Editor's Letter Featured Contributors
B. Emma Doran emma.doran@thedancecurrent.com
Follow me on Twitter: @TDC_editor
It’s hard to believe we’re approaching 2020, a year we once related to flying cars. We’re now twenty years past anyone giving a second thought to Y2K. You may have noticed we’re ringing in the new decade with a new logo!
I’ve been thinking about what the future holds for dance in Canada. One of the “special” things about being alive right now is how, on a daily basis, we’re faced with the possibility of our own extinction. With this reality, how are we finding ways to connect that don’t feed into our unhealthy relationship with the land we live on? Can making art with our bodies displace our overwhelming desire to consume? (As I write this, it’s Black Friday.) It’s bit cliché, but considering the body as site for regeneration, remix and growth seems radical at this moment.
Our “In Conversation” interview in this issue picks up on this idea, as two Dance for Parkinson’s instructors talk about their work and its potential for healing. In our feature, Michèle Moss shares her notes from a sabbatical year, reflecting on her life studying in the jazz idiom and the how the form is strengthened by its continual iteration and mutation. The issue’s feature artist, the internationally known Montréal-based bboy
Luca “Lazylegz” Patuelli, shares what’s next in his evolving career. Finally, our “Report” summarizes important research about the conditions that allow for the tolerance of abuse in dance education. Our accompanying online portion has info on how to stake steps for abuse prevention in your practice and studio.
Wishing you my best for the new decade!
Re: All that Glitters: How do studios decide to compete? (print and online feature)
Dana Doucet Donovan “I remember well the baggage of competition and it was the
primary reason [my daughter] chose to go the Canterbury School of Arts. She learned so
much more technique and individual expression/innovation in a much less stressful (and
much cheaper) environment.”
Salsato Mike “Having competed this, it’s definitely worth a second read. A realistic look.”