Dance pieces not to be missed
The spring dance season is enlivened by Crystal Pite and Jonathon Young’s The Statement, a 2016 piece that has garnered raves wherever it’s performed.
In this upcoming presentation, the dancers at Ballet B.C. have a go.
This spring also sees a first-time visit from a Dutch former aerospace and aviation technology student known for bridging the club scene with contemporary dance; a piece inspired by The Odyssey; some tap; and, finally, another edition of the annual Dancing on the Edge Festival.
BALLET B.C.: NOW
When and where: Today through Saturday, 8 p.m. at the Queen Elizabeth Theatre, Vancouver and March 22-23 at the Bell Performing Arts Centre, Surrey Tickets: Starting at $19 at balletbc.com
The contemporary dance program features the return of Crystal Pite’s The Statement, which Ballet B.C. last performed here in 2022, as well as two world premières, one from Vancouver’s Out Innerspace’s Now and another from L.A.-based choreographer Micaela Taylor. The Independent called The Statement, a dance-theatre hybrid, “a dazzling account of complicity, naiveté and guilt.” Last Flower, from the choreographic duo Tiffany Tregarthen and David Raymond a.k.a. Out Innerspace, is set to music by experimental Japanese artist Asa Chang. “We’ve been huge fans of Asa Chang’s music for over 15 years,” the duo say in a statement about the piece. “We’re drawn to its proportions of rhythm to arrhythmia, spaciousness to density, familiar to bizarre, humour to profundity. ... It creates an almost nostalgic futurism — the familiar coming together to generate something new — an alien world composed of things we know and love.” Up-and-comer Micaela Taylor, who premiered her piece Volo in the 2022-23 Ballet B.C. Annex program, will also debut a new piece.
ARNO SCHUITEMAKER: IF YOU COULD SEE ME NOW
When: March 14-16 at 8 p.m. Where: Scotiabank Dance Centre, 677 Davie St., Vancouver Tickets: $35/$26 students, seniors at thedancecentre.ca
Critics and audiences have praised Arno Schuitemaker, who studied aerospace and aviation technology, for his ability to break down the boundaries between dance, performance, visual art and club culture. The Dutch choreographer brings his work to Vancouver for the first time with If You Could See Me Now, where three performers reinvent a chilled-out club dance through movement, rhythm and endurance. The piece premiered in 2017 and has been performed across Europe and in Indonesia.
CÔTÉ DANSE: X (DIX)
When: March 22-23 Where: Vancouver Playhouse, 600 Hamilton St., Vancouver Tickets: From $35 at dancehouse.ca
Said to take inspiration from Odysseus’ journey in Homer’s The Odyssey, and conceived during the height of the pandemic, X (Dix) is described as “a potent exploration of home as a grounding force” and one that “makes use of the foundational materials of storytelling, employing archetypal ideas — from the hero’s journey to the role of home — to create new narratives of life’s journey.” X marks the DanceHouse debut of Côté Danse, the new dance collective from Guillaume Côté, principal dancer with the National Ballet of Canada.
In a review at intermissionmagazine.ca of a 2023 performance at Crow’s Theatre in Toronto, Martin Austin wrote, “Anchored by a gifted ensemble of Toronto dance artists, Côté’s choreography creates an exciting, high-stakes world out of a sum of many well-curated parts. A remarkable musical score, alongside stark yet striking production elements, makes for a live performance that somehow feels cinematic.”
DORRANCE DANCE: SOUNDSPACE
When: April 19-20
Where: Vancouver Playhouse, 600 Hamilton St.
Tickets: From $35 at dancehouse.ca
Founded in 2011 by artistic director and 2015 MacArthur fellow Michelle Dorrance, Dorrance Dance is one of the U.S.’s most forward-thinking tap companies. In SOUNDspace, the company channels past masters of tap through contemporary techniques. In a review of SOUNDspace’s original 2013 run, the New York Times said that the work “maintains momentum and holds your attention” and that “Ms. Dorrance makes full use of tone, timbre, volume, tempo and, of course, rhythm, constructing patterns that lock together thrillingly.”
DANCING ON THE EDGE FESTIVAL
When: June 13-22
Where: Various venues
Tickets: On sale in May at dancingontheedge.org
The Dancing on the Edge Festival returns for its 36th year. Featuring Company 605, Ouro Collective, Tiger Princess Dance, Fila 13, and more, the 30 performances include world premières, North American and western Canadian debuts, and works-in-progress.