A SHOW TO FALL FOR
Brampton-born world champion Michaela Hinds is part of Fall for Dance North’s exciting, three-day lineup,
After a record-breaking run of seven Irish dancing world championships you’d think Brampton-born Michaela Hinds would hardly blink at the prospect of entertaining a sold-out crowd at Toronto’s Sony Centre this week, but she admits to a few qualms.
“After19 years of competition this is going to be a new experience for me,” Hinds says. “This will be my first time doing something theatrical and, although I’m really excited, I’m also a little nervous.”
She will perform Reflections of an Irish Journey, a solo choreographed for her by Yzanne Noone. It marks Hinds’ first opportunity to dance in an expressive freestyle form, unrestrained by the rigorous rules and conventions of competitive Irish dancing.
Hinds is part of the Thursday evening lineup for this year’s Fall for Dance North (FFDN), a three-night event modelled on a long-running New York City prototype that offers a sampling of theatrical dance from a wide range of styles, all for $15 a ticket.
Hinds is among an impressive lineup of Canadian artists. Without diminishing its international scope, artistic director Ilter Ibrahimof says that in this sesquicentennial anniversary of Canadian Confederation he wanted to celebrate the diversity, excellence and stylistic range of Canadian dance.
Toronto’s Mix Mix Dance Collective, featured on Wednesday’s opening program, presents a Canadian take on street dance with the premiere of Follow Me, choreographed by Emily Law and Ashley Perez for an all-female cast. On the same program, Hong Kongborn Toronto choreographer William Yong is revisiting his 2007 work The Four Heavenly Kings.
Canada’s globe-trotting BJM/Les Ballets Jazz de Montréal makes a welcome return to Toronto performing contemporary works by Israeli choreographer Itzik Galili and Greece’s Andonis Foniadakis on Wednesday and Thursday.
Thursday night also marks the Toronto debut of Vancouver-based Dong Mei Huang. Dong Mei’s A Blossoming Apricot Branch explores the inner struggle of a conflicted married woman through the precise yet delicate art of fan dancing.
Fifteen Heterosexual Duets, by internationally renowned Canadian choreographer James Kudelka, is featured Friday, performed by Citadel + Compagnie.
The celebratory sesquicentennial theme extends beyond the country’s borders to recognize Canadian artists’ achievements abroad.
China’s Guangzhou Ballet, last here in 2011, returns Thursday to perform Memory on Water, by Canadian choreographer Peter Quanz.
In a FFDN special commission, National Ballet choreographic associate Robert Binet has assembled a cast of Canadian dancers who work abroad for Children of Chaos, set to live excerpts from pianist John Kameel Farah’s Time Sketches. For several of these dancers, it will mark the first time they’ve performed professionally in their homeland.
Montreal-born, National Ballet School-trained Eric Gauthier made his name as a soloist with Germany’s Stuttgart Ballet before forming his own company in the same city a decade ago. Gauthier Dance will make its Toronto debut at FFDN, performing different works, among them Spanish choreographer Alejandro Cerrudo’s PacoPepePluto; three male solos set to songs by Dean Martin, and Gauthier’s own tongue-in-cheek Ballet 102.
Then there’s 72-Person Ball Passing, a mesmerizing display of rhythmic precision that closes every show.
It began modestly in 1979 as Precision Ball Passing with just three performers. Since then it has grown in scale — the 72-member, all-Canadian FFDN cast sets a new record — and taken on a life of its own internationally as a work favoured by dance schools and community groups. American choreographer Charles Moulton held local auditions in May.
As for Hinds, she insists that however much she enjoys letting her hair down at Fall for Dance North, she won’t be tempted to embark on a new theatrical career. After her most recent World Championship triumph in April, Hinds, 21, announced her retirement.
It remains to be seen if Hinds still feels the same way after hearing the ovation that’s sure to reward her FFDN appearance. Fall for Dance North is at the Sony Centre, 1 Front Street E., Wednesday to Friday; ffdnorth.com or 1-855-872-7669.