was an adventure, a good try , can feel good about it. I noticed that your program ere very well balanced. They ic ated something about each t still let the dance speak for e you trying to communicate i n g in particular to your e? s. I'm trying to communicate _: i g in feelings. They have to be - ... icated clearly and well. The :~ce wi ll understand, I'm sure. Even : aracters, they have to be clear at ract. It's hard to keep characters _ein g cliches. It's a big challenge. e don't do characters anymore but s good (to do them). = . You said masks and faces are '""""'"'"'"''in g to use. What about using - e ui pment? s. Until Peter and the Wolf I had _. sed anything on the stage and I ow what to do! I'm interested in ; ore and more props, shapes and ; . Paintings influence me. When I a ::iai nting I get a wholeness. Any painters in particular? Gradus. How much do you want a dance to express? Do you want a dance to express a lot or nothing? Taplin. How can a dance express nothing? Gradus. I don't think a dance can (express nothing)! Taplin. I remember you said once that when you are making a dance you keep working something for as long as it takes until it looks like it did inside your head - your mind's eye. Gradus. That takes a lot of force out of me. It's easier to talk about in the area of feelings rather than specific things. You look at something and ask yourself, 'Is that the way you feel about it or do you feel stronger about it? ' 'How can you make the visual impact stronger to create that feeling.' A choreographer should really be in command of those things. You can really command how a work is felt. I had always wanted to choreograph but I never thought I was a choreographer until I started working with these kids. Now I think I have something but I'm not so sure what it is. Taplin. What about the mechanics of the company? s. The old masters. If a painting sa s to my visual sense then it affects . it has to. I also like movies, :.~ ar ly horror movies. They create _ -ea sensation in me if they are done - ey give you another dimension :a e you out of the world . ·Gradus. If it hadn 't been fo r my wife, none of this would have gotten started. She's the administrator. She's the boss . I'm happy that way. She does everything for us. (Jacqueline Lem ieux-Lopez danced and taught for Les Grands Ballets). . T his "out of the world" quality • s important to you in dance? Taplin. Who are some of the modern dance choreographers you admire? ir=- • Viva nce Gradus. I love Anna Sokolow. I think she's underrated, she's a gen ius. A lot of modern dance I don't care for, but she has a beautiful technique on top of th e feeling. Jose Limon's compan y was wonderful. Taplin. Dame Ninette de Valois spoke at York University recently and one of the things she discussed was t he build ing of an identity for the Nat ional Ballet - a style that will be uniquely Canadian . Of course, the Royal Ballet seems to express something that is inherently English in its dancing. Have you any thoughts on the identity of Entre-Six as a French Canadian company? Gradus. Well it certainly has a kind of thing that you associate with French Canadians - a kind of openness - a kind of lovely naivete . .. very earthy, very human . It has to have something of a French Canadian feel because the kids are all French Canadian. I don't see how it could not. But I'm not consciously t rying to do that. I'm just feeling my way through. It's early. I like the size of the company. I don't like big groups .. . don't like making people wait in line! I don't particularly like seeing large works either. Taplin. When did you stop dancing? Gradus. Four years ago. I don't th ink I really liked to dance. At least, not in everything. I was spoiled working w ith Jerry. His works were worth it no matter what we did. I guess I'll know more abou t myself in a few years. Time will tell what I have. 1976: Judith Marcuse ...__ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ Elizabeth Zimmer _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _... Ballet Rambert in Marcuse's baby "I have other people's craft. I don't have my own yet. I can steal really well." room for mistakes. People are more forgiving here; there's room for experimentation ." That's Judith Marcuse talking. One thing about her, she's honest. A fascinating combination of qualities, she's also wide-eyed, hard-headed, direct, open, sophisticated, tiny, powerful , trusting, inquisitive. She knows what she wants, she says what she thinks, and her vulnerability may be her greatest asset. Next to her ability. By her own admission, Judith Marcuse's work is still in experimental stages. She's actually made only a few dances, plus some work for Israeli television, about which she'd rather not comment. For 11 years she's been dancing professionally, with Les Grands, Les Ballets de Geneve, Bat-Dor Dance Company, the Oakland Ballet, the Festival Ballet of Canada, and most recently, Ballet Rambert. Though she started improvising as a young child, while training with Elsie Solomon in Montreal, her creative impulses were squelched when she began studying seriously. "There are enough problems having faith in yourself as a dancer," she observes, so she concentrated on performing until just a few years ago. A dark horse, unknown to most of her contemporaries here, the Montreal native won the 1976 Chalmers Award for promising Canadian choreographer. A lot of people were baffled by the selection, including Judith herself; she'd been out of the country, performing in Israel, California and England, for seven years. After more than two years with Ballet Rambert, she returned to Canada this summer, to re-mount Four Working Songs on Les Grands Ballets Canadiens and to case the situation in her homeland. "I really am North American and I want to be part of what's going on . There is not, here, that suffocating sense of tradition that there is in Europe. The canvas is barer and that means there's 24 She went to England, to study at the Royal Ballet School, at the age of 15, complet ing her high school education in spare moments between dance classes. Three years later she returned to this continent and while dancing with Les Grands Ballets, continued her studies in New York with Benjamin Harkavy, Anthony Tudor, Hector Zaraspe and other teachers. For the past few months she's been prospecting for work all over the country, "There's still in Canada a dangerous aura about people who've worked outside, a very provinc ial attitude," she says. Marcuse and her husband Rick, an anthropologist currently completing a book about the world of Ballet Rambert, have chosen to settle in Vancouver, and while she has been warmly received by many local choreographers and company directors, the warmth has not been, unti l recently, the sort that will heat her house, fill her stomach or keep gas in the car. A recent part-time appointment at Simon Fraser University teaching dance will keep the bill collectors from the house for a while. About the Vancouver dance scene , she notes that the energy resources seem to be available, but not the financial ones. "Everyone here is struggling financially, to stay alive. Things are fragmented." She recently visited Toronto where she choreographed a new worK, Sessions, for Dancemakers which had its prem iere during the Toronto Dance Festival. In early January she shared a solo concert bill with former Cunningham dancer Albert Reid at the Contemporary Jazz Cent re in Vancouver and she's __ ed another at the Vancouver ::: ... u re Centre for early April. She's oreograph ing a musical in a a d has commitments this year 3•oupe Nouvelle Aire and Entre a1 I'm here for is to find out if I can l!"tlllwr'Vl'_~raph. But I want to keep -..,,...~'Tii ng and I want to teach as well. to and available for anyone a ts to use me." She's eager to wit h other artists. "I t 's a or at ion time. It would be ~eriu l to meet other theatre people, sers, poets, painters, anyone - s designing words or space or . . . . I'm really interested in a cing at this point, in working with -any other people as possible." .. e has not yet evolved a "way of g." Wh ile dancing with Rambert, pulse was always to suggest gs in the working process. "I found I a fu nd of stuff I hadn't let out - .. e past two years have been intense for her, as she's begun to test her •eographic strength . She finds the ess a "way of seeing the world, of g at everything." Since leaving r- ert last summer, she's been "l'"lee i ng dozens of new people and ""'ergoi ng the stress of settling into a city - new to her, though her and was born and spent his early 11-ea here. She chose Vancouver, over .. cent res as New York, Toronto and rancisco, because "I've been :er hi gh pressure for 11 years; I want th ings more thoughtfully now. Yo rk is just too fast." In an era, and an area , notably sho rt of competen t choreographers , Judith Marcuse brings t o Vancouve r a seriousness of intent, a concern w ith communicating intelligible t hings in her dance: "I like to be st imu lated; I like to be made to think. My impulse is to try and say something relevant. I'm open to many ways of work ing. I haven 't found my language yet. I'm not afraid to make mistakes." Her candour is refreshing. She knows about the financial sac rifices dancers make to be able to practise their art. When she left England last year, she was earning ba rely as much with Ballet Rambert , after 10 yea r s as a professional, as she had made at her fi rst job in Montreal. She has taught ballet to dancers, advanced students and chil dren since 1972, and suggests to asp i ring performers that they learn to use their bodies in as many ways as they can. She's still developing a wo rkout for herself; after 11 years as a company member, the transition to civilian life means new, self-imposed schedu les, new routines. She appears to have the metabolism of a humming bird . At not qu ite 5'3", she weighs 94 po unds and claims to be able to eat anyt hing she wants. Marcuse cred its forme r teacher and mentor Brian Macdona ld w it encouraging her to mount Four Working Songs in Montreal and thus poi nt ing her in the direction of re-patriati on. In fact, Macdonald's company, Les Gran ds, brought the piece to the Dance in Canada Conference for the community at large to see in August. That's where I first met Judith Marcuse; she appeared at my elbow in rust-colou red practice clothes as we were about to take a master class . Before we knew it, we were deep in conversation about the difficulty of making the transition from docile, obed ient , t radit i onal dancer to innovative , commanding choreographer . We've been in that conversation , off and on , for quite a while now. Judith Marcuse is making that transition . Revised from the article first published in the October issue of the Vancouver Ballet Society Newsletter. Judith Marcuse ..,e, pri mary influences, she feels , e been choreographers such as y Tudor, Glen Tetley and • s opher Bruce. Since returning to ~ada, she's become interested in the of Ann Ditchburn. She's been . t o be a part of the international e community; she and her husband e been around the world a couple of working in half a dozen major :"es. She credits her long-time friend colleague, Linda Rabin , with g many doors for her abroad ; • paths keep criss-crossing . ·Linda ed Marcuse to Vancouver by • wo years and is now working in e· Canada. --e years at Ballet Rambert, where ad been contemporary dance e , exposed her to a company in d ancers could function :ea: ely, in an egalitarian structure ·e th ey were encouraged to graph . In a recent London s op, 10 of the 16 Rambert er:s , including Marcuse, presented ~ o ks. 25 Le Musicien Balanchine et le Choregraphe Stravinsky En prenant l'avion Rome-Paris en octobre dernier, je ne me doutais pas encore que j'allais decouvrir un element essentiel pour la comprehension du travail de Balanchine. En effet le New York City Ballet participait au quatorzieme festival international de danse a Paris. Je savais que j'y retrouverais le style du NYCB, je savais que toutes les grandes danseuses: Mazzo, Farrell, McBride, Leland (pour ne mentionner que celles du spectacle de la matinee du 9 octobre) apparaitraient en scene; que le corps de ballet offrirait sa precision et sa surete habituelles, que le spectacle ne serait jamais encombre de costumes de mauvais gout et de decor insignifiant . . . en d'autres termes je me dirigeais vers quelque chose que j'aime et qui vaut toujours le deplacement: le travail de Balanchine. Cependant je n'avais jamais vu un programme entier de cho regraph ies de Balanchine sur la musique d'lgor St ravinsky. Gaete pour moi une revelation. Oui, "la musique et la danse est la tout ce qu' il faut," quand la musique et la danse se revelent aussi grandes et servies par des genies. Peut-etre la le hasard du vingtieme siecle a-t-il reussi un de ses evenements les plus heureux en mettant en presence ces deux hommes. Au depart ils avaient beaucoup en commun . Tous deux russes emigres, ils ont atteint a une transparence d'ecritu re soit musicale soit choregraphique hors du com mun. C'est a Monte Carlo en 1928 que commenca ce rapprochement art ist ique, les Ballets russes preparaient Apollon Musagete sur une musique de Stravinsky et Diaghilev chargea Ba lanchine de la choregraphie. Ce jour-la je crois qu'il s'est passe quelque chose dans l'histoire de la danse. Ba lanchine devant utiliser une musique telle que celle de Stravinsky inventa le style Balanchine. Heritier de !'experience du ballet romantique en Aussie, Balanch ine nettoya le tout pour retrouver la qualite fondamentale du ballet classique ... et ce grand menage laissa un espace immense au rythme, au sens de la musique. Tout Balanch ine me semble la. Si dans 50 ans d'ici, nous parlons encore du ballet com me art vivant, ce sera grace a Balanch ine. Car le ballet sera, depuis quasi le debut du siecle, entre dans le monde de l'art contemporain . Cet apres-midi du 9 octobre ii m'etait donne d'assister a un spectacle entier de cinq danses toutes sur des musiques de Stravinsky, toutes de Balanchine. Trois de ces choregraphies, datees 1972, avaient ete crees a !'occasion du Festival Stravinsky au NYCB,soit le Divertissement du baiser de la Fee, dansee par Patricia McBride et Helgi Tomasson, Duo Concertant, par Kay Mazzo et Peter Martins et Symphonie en trois mouvements, par Sara Leland et J.P . Bonnefous. Les deux autres pieces remontaient a 1960, Monumentum pro Gesualdo, danse par Suzanne Farrell et Tracy Bennet et, a 1963, Mouvement pour piano et orchestre, par Suzanne Farrell et Jacques d'Amboise. "Stravinsky considerait , a priori, chaque instrumentiste com me un soliste presque virtuose, dominant totalement !'instrument, dans la vitesse et les jeux rythmiques les plus difficiles, pouvant attaquer les sons avec une prec ision quasi mathematique, dans tous les reg istres et avec toutes les nuances de la dynamique musicale, et pouvant meme transcender ses possibilites dans le domaine classique". Cetexte on pourrait le reprend re com me tel en le conjugant au present avec Balanchine com me sujet. Le NYCB danse d'une facon unique. Kay Mazzo, Patricia McBride, Suzanne Farrell, Sara Leland dansent avec le NYCB depuis un certain nombre d'annees, devouees a 26 Bat Sheva son repertoire, e l les le servent d' une maniere except ionnelle. Au cours du temps on aurait pu se demande r ce que ces interpretes auraient pu apporter de nouveau. On redecouvre une Kay Mazzo grande comedienne et une Suzanne Farrell qui traverse les choregraph ies du grand Ba lanchine tout simplement, com me si elles etaient sa prop re improvisat"jon corporelle innee. Jamais ballet "abstrait" ne fut plus clair, j~mais le ballet du vingtieme siec le ne s'est si bien porte. Poµrquoi n'est-il pas possible d'en voir plus souvent? Evidem rn ent, c'est un privilege. . George Crumb. Une scene nue, a peine eclairee au plancher d'un cercle lumineux, borde dans le ciel d'un cerceau d'aluminium, delimite l'aire ou Rina Schenfeld entrera timidement dans l'univers nocturne. Le so lo est magnifique, tisse d'une suite de mouvements lies, serres et coulants, la danse de Schenfeld ouvre le spectacle su r une haute note. Au solo, s'enchainera un pas de quatre pour danseurs qui cedera a son tour a un autre pour 4 danseuses, pour conclure dans une serie de duo ou celui de Rina Schenfeld / et Yair Vardi prendra plus d'importance. Bruce cree un climat nocturne en exploitant la musique de Crumb et le bleu, des cauchemars, ii n'y en a pas, mais seulement une danse abstraite tres bien construite. Ce qui m'a frappe chez ce choregraphe anglais c'est le sens de la mesure; s'il utilise le geste mult iplie, selon l'idee du canon, dans le pas de 4 pour hommes, ii l'abandonne avant d'arriver au point de saturation, sides echos de corps apparaissent, simples ou doubles, encore la, ils sont controles. Dans le pas de quatre pour femmes, ii prendra soin de ne pas reappliquer un systeme, ii creera une nouvelle action, integree a !'ensemble mais differente . Bruce n'a rien du "choreg raphe revolutionnaire" mais fait preuve d'une grande maitrTse de l'ecriture choregraphique moderne et d'un sens du go0t qui la refraichit. De plus, a la fin de cette premiere piece, on a deja constate que les danseurs du Bat Sheva sont bons, quelques-uns voir exceptionnels. La deuxieme oeuvre au programme, Les Exiles de Jose Limon d'apres Paradis Perdu du poete Milton, sur une musique d'Arnold Schoenberg, mettra en vedette un excellent couple de danseurs Nurit Stern et Rohamin Ron. Ce long dialogue, ce prelude a l'acte d'amour se conclue en un orgasme coupable. Face a ce couple soude du dernier mouvement, je pense a Bataille et a la relation entre sexsual ite et mort. J'avais oublie les belles tensions que recelent les choregraphies de Limon: cette energie debordante, eclatant dans des mouvements saccades qui se fixent souvent sur un plan de profil plutot que de face ou ii semblerait logique de les attendre. Stern avec son corps nerveux et Ron avec son physique a la Louis Falco ont bien rappelle les qualites de Jose Limon. La soiree se terminera sur une danse La ce/lule de Robert Cohan , choregraphe bien connu au Bat Sheva ainsi qu'aux Etats-Unis et en Angleterre. Du programme, cette piece m'aura laisse le plus indifferent meme si, les danseurs l'ont bien rendu , meme si des contortions et des trouvailles gestuelles interessantes apparaissaient ici et la, et, meme si, la fin, Yair Vardi s'est lance dans un solo improvise fort intense. Un plancher blanc en plan incline, de multiples changements de costumes, les eclairages stroboscopiques me semblant des moyens qui vieillissent vite et mal. Au total c'etait une excellente soiree de danse moderne conventionnelle. Dans ma chambre d'hotel j'ecoute le bruit des vagues se brisant sur la longue plage de Tel-Aviv; Montreal, Toronto, New York ne me semblent pas si loin; com me quoi ii existe un langage international de la danse. a Soir a Tel Aviv __ • eat re moderne et confortable, ni trop grand, ni trop • l'Habimah. Aucun siege de libre, en ce 9 decembre, u b lic enthousiaste n'y menagera pas ses :: aiud issements a la compagnie de danse israelienne, • Sheva. Baptisee du prenom de sa fondatrice, Bat - e a de Rotchild, cette compagnie de danse moderne, a fo rt connue, inaugure ce soir sa huitieme saison .., iere avec, en premiere mondiale, une choregraphie :::ie Christopher Bruce, directeur adjoint du Ballet -oert, Echos d'un ciel de nuit, sur une musique de A !'occasion d'un prochain voyage je souhaiterais avoir la possibilite de voir des choregraphies de jeunes israeliens tel Rina Schenfeld et Moshe Efrati. Je me plais a croire que c'est a Sebaste, en Samarie, que tot cree et dansee, ii ya plus de 2000 ans, l'une des danses les plus mysterieuses du monde, celle de Salomee pour Herode le Tetrarque. 27 Royal Winnipeg Ballet in Araiz's Magnificat Profile: Oscar Araiz . . , . . - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - • Casimir Carter _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _..,.. Oscar Araiz may have been little known outside of his native Argentina until a little over two years ago, but he now finds himself being courted by some of the world's major dance companies anxious to perform his ballets or to have new ones created for them. The turning point in his career came in April, 1974 at the time of the Royal Winnipeg Ballet's tour of South America when it was extended an invitation to a performance by a small dance company in Buenos Aires calling itself the Oscar Araiz Company. Artistic director Arnold Spohr attended and was so impressed by the exciting movements and dramatic impact of one of the ballets performed called Family Scenes that he immediately made arrangements to present one of Araiz's shorter works, Adagietto, in Winnipeg the following October. Adagietto was a love duet of gentle passions to the adagio movement of Mahler's Fifth Symphony. It became such a hit with critics and audiences, that Spohr decided to acquire some of Araiz's longer works. Le Sacre du Printemps and Family Scenes were added to the company's repertoire in 1975. Their popular reception was followed by the addition of Magnificat and Mah/er4 in 1976. 28 --az's interest in dance started when he was 10, after _a g a performance of Stravinsky's Le Sa~re du -·e ps. He became fascinated with t~e r:ius1? and _a o invent movements and patterns in his mind to - pany the rhythms . In 1956, at the age of 16 ~e o take lessons in ballet and modern dance with - ers in La Plata, his home town , and nearby Buenos • Th e most influential of these were Dore Hoyer, a a · igman disciple, and Renate Schottelius, a modern --ce teacher. He soon recognized that he wanted to :~ in a medium that combined ballet and modern dance - : em ents. He began in a modest way in 1957 with _a~entations to Gershwin's Second Prelude. His Sacre :irintemps was not to come until 1966. Now at the age :· 6 he has 66 works to his credit. _a =- - s dancing career began as a member of the Opera 5a et of the Argentine Theatre La Platte where he a.=Deared in Ballet Russes repertoire including Les hides, Giselle, Swan Lake, Paganini and Lf!S ::·•esages. In 1963 he formed his own dance c_ompany in : ~enos Aires which he called The Oscar Ara1z Dancers, __ t it disbanded shortly after. In 1968 he formed another : pany, Ballet Theatre of St. Martin. He toured Europe 969 but returned to Argentina due to lack of funds. innate musical sense gives Araiz the inspiration for ballets. His classical and modern dance background es him the ability to create movements that are entirely ·ginal. He may be led by the surge <?f the music with ich he is working but at the same time he can make :: gressions that result in pleasant surprises. This is a ·ea ure in Adagietto where the two dancers fold ~nd _,., ·o ld their bodies to form constantly changing s l pt ured poses. - In Le Sacre du Printemps Araiz displays an exciting imagination. It is not the Nijinsky scenes of Pagan Russia but a ballet that takes place in a period that is timeless and forever, which is perhaps the reason why he insists that the dancers wear practice costumes and appear on a bare stage. Family Scenes is an example of his sense of drama and his understanding of individual human beings in their relations with each other, the mu.$ic serving to emphasize the action. Magnificat is joyous Bach and he expresses this joyousness in carefree movements for the dancers. In Mahler 4 Araiz attempts to analyze a sensitive individual who is both simple and complex as revealed in his programmatic music. As a result of his recent successes Araiz has been appointed artistic director of the Colon Opera Ballet Company in Buenos Aires. His duties began in January (1977). He has two companies under his control, one performing the opera ballets, the other original ballets. The dance company will at first perform his own ballets and later those of other choreographers. Eventually he intends to tackle the great classics. He has great rapport with the Royal Winnipeg Ballet because of its receptivity to innovations and it is his aim to make his company similar to it, able to perform modern works as well as the classics which require smaller casts . Araiz will probably be too busy to create new ballets for the Royal Winnipeg Ballet due to his duties with the Colon Opera Ballet, but the five he has left them will serve as a cross-section of his style that will survive for years to come. At the present time his ballets are being performed by the Royal Swedish Ballet and the Boston Ballet and the Jaffrey Ballet is presently negotiating for his works. Left, RWB in Family Scenes. Below left, Araiz's Adagietto. Below, RWB in Araiz's Mahler 4: Eternity is Now Entre-Six: Gradus ' choreography "unusually original" Noticeboard New York, New York • • • • Entre-Slx danced before a packed theatre at the Riverside Church last December in works by its artistic director Lawrence Gradus. Clive Barnes, New York Times dance critic, described Gradus' choreography as "unusually original" while praising the enthusiasm and athleticism of the dancers • • • • Dancemakers makes its New York debut this March (10-14) in works by American choreographer Mitchell Rose. Rose already has several works in the company's repertoire including Following Station Identification, which was performed during Dancemakers' first season . National Spirit • • • • National Ballet principals Frank Augustyn and Karen Kain drew a warm response from Russian audiences during their recent tour there. The highlight was an outstanding performance of Giselle with the Bolshoi, so observers report. They received several curtain calls and a nine-minute standing ovation, not to mention bouquets of roses, cav iar, champagne, and vodka! • • • • Several NBC dancers appeared in Paris with Rudolph Nureyev at the Palais de Sport for performances of Hans van Manen's Four Schumann Pieces (Feb. 1-6) . Immersion in Choreography • • • • The dance and music departments of York University are proposing an exciting four-week choreographic seminar, a chance for dancers and choreographers to create together without commercial pressures. The immersion beg ins June 6 and will be held on the York campus. A group of six choreographers, six composers, 24 dancers 30 and 15 musicians will reside on campus and work intensively toward the presentation of original choreographic concepts. For more information, contact Grant Strate, dance department, York University 416-667-3445. Havana Festivities • • • • Canadians in Cuba's International Ballet Festival held in Havana last November included Nadia Potts and Frank Augustyn (NBC), Maniya Barredo and Alexandre Belin (LGB) and Michele Febvre and Paul-Andre Fortier of Groupe Nouvelle Aire. It's an Honour • • • • Dance critic and historian Selma Jeanne Cohen and Robert Cohan, artistic director of the London Contemporary Dancers, have both been made honouraryfellows of York University in recognition of their contributions to the dance department since its inception six and a half years ago. Chinese Connection • • • • The Shanghai Ballet makes its long-awaited North American premiere (touring Canada only) this May as participants in the China/Canada cultural exchange of the Canada Council. From its exciting repertoire it will present the modern revolutionary ballet, The White Haired Girl, plus a second program of excerpts from other ballets. This controversial international company has electrified audiences everywhere and begins its tour in Vancouver (May 5), continues on to Ottawa, Montreal, Toronto and completes the tour in Hamilton (June 1). ference '77 • The fifth annual Dance in Canada conference will take place -e U niversity of Manitoba campus, August 19-23 inclusive. : -a and international guests will be offering master classes, _-es, wo rkshops and will be available for informal discussions; an _ :>on us are the performances on most of the five evenings. The :::e ·n Canada conferences provide a unique opportunity for - ~ ication as well as stimulation and interest in the dance field. _ - o rmation will be announced , hot off the presses, as plans take lmers Award • • Th e Dance in Canada Association and the Ontario Arts announce the availability of the fourth annual Jean A. ers Award in Choreography. The value of the award this year is - For further information, write the Chalmers Award in Choreo- . . Dance Office, Ontario Arts Council , 151 Bloor Street West, _~:o, On tario , M5S 1T6. Alberta • • • • Tournesol has taken up dual citizenship in Edmonton and Vancouver. Ricochet, choreographed by artistic directors Carol and Ernst Eder, inaugurated the company's new Edmonton perform ing space last December. January activities included performances in Calgary, weekend workshop performances in Vancouver and the premiere of Ernst Eder's " . .. and the third day" by the Alberta Contemporary Dance Theatre. The Eders' latest choreograph ic collage, Free Dance Images, played at Espace Tournesol in Edmon ton during February • • • • Following successful engagements in Edmonton and Calgary, the Alberta Ballet Company prepares for its spring season which includes Eric Hyrst's (LGBC) Labyrinth, Fernand Nau It's (LGBC) Danses Concertantes and Raymonda Pas de Dix set by ABC 's artistic director Brydon Paige. Paige, by the way, choreographed the Dance of the Seven Veils for the Edmonton Opera's February production of Salome • • • • Alberta Contemporary Dance Theatre received a charitable donation of $3,200 from the Clifford E. Lee Foundation wh ich will finance a Dance for Daycare Project throughout Edmonton to be administered by Ronald Holgerson, ACDT's managing director. Continued interest in the development of dance awareness took the company on a province-wide tour during February , featuring the local artists of each community in ACDT's programs and concerts. Saskatchewan • • • • The Local Initiatives Program (LIP) provided partial financing for Regina Modern Dance Works' operation costs and salaries from last November through February and the Canada Council sponsored RMDW's version of Peter and the Wolf, choreographed by co-artistic director Marianne Livant. Marianne Livant has since resigned from the company, due to irreconcilable artistic differences. RMDW is currently purchasing the historical Labour Temple to house its activities. York University dance graduate Linda Zaremba has been invited to teach for three months as of March 6. :e akers makes its New York debut C Dances On! • • Diana Brown's CBC-FM radio series, The Dance, (heard c -ally every Sunday at 3pm) continues with a variety of a1ive and interesting programs this March , including interviews 3 ali na Samsova and Andre Prokovsky of the New London Bal let ~,. a profile of Toronto-based Danny Grossman (Mar. 13) , a 1ac...ssion with Kenneth Winters of the Encyclopedia of Music in -=a about recent recordings and an interview with Peter Darrell of ish Ballet (Mar. 27) . Listeners should take pen to paper to -a· late CBC on their efforts. t to Coast Columbia • Prism Dance Theatre's co-artistic directors Gisa Cole and _ Zagoud akis presented new choreography during recent :,- ces in Victoria and Vancouver before preparing for their season at the Vancouver East Cultural Centre (Apr. 6-9) . PDT -ece ed a $1,000 grant from the B.C . Cultural Fund for its 1976-77 ~ - • • • • Mountain Dance Theatre has just completed gallery .-,::,,- a ces in several Burnaby area communities (Dec.-Jan .) thus _ -g its efforts to bring dance to the community at large na Wyman Dance Theatre augmented its staff in December _ e e Dostaler, new company manager, and Chiat Goh, ballet !IIIBBle' .,, o received his training in China. Dostaler's background 11nnm;11u.u:;,e:, exp erience as a theatre manager, roving artistic-project 111111111111111•' r m any of Quebec's music and dance groups and a stint as ::a Cou ncil financial advisor. Anna Wyman , artistic director, _ -t> pany were featured on Arts Magazine, CBC-TV's new c se ·es, in January • • • • Pacific Ballet Theatre's '77 season '. J anuary performances in Surrey and a February concert in e· or ior to its 10-day tour of the Okanagan Valley. Repertoire 11nmm11111111:iec .,, rk s by Renald Rabu , Bill Thompson of Pennsylvania llamr ii"' a collaboration between PBT's artistic director Maria Lewis - ser Michael Baker. Contemporary Dancers of Winnipeg in Rachel Browne 's The Woman I Am Manitoba • • • • The Royal Winnipeg Ballet went home in February for a brief visit. Then its off again fo r tours in Ontario and performances in Montreal (featuring works by Oscar Araiz, Jack Carter, Larry Hayden , Eric Horenstein, Paddy Stone and Norbert Vesak, among others). RWB 's administrative director, James Cameron, has left after four years' service and the new director has not been officially announced • • • • The Contemporary Dancers of Winnipeg completed several 31 successful performances in January with guest artist Ze'eva Cohen , from New York. Next stop for CDW is the Toronto Workshop Productions theatre at the end of February. New appointments to CDW's administration are Rosalie Weidman, immediate past president of the board, as· fund-raiser and booking agent and former company member David Tucker as the director of the Winnipeg School of Contemporary Dance. Ontario • • • • The National Ballet of Canada is midway throJJgh its exciting season which includes Frederick Ashton's Monotones II, Jerome Robbins' Afternoon of a Faun, Hans van Manen's Four Schumann Pieces and Mad Shadows, a collaboration between choreographer/ dancer Ann Ditchburn and Quebec composer Andre Gagnon based on Quebec novelist Marie-Claire Blais' La Belle Bete. Guest artists this season are Lynn Seymour, Canadian-born principal of London's Royal Ballet, and Rudolph Nureyev. Nureyev will dance Giselle with Mary Jago, Veronica Tennant's replacement. Tennant suffered a serious knee injury and is currently recuperating from the subsequent operation before rejoining the company in May. Artistic director Alexander Grant will dance Alain, the role he created in Ashton's La Fi/le Mal Gardee and Seymour dances Giselle, one of her most exciting roles. Pat Brean joined NBC administration as an assistant fund-raiser. Brean has an M.A. in Drama from University of Toronto •• • • Following week-long residencies at Queen's and Brock Universities , the Toronto Dance Theatre prepares for its second tour of Eastern Canada (Mar. 4-24) which covers the Maritimes and will be sponsored by the Touring Office of the Canada Council Dancemakers visited Montreal in January to participate in Groupe Nouvelle Aire's Chorechanges before resuming a Prologue tour in sc hoo ls throughout Ontario. Prior to their Toronto Hart House season (Mar. 28-Apr. 2), they make their New York debut • • • • Members of the Judy Jarvis Dance and Theatre Company received grants from the Ontario Arts Council to choreograph new works. January performances included participation in GNA's Chorechanges (see Suzanne Asselin 's article this issue) and concerts at Carleton University and University of Ottawa. The company has opened a new studio at St. Paul's Centre where they are preparing for an engagement at 15 Dance Laboratorium (Mar. 24-27) prior to a tour of central Ontario • • • • Rinmon recently toured Kingston, Ottawa and Peterborough during January and February • • • • Torontobased Ballet VS will present in-studio workshop performances (Mar. 24-27) of new choreography by Jane Beach , company ballet mistress Gail Benn , Andrew Oxenham , Jennifer van Papendorp , Richard Sugarman, and composer/ choreographer Daisy DeBolt • • • • The Paula Moreno Spanish Dance Company currently rehearses for a week of concerts to be given in Toronto during March following a successful tour organized by the Algonquin Regional Libraries. Artistic director Paula Moreno received a Canada Council grant to work on new choreography and the Ontario Arts Council provided assistance during the fall season. Moreno's Spanish Dance School has merged with the Lois Smith School of Dance to become part of George Brown College's new dance department • • • • CAHPER holds its annual conference at the University of Waterloo (March 4-6). Quebec • • • • After bidding adieu to The Nutcracker, Les Grands Ballets Canadiens flew off to Vancouver where it started its western tour (Feb . 10-Mar. 10) which will bring them to Quebec April 20-23. Company principal Annette av Paul returned home to the Royal Swedish Ballet for performances of Kenneth Macmillan's Romeo and Juliet last fall. Artistic director Brian Macdonald set his ballet Canto Indio for Denn is Wayne's new company , Dancers, in New York • • • • Les Ballets Jazz prepares for its Western Canada tour which takes the company to 20 different cities during March. In February , LBJ made a tour of Quebec which included appearances at Place des Arts and also at Ottawa's National Arts Centre. This season's repertoire includes artistic director Eva Von Genscy's Fleur de Lit and Richard Jones' Hommage a Duke. LBJ's administrator Jacques Laurin has announced plans for a tour of France next November or December. Dates have not been set as we go to press • • • • Groupe Nouvelle Alre's Chorechange II brought Toronto Dance Theatre, Dancemakers and Judy Jarvis Dance and Theatre Company to Montreal for a weekend of performances, workshops and discussions in January prior to GNA's Creations Hiver '77 concert which featured choreography by its artistic director Martine Epoque and company members I ro Tembeck and Edward Lock (Jan. 21-23) • • • • EntreSlx pauses momentarily following a tour of the Maritimes and Quebec before returning briefly to Ontario on its way to perform at Vancouver's Opera House (Mar. 10-20), Toronto (Mar. 28-Apr. 8, Apr. 12-15) for Prologue, and again in their home province during April. New Brunswick • • • • University of New Brunswick Dance Theatre presented new choreography by artistic director Nenagh Leigh and company member Kathleen Driscoll during its home season (Feb. 18, 19) at the Fredericton Playhouse before commencing rehearsals for school performances and concerts for the Conference of Learned Societies in May and June. Nova Scotia • • • • Dance Co-op's Christmas Workshop provided the Halifax community with an opportunity to experience dance techniques and ideas about the recent development of dance in Nova Scotia. Dance Co-op continues to stress the importance of dance for everyone through local concerts and workshops. CULTY OF FINE ARTS [PARTMENT OF DANCE Summer Session '77 July 4 through August 12 CTAL DANCE STUDIO DA 105/205/305/405 . mited to University applicants) · .o classes in contemporary dance - ue, ballet technique, pas de deux . :ariations, improvisation and - osition, contemporary repertory, . repertory, Spanish dance, jazz, -~"ter, mime, bharantanatyam . .: ors include: Karen Bowes, . Drummond, Don Hewitt, Richard ·. Terrill Maguire, Judith Marcuse, rda Matthias, Gary Masters, Paula .eno, Ludmilla Moskvina, Milton ~~. Richard Silver, Grant Strate, a Thakkar. TRODUCTION TO MOVEMENT E.ULORATION: THE YOUNG CHILD DA 217 : limited to University applicants) -- _ course is designed for teachers and ists who seek to increase children's ye powers . ...-se Director: Bernard Fallon - Class - · 9:00 a.m. to 1:00 p.m. daily. OGRAPHIC SEMINAR SSIONAL) 307 1 limited to University applicants) - tensive seminar working with -eographers, dancers, composers and cia ns in the process of creating -ce works. Successful applicants may ,i,e e:igible for tuition and living - " rsh ips. This course runs from June 6 to July I. ~s:ive full credit courses are also in the Departments of Film, _- . Theatre and Visual Arts. · her information and tions, please write or phone: The National ·Ballet of Canada Founder Celia Franca f Alexander Grant, Artistic Director Gerry Eldred, Administrator Feb.10-Mar.12 O'Keefe Centre Toronto Guest Artists Rudolf Nureyev Lynn Seymour Five Full Length Cla~ics: Romeo andJuliet La Pille Mal Gardee Giselle Swan Lake The Sleeping Beauty Six New Works: World PremiereAnn Oitchburn's Toronto Premieres MadShadows Hans van Manen's National Ballet Premieres Jerome Robbins' Afternoon of a Faun Four Schumann Pieces James Kudelka's Frederick Ashton's A Party Monotones II Constantin Patsalas' Black Angels Director of Summer Studies Faculty of Fine Arts York University -HOO Keele Street Downsview, Ontario . B J 1P3 (416) 667-3636 Also Gerald Arpino 's Kettentanz Choreographic \\'orkshop, April 8 to I, Bathurst Street Theatre, Toronto 33 QUINTE DANCE CENTRE Donald Himes PRINCIPAL Ricardo Abreut RESIDENT ACCOMPANIST Belleville, Ont. (613) 962-9938 Sponsored by; Belleville Branch, National Ballet of Canada ,,JIJ .,J "'I.Jl,,J ..J ..JI.,J ..,J .,J ..J .JT.J ..; ,,J ..JT,J .J ,,J .JT,,J ..,) .,J .,J .J .,J .J ,.)1.,J .J .J .,J ..,)J.-..) ~" SUMMER SESSIONS ~ ..., Professional Training for Career in Ballet. J ,,J ..J ..J .JT,,J ,,J .,J .J .,J .J .,J .JT.J .,J .JT.J .,J .,J .,J-Y~..J ..J ,,J .jT.,J ·w.J ..J ,,J.,; .,J .,J ,,J .,J Session One: May 23 to June 10 Session Two: June 13 to July 1 An intensive course in Modern Dance National Character Cecchetti Method. Residential and Academic Facilities through ALBERT COLLEGE, Belleville Limited Scholarships with BERTRAM ROSS; formerly lead dancer Martha Graham Company and Members of the Toronto Dance Theatre Fee: $150 for one session $250 for two sessions $50 non-refundable deposit to register Limited space - maximum 25 per class Classes at two levels: ELEMENTARY (Minimum 2 years formal dance training required) INTERMEDIATE (Working knowledge of Martha Graham technique) Inquiries: Roman Lech, School Co-ordinator 957 Broadview Avenue Toronto, Ontario M4K 2R5 (416) 423-0562 DlTAC~ DlTAC~ DANCE AND THEATRE ARTS CALGARY SOCIETY • sponsors l ocal, provincial , national and international Performing Art s Events in Calgary, Alberta, Canada Dl TAC~ contact: n obert Greenwood 2205 - 700 Ni nth Street S. W . Calgary , Albert a, Canada TZP 2B5 THIS IS AN ADVERTISEMENT FOR SPILL IS A NEWSPAPER PUBLISHED BI-MONTHLY BY 15 DANCE LAB INFORMATION: SPILL, 155A GEQRGE ST ., TORONTO M5A 2M8 869-1589 34 IIJIIIICIIIIIIIIIIIICIIIIIIIIIIIIICIIIIIIIIIIIIClllllllllllll c1111111m11c11g York University g===== FACULTY OF FINE ARTS ENI OR FACULTY POSITION AT YORK UNIVERSITY in JaDce History and Criticism, to teach in undergraduate and ~ _F.A. programs, effective July I, 1977. Minimum :: :ialification: Master's Degree and / or professional experience. ,\ plication deadline: February 25, 1977. Send credentials to: ~ argaret Dale, Chairperson, Department of Dance, Faculty of Ene Arts, York University, 4700 Keele Street, Downsview, Ontario M3J !P3. i=== i i ~ IIIIIIIICIIIIIIIIIIIICIIIIIIIIIIIICIIIIIIIIIIIICIIIIIIIIIIIICIIIIIIIIIIIICIIIIII h I SToronto 5 um~er ncecoo In a BRANKSOME HALL JULY 4 • JULY 29 Profeulonal Faculty: :::hana Jablokova-Vorps, Artistic Director, Victoria Carter, Marcia Crossley, olanda Pascaluta-Giurgiu, Bernd Juche, John Landovsky, Elena Zhuravleva, _a.mes Colistro - Jazz Ballet Guest Teacher. SERGIU STEFANSCHI - pr incipal dancer of the National Ballet of Canada Dance Curriculum Include,: C assical Ballet Technique, Pointe, Variations, Partnering , Character, National a.nces, Jazz Ballet, Workshops And Adult Bod y Placement Classes for E ementary, Intermediate, Advance Students and Professionals. Teachers Seminar. International Acclaimed Kirov Method esidence Accommodatlona For Teachers And Students 10 Years Old And Up For Brochure Write To: earl D. Vor ps, General Manager, Toronto Summer School In Dance • - Armour Blvd., Toronto, Ont. MSM 3B9 Tel: (416) 489-7597 Royal Academy of Dance Teachers & Students Classes to enrich and facilitate syllabus 'Ork and to read notated syllabuses published by the RAD Ballet - Florentina Lojekova Labanotation - Ann Hutchinson & Allan Miles as part of :9 7 Dance and Notation Workshop, une 27 · July 15, Department of Dance, e Ohio State University, 1813 N. High St., Columbus, Ohio 43210 35 alberta contemporary dance theatre~ the board of directors invites applications for artistic director & managing director please send resumes to: p.o. box 834 edmonton, alberta TSJ 2L4 1-403-423-4193 ~------------------~---Ryerson Polytechnical Institute Theatre Department 50 Gould Street, Toronto M5B 1E8 Canadian College of Dance Summer School '77 Classical, National, Modern R.A.D. and I.S.T.D. Syllabi Jazz. Elementary to Advanced Students July 25th to August 12 For information and brochure please write to above address or telephone (416) 595-5086 _______________________ J SllMMERE-RNE?E EJ,llE0EE? Three weeks of exciting dance classes and workshops (Ballet, Jazz, Modem) in Lennoxville, Quebec, with internationally known teachers such as Mme Nora Kiss (Paris) Grant Strate (Toronto) Phyllis Lamhut (New York) Liz Williamson (New York) From July 23rd to August 13th, 1977 For information please write to: P.O. Box 99, Station Delorimier, Montreal, Que. H2H 2N6 Intensive Summer Dance Residency with PHYLLIS LAMHUT DANCE SESSION '77 University of Alberta, Canada August15-27, 1977 Renaissance Dances - Geraldine Stephenson Balkan Dances - Robert Leibman Modern Dance - Maria Formolo Jazz - Ricardo Salinas Luigi's Studio - Jamie Zagoudakis Prism Dance Theatre - Shelley Cromie Griswold For further information write to: DOROTHY HARRIS, Dance Session 77 Faculty of Physical Education, University of Alberta. Edmonton, Alberta. DANCE IN LONDON University of London, Goldsmiths' College announces that the LABAN CENTRE FOR MOVEMENT AND DANCE has moved to its campus. From October 1977 joint courses are being offered with the Dance Departme~t. B.A. (HONS) DANCE (CNAA provisional agreement for 1977) A four week (May 9-June 4) intensive workshop in technique and composition. under the direction of Phyllis Lam hut, on the Simon Fraser University campus. Burnaby, British Columbia. The workshop runs from 9:30 am to 3:30 pm with opportunity far evening work and rehearsals. DANCE AND EDUCATION COURSES B.Ed. (Hons), M.A., M.Phil., Ph.D. ( University of London); DIPLOMA (Advanced Course); B.Hum . (Hons) Dance with either Music, Art Design Religion ' ' ( University of London). Application forms may be obtained by writing to: Tony Besant, Centre for the Arts, Simon Fraser University, Burnaby, B.C. VSA 156. Deadline for applications: April 8, 1977. Successful applicants will be notified by mail posted on April 13, 1977. Also: LABAN CENTRE CERTIFICATE COURSES for: Professional Dancers and Choreographers Special School Teachers and Dance Therapists Community Dance Teachers General School Teachers, etc. LABANOTATION COURSE M:A. and Diploma Courses offered Full and Part-time. Other part-time Courses Evenings/Weekends/Summer A four week (June 6-June 30) non-credit, introductory course in the study of Labanotation. Students may apply for certification from the Dance Notation Bureau of New York. Further information may be obtained from The Division of Continuing Studies, Simon Fraser University. 36 Outstanding international faculty For information about curriculum and entrance requirements, dates of audition, etc., write to: ANN ROCHE, Secretary, General Office, Laban Centre for Movement and Dance at Goldsmiths' College, New Cross, London SE14 6NW. EATRE "--/ E: CANADIAN THEATRE REVIEW E REVI EW YEARBOOK Canada's Nationa l Theatre Quarterly " The only serious voice of theatre in Canada " Toronto Star • • • • • issues built around particu lar themes in-depth art icles new, previously unpublished playscripts essays from theatre centres across Canada and abroad reviews of new books on theatre By subscription: 1 year $10. 2 years $19 . Lib raries: $12. & $23. At le_ading bookstores $3.00 each " r=-o - ,.ose ,' inva uab e_" -~-;;3·-e c oseiy, i is positively o e and Mail • • • • ea· res docu men a o over 350 p o·os casts r sts, produci: o a.; es, ct·rectors, playwrig hts 384 pages • arc . e• • ,000 en ry index 1976 edition in prepara:· on 1975 edition avai lable 1974 ed ition available S14.95 each Canadian Theatre Review, York University, 4700 Kee le Street, Downsview, Ontario THE CONCISE OXFORD DICTIONARY OF BALLET Edited by Horst Koegler This is the most comprehensive one-volume reference book on ballet in the English language. It contains well over 5000 entries on every aspect of ballet over 400 years ; ballets themselves , choreographers, composers , designers, theatres , ballet schools, companies , dancers, and technical terms not only for classical ballet but also for modern, ethnic , and ballroom dance. In addition it has entries for cities which have played an important part in the history of ballet, major literary subjects of ballets, and writers and composers whose works have frequently been adapted for ballets. It is also the first English-language ballet dictionary to give b ibliograph ical references to supplement the individual entries. The books purpose is to provide the largest possible amount of information on its subject compactly, but clearly . It is a truly indispensable book for ballet lovers and professionals alike . The editor, Horst Koegler , is one of the leading German ballet critics, with a wide knowledge of the internation al ballet scene. 23 x15 cm 550 pages Clothbound Publication: April $14.95 OXFORD DANSKINS ARE FOR DANCINC THESE LIGHTWEIGHT PROFESSIONAL LEOTARDS ARE FOR KEEPING COOL DURING WARM WEATHER WORKOUTS. CREATED ESPECIALLY FOR SUMMER, THEY ARE MADE OF COMFORTABLE, STRETCHY-SOFT NYLON AND COME IN A MULTITUDE OF COLORS. ABOUT 7.50 TO 8.50, SIZES S, M , L. AT FINE STORES AND DANCE SHOPS EVERYWHERE, OR SEND 50¢ FOR OUR 134 PAGE CATALOG . DANSKIN , INC., DEPT. DC, 1114 AVENUE OF THE AMERICAS, NEW YORK, N.Y. 10036 D ANSJ</N E