I love a good musical. Sometimes all you need is a cheery storyline, peppy songs, and animated dance moves to help put a hop in your step. Sadly I left the Papermill Theatre on Wednesday night after seeing All Shook Up by First Act Productions in not as happy a mood as I had anticipated.
All Shook Up tells the story of a town that has been stripped of all things fun: dancing, loud music and necking in public. That is, until a mysterious leather-clad gentlemen, Chad, shows up in town. He shows the townspeople what it means to have a good time and reminds them of how wonderful falling in love can be. The cheesy, cheery story is interwoven with over twenty songs by the one and only Elvis. Continue reading Review: All Shook Up (First Act Productions)→
Innovative and exciting dance programming continues with Canadian Stage at Toronto’s Bluma Appel Theatre
It has been on my bucket list for years to get to see a Compagnie Marie Chouinard production, but every time I have had the opportunity, something has stopped me from being able to go. So when I was given the chance to see The Golden Mean (Live) on Wednesday night at the Bluma Appel Theatre I was overjoyed.
I love Harbourfront’sWorld Stage series. Every year the shows I see as part of the series tend to make it on my list of most memorable performances of the year. Still Standing You, performed by Pieter Ampe and Guilherme Garrido and presented by CAMPO, is no exception to that statement. I left Enwave Theatre on Tuesday night knowing that it would be a long time before I ever forgot what I had watched over the past hour.
Not all performance is meant to make you comfortable, it is simply intended to make you feel. For me, there was an excess of emotions which I felt while watching Still Standing You. At moments I was laughing hysterically, at others I was cringing with discomfort or disgust. Though Still Standing You is listed as contemporary dance I personally would also consider classifying it as performance art. Ampe and Garrido have a very interactive and engaged relationship with the audience. Also, their movement, though probably greatly facilitated by their training, showed the kind of physicality and pushing of the body’s limits which is frequently present in the work of performance artists.
Toronto’s Ballet Creole has put together an energetic dance show with one remounted piece and one new choreography
This past Wednesday afternoon I was lucky enough to be invited into a rehearsal of Ballet Creole’s next show River. What a wonderful treat to watch the company in action only a week before they open at the Fleck Dance Theatre.
Two full-length works will be included in the evening. The first, entitled Trouchka, is a remount of a piece which was originally part of the company’s 2011 season. Artistic Director Patrick Parson has used Igor Stravinsky’s Petrouchka as his inspiration. The cast of 7 dancers take on the roles of giant puppets which have come to life.
Ballet Jörgen Canada brings the timeless classic Swan Lake to the Toronto stage
It isn’t often that I get to watch classical ballet anymore. It was a treat to get to attend opening night of Ballet Jörgen Canada’s Swan Lake at the Betty Oliphant Theatre on Wednesday night. There’s something very nostalgic for me about watching these traditional stories come to life. It makes me feel like a kid again.
For anyone that doesn’t know the story of Swan Lake, it is your traditional boy-meets-girl tragic love story, just with some added magic and allusions to beastiality for pizzaz. Prince Siegfried is told by his mother that he must choose a bride to wed. Upset by her demand he goes hunting and comes across a flock of swans. As he aims to shoot, one of the swans suddenly becomes a beautiful young woman whom he falls in love with. The young woman, Odette, explains that she is a princess who has been cast under a spell by the sorcerer Von Rothbart. She is destined to be a swan by day and a woman by night until her true love is found and commits to her forever.
