Expert praises diverse dance in Vancouver
When Dieter Jaenicke says we have a strong contemporary-dance scene, he knows what he’s talking about. He’s director of Düsseldorf’s massive festival called internationale tanzmesse nrw—and, as a dance programmer, has seen just about everything the form has had to offer over the past few decades.
So it means something that, when he was invited to curate the latest edition of the biennial Dance in Vancouver showcase, he was beyond pleasantly surprised.
“It is very, very strong, very diverse, and very creative, and I really fell in love with what’s happening there,” he declares, speaking to the Straight from his home in the forest on the edge of Dresden, where he retreats when he’s not presenting shows elsewhere in Germany. “I think it should be known much more—not just nationally but internationally.” The Dance in Vancouver showcase should help with that last goal, bringing in more than 50 presenters from across Canada and as far away as France, New Zealand, Taiwan, and Brazil.
Is it possible that Jaenicke is just trying to be polite? “It’s known that I can be terribly direct in my comments,” he says with a good-natured laugh.
Jaenicke had known very little about what was happening out here on Canada’s West Coast, other than, of course, it produced international choreographic star Crystal Pite. In his work as everything from the head of Dresden’s HELLERAU arts centre and founder of the festival Tanztheater International Hannover to curator of the festival O Boticário na Danca in Rio de Janeiro and São Paulo, he’s become familiar with the contemporary works coming out of Montreal. But he was curious to find out what was happening at the other end of the country.
Like the pro he is, he insisted on doing his due diligence before choosing the Dance in Vancouver program, visiting here several times and going out to artists’ studios to meet our local creators before selecting the program that will play to an audience of not only Vancouverites, but national and international presenters.
“It was really difficult because there were so many good proposals,” he recounts. “I would have loved to make a three-week festival, but it was not possible.”
He was struck most by what he credits local choreographer (and Dance in Vancouver participant) Amber Funk Barton with calling the “global stories” that inform so much work here. “The cultural backgrounds of the different choreographers and dancers and companies are so diverse,” he observes. “I had this feeling that there is such a beautiful way of dealing with different cultures and expressing that. There are a lot of stories being told.”
Jaenicke says he tried to capture that cultural and stylistic mix in his program. But he was also looking at the sheer technical skill of the companies he chose (“There were brilliant dancers, in some cases”), at original ways of working, and at a good balance of emerging and established companies.
His final main-stage lineup spans the explosive physical work of Noam Gagnon’s piece Pathways, from his company Vision Impure; the ethereal light, sound, and set design of Barton’s solo VAST; the street dance and martial arts mashup of OURO Collective’s HAKO; and the restless, emotional lyricism of Joshua Beamish’s all-male Saudade. Jaenicke, who’s now had his eyes opened to the world of contemporary Indigenous dance, has also programmed Raven Spirit Dance’s swirl of transformation and ritual, Gathering Light.
Perhaps the most promising aspect of Jaenicke’s project here is that he will take his new enthusiasm back to tanzmesse, where he’s about to sort through about a thousand applications from 50 countries. Canada is a cultural partner to Germany in next year’s edition of the festival, and he’s interested in giving it a strong presence. “That would help people to focus a little more not just on what’s happening in Montreal and Quebec, but what’s happening on the other coast.”
Dance in Vancouver takes place at the Scotiabank Dance Centre and other venues from next Wednesday to Sunday (November 20 to 24).