Review: Space Interrupted (Canadian Contemporary Dance Theatre)

Space Interrupted

Space Interrupted is a Dance Show with Something for Everyone

What better way to examine the complex landscapes of people than through dance? The Canadian Contemporary Dance Theatre‘s Space Interrupted, playing at the Fleck Dance Theatre, uses linear and abstract themes to deliver a series of pieces that are both illuminating and familiar about the spaces between.

Space Interrupted is four separate dances over an hour and a half: Overtures; Anomykz; Vectors; and The Weather in the Room.

This is a dance show that rewards a variety of dance lovers. The four individual pieces allow for both straightforward narrative through dance and strong interpretive elements brought to life through the bodies of the dancers.

Anomykz, for example, makes excellent use of music and breathing to examine four sisters and their various emotional, psychological, and physical landscapes. It is visually much darker than the other dances, at times, I felt it swallowed the elaborate movement of the dancers.

I was not that big a fan of the piece — but my guest, Lou, loved Anomykz for its choreography. Focusing on the women dancers, it offers some empowering moments that had her give a cheer at the end. She was less enthusiastic about the more linear dances in Vectors and The Weather in the Room.

Myself, I loved The Weather in the Room, a simple examination of the relationship between an aging couple. The performance is anchored by a miniature set that repeatedly frames various parts of the dance in a way that is subtle and clever and very worth seeing. When I compare it to Anomykz, I can see the expanse of talent in Space Interrupted as a whole.

The fact that I was constantly reevaluating bits of the dances made me feel that I was witnessing an expanse of talent in each show. Even Vectors, what Lou and I agreed was the weakest dance, still had many redeeming sequences, not the least being the synchronicity and focus of the dancers in the simple lighting design.

As an evening of dance, Space Interrupted lets each piece sink or swim on their own merits. Even the division between dances led to animated conversations between Lou and myself as we talked about costumes, design, lighting, and music.

Space Interrupted is a night that inspires discussion because while every dance is different, there is still a little something for everyone.

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Photo of Space Interrupted by David Hou