JOE INK’S BACK ON ALL 4OURS
Smash hit contemporary dance piece returns
In its first remounting since three sold-out shows last year, 4our is back for another Vancouver performance. In the contemporary dance piece from local company Joe Ink, choreographer Joe Laughlin is joined by Gioconda Barbuto, Heather Dotto and Jarrett Siddall in a work that explores themes of family, memory and age. We talked to the 55-year-old Laughlin about the show and aging gracefully. Q There’s a new dancer in the piece for this performance, Jarrett Siddall, who is replacing Kevin Tookey. What’s he bringing to the show? A He’s a fantastic performer and a member of the School of Toronto Dance Theatre. He’s rooted in the (Martha) Graham technique, which is a contemporary technique, so his vocabulary is a little bit different. Each of us is quite individual. Jarrett brings that, and he has a very theatrical approach. He’s quite a virtuosic dancer. He has a background in Ukrainian dance as well.
Q When you first did 4our last year, it was your first time dancing in 10 years. Have you had to make any adjustments to your dance style? A Well, obviously your physicality changes as you age. It’s an interesting thing in dance. As your body starts to break down, you’re at the height of your artistic expression. It was really tapping into that and dealing with an ever-changing body. That’s what it was kind of about for me. Also, getting back into shape enough to be performing — that was challenging. I imagine that took longer than it did when I was younger. Now I feel quite settled back in my body. I’m surprised with what I can do with it. Q As the choreographer, you could just sit out most of the performance and just get up once in awhile and do a little dance. A Totally. You can. A lot of people do work that way. I think when you’re younger, you tend to process through your body more than when you’re older. You kind of evolve with your artistic process. I’m interested in dancers and performers, not imprinting myself on them but really mining their strengths. But it was exciting to be back in the studio with them and actually dancing and making the work. I discovered some other things during that. Gioconda Barbuto is a little bit older than I am, and she helped guide me back into my body.
Q Kevin Tookey quit dancing to become a woodworker. Do all dancers secretly dream of becoming woodworkers? A You know what’s really funny — Jarrett arrived, we were in the midst of doing a video segment with him because we had to replace the video we already had. We were with the projection designer and the production manager, and (Jarrett) says to me, “Oh, I do woodworking.” The three of us looked at each other, “What?” So it depends. Some dancers, like Kevin — he’s not a choreographer, and he’d sort of run his course as a performer. It really depends on the individual. Some dance for a period of time and then transit, and others of us are lifers. Now you see more and more older performers still out there. Q You mentioned that a dancer’s body doesn’t necessarily keep up with his or her creativity, or artistic expression. A I think your physicality adjusts. I came from gymnastics. I was extremely athletic, and when I was younger, that kind of work appealed to me. But as I’ve aged, the esthetic of what appeals to me has changed. It’s not necessarily that high-octane bungie-body young physicality. And dance is a form about life. It’s very athletic, but it’s not a sport. You really need a certain amount of life experience to bring to roles and work. And you have a foundation from which to draw. We don’t need to do it 10 times. Gio and I, we don’t need to, and we don’t want to, but because of experience there’s a quicker realization of things and a more efficient way of working. We have a very large skill set, and the younger dancers are still developing, even as people.