Diversity, price are keys to Dance Weekend
3-day, no-holds barred event features everything from high art to gritty street pieces
As seasoned shoppers know only too well, “bargains” often come at a hidden cost, but Toronto dance lovers have learned that there’s no truer bargain out there than January’s annual knock-down-priced Dance Weekend, a deliciously entertaining, family-friendly smorgasbord of everything from ballet to belly dance.
Launched in 1994 and still produced by Toronto-based service organization Dance Ontario, Dance Weekend began as a showcase designed to interest audiences in the stylistically diverse range of work offered by member troupes. Its scope has continuously broadened, casting the net wider to offer opportunities to Toronto’s ever-growing community of independent dance artists. There’s high art and gritty street dance, commercial dance and ethnic dance. Nowadays, it’s a no-moves-barred event.
Says local dancer/choreographer Jasmyn Fyffe: “It’s rare to have so many different dance artists under one roof and have the opportunity to watch a full weekend of great dance at a nominal price.”
“The basic format has remained fairly constant but the scope has really broadened,” says Dance Ontario executive director Rosslyn Jacob Edwards. “Even the occasional dance school troupe can be included.”
The format is designed for maximum accessibility. Ten bucks buys a day pass with in-and-out privileges. Each program item is short, rarely more than 20 minutes, and, in the relaxed atmosphere, everyone understands that fidgety kids sometimes have to exit early. At the same time, it’s a low-stress opportunity for parents to introduce children to theatre etiquette.
In the early years, as a cost-saver, there was no printed house program. Instead, each item was formally introduced, along with the occasional groaningly awful mispronunciation of artists’ names. A few years ago, Dance Ontario decided to splurge so that all the artists involved get the printed credit they were due.
“It seemed to us important that audiences have something to take away for reference,” says Edwards.
Companies are also free to distribute their promotional materials in the lobby so that interested audience members can note when their regular performing seasons occur.
One of the most important developments in Dance Weekend’s evolution was the addition more than a decade ago of specially commissioned works. Dance Ontario runs on a tight budget so the fees are hardly munificent, but the exposure is priceless, particularly for emerging artists.
One of the first commissioned artists, and now a Dance Ontario board member, was much-acclaimed dancer/choreographer, Azerbaijan-born Sasha Zarif. His commissioned work went on to be nominated for a Dora Award. Apolonia Velasquez and Ofilio Sinbadinho’s street dance company, Gadfly, created their acclaimed work Klorofyl: Thrive or Survive as a Dance Weekend commission.
“It’s rare to have so many different dance artists under one roof.” JASMYN FYFFE DANCER/CHOREOGRAPHER
It really helped put them on the mainstream dance community map, was later presented in a longer 2011 stand-alone version as part of Harbourfront Centre’s Next Steps series and has since toured widely.
Fyffe’s Pulse, which began as a 2012 commission for Dance Weekend, has evolved into a popular work performed as far afield as Brooklyn, N.Y., and has won her an outstanding choreography Frankie Award at the 2013 Montreal Fringe Festival. Pulse moved on to last summer’s Toronto Fringe and was so successful it was picked for a recent repeat run as part of the Fringe’s 2015 Next Stage Theatre Festival.
“Dance Weekends’ commissioning program gives artists an opportunity to really invest and grow with a creation,” says Fyffe. “That allows us to go deeper with our work, which potentially improves the overall quality.”
Says Edwards: “We have a pretty good record as an incubator of new work.”
This year’s program includes commissions from Hanna Kiel and Courtnae Bowman. These new dances, programmed into the longer Saturday and Sunday schedules, are the only ones to get more than a single showing. In total, the entire three-day event comprises 28 dance works, including such Dance Weekend favourites as veteran flamenco artist Esmeralda Enrique, Ballet Creole and Gadfly, along with a range of eager first-timers.
Finally, in a nod to the contemporary obsession with social media, Dance Ontario has allocated the back two rows of its regular venue, Harbourfront Centre’s Fleck Dance Theatre, as “tweet seats,” although photography is officially verboten. Dance Weekend: Jan. 16 -18; Fleck Dance Theatre, 207 Queens Quay W. Tickets at the door; info at danceontario.ca or 416-204-1083.