In the News

Based in Washington, D.C., the award-winning Step Afrika! celebrates its 25th anniversary next year as the first company dedicated to the tradition of stepping. “The Migration” helps show the deep roots of the art form, reaching back into history to focus on some of the rich traditions African slaves brought to America, starting with the power of the drum call. From a darkened stage, we hear the rumble and thunder of onstage drums, which settle into tightly orchestrated rhythmic sequences, the performers’ arms raising high in stark, stylized gestures.

A resilient vitality fuels the production, directed by Jakari Sherman on a set (by Harlan Penn) whose backdrop of screens displays a succession of Lawrence’s paintings, some fully, others in detail. The show, though, lacks the propulsive force of Lawrence’s storytelling. There is not a weak link in this group of dancers and musicians, and each piece of choreography has merit on its own, but the performance’s cumulative effect is less than potent.

Sankai Juku, the legendary butoh company from Japan, is known for arresting images: dancers suspended from massive sculptures or live doves atop tall poles. “Umusuna — Memories Before History” begins with a characteristically stunning tableau.

Much like the rest of the company’s oeuvre, Umusuna (translated as birthplace, earth, or birth – depending on the interpretation) negotiates in highly abstract and meticulously sculpted imagery, where both the visual and the physical language are boiled down to their essence. 

Butoh troupe Sankai Juku returns with Meguri, a work inspired by images of fossils and the cyclical nature of the sea

Do you believe in magic? It may not be magic per se, but the current MOMIX program at the Joyce Theater is a magical dance / theater experience.

Victor Quijada, Montreal choreographer and artistic director of RUBBERBANDance group, knows what we’re talking about. In fact, Victor’s regarded as a pioneer in the world of dance—not only has he created beautiful and inspiring dance pieces, he’s created an entirely original movement vocabulary as well! We caught up with Victor to hear more about his original style of movement and his thoughts on bringing his newest dance piece Gravity of Center, to The Cultch.

Montreal-based RUBBERBANDance Group opened the 2018-19 DanceWorks Mainstage series with Ever So Slightly, choreographed by Artistic Director Victor Quijada. The performance was billed as an “avant world premiere”. And Toronto is lucky to be the first to get a sneak peak at this new work. Though it was sometimes hard to watch, Ever So Slightly was a beautiful and inventive evening of dance.

The dancers of RUBBERBANDance Group are only marking their movements before a run-through, but you can sense their explosive potential. Their bodies channel dynamic, liquid grace one moment, then hit a sharp elbow punch the next. Similarly, artistic director Victor Quijada is giving notes in a calm, even tone, advising one dancer “You should go closer to the floor before you get lifted,” but the impression is of tightly compressed energy. Between them, the dancers and the choreographer seem like they have enough electricity to power the theater without any external circuits.

If you aren't among the initiated, Pilobolus specializes in idiosyncratic choreography that involves the company's uber-pliable, super-strong dancers morphing into seemingly impossible positions, often creating strange and beautiful images. The dancers are also liquidly acrobatic, and they arrive into these shapes by tumbling, rolling, crawling, either upon the floor or another body. Sometimes several dancers will twine together to form these living sculptures.