Lianne Cohen prepares to take a “PORCHtrait” of the Gorski family. (photo from Kehila Society)
As a fundraiser for Kehila Society of Richmond and/or Pathways Clubhouse, professional photographers Lianne Cohen, Jocelyne Hallé and Adele Lewin are volunteering their time (in a safe way) to photograph your family in front of your home. Dress up, stay in your PJs, hold a sign, whatever you feel like – be creative, have fun! These photos are intended to be a positive memory, to serve as a reminder of all the time you got to spend with your families in quarantine. The photographs are by a suggested minimum donation of $54 to kehilasociety.org/content/make-donation-kehila-society-richmond or pathwaysclubhouse.com/donate. A full tax receipt will be provided, along with your photographs. Bookings are available until June 7. To register, email [email protected] or call 604-241-9270.
Amber Funk Barton presents VAST at the Dance Centre Nov. 22, as part of Dance in Vancouver. (photo by Chris Barton)
From Nov. 20 to 24, the Dance Centre presents the 12th biennial Dance in Vancouver. This year’s event was programmed by Dieter Jaenicke, director of the internationale tanzmesse nrw in Dusseldorf, Germany, and features the work of at least two Jewish community members, Amber Funk Barton and Noam Gagnon.
“What I find most impressive about dance in Vancouver is the fact that there are so many different identities of contemporary dance, connected to certain studios, companies, artists,” Jaenicke told the Independent. “It feels like the dance is spread out in the entire city, in very different and distant neighbourhoods, with the Dance Centre in the centre…. Trying to get familiar with dance in Vancouver, I felt like a collector of stories, stories about dance, stories about human beings…. That is why I chose the sentence of the Vancouver dancer and choreographer Amber Funk Barton as a kind of motto for this edition of Dance in Vancouver: ‘There are global stories in everything.’”
Barton, an award-winning choreographer, formed her company response. in 2008, but she will be performing the solo piece VAST, “an ode to the explorer that resides in all of us, the traveler and the dreamer who wonders what resides beyond the edge,” at DIV on Nov. 22. Noam Gagnon’s company, Vision Impure, will be presenting Pathways, which “explores the intricate push and pull of relationships impacted by urban living,” on Nov. 21. During DIV, there will also be performances by Raven Spirit Dance, Joshua Beamish/MOVETHECOMPANY and OURO Collective, with installations by Company 605 and Lee Su-Feh/battery opera, as well as discussions and other free events.
About how he chose the program, Jaenicke said, “First, I tried to get an overview of what is happening in dance in Vancouver – I visited companies, studios; saw rehearsals, performances; talked to many artists from the dance field. I was impressed by the diversity, the different backgrounds, cultures, approaches to dance and about the high quality of dancers and choreographic creativity.
“The selection was very difficult due to the amount of very interesting and convincing proposals,” he said. “With the choices I had to make, I tried to follow the diversity which I found so impressive, to include established and emerging artists, include the different cultural and artistic backgrounds of the choreographers, include indigenous works, different styles and genres of contemporary dance. But, the most important criteria was, of course, the artistic quality. Although it is difficult to describe what is artistic quality, I believe it is something objective to be seen, to be discovered, to be chosen.”
Both VAST and Pathways saw their premières at the Vancouver International Dance Festival.
“I am so pleased and honoured to perform VAST as it originally premièred in 2018 – and in the same theatre – for Dance in Vancouver,” Barton told the Independent.
The creation of the work started in 2015. Surfing the internet, Barton came across the quote from Carl Sagan that is included in the description of VAST: “We are a way for the universe to know itself. Some part of our being knows this is where we came from. We long to return. And we can, because the cosmos is also within us. We’re made of star stuff.”
“I was so struck by the poetic nature of the quote and found it so beautiful and comforting,” said Barton. “It made me start to think a lot about life, my life, and how everything and all of us in the universe are connected.
“That also got my imagination going and soon I realized I had an idea for my next work. I knew quite early on that this was supposed to be a solo and that I needed to perform it. I knew, as a choreographer and dance artist, that all the feelings and emotions and images I wanted to explore and express would have to come from my body and personal expression.
“I also knew, but was unclear at the start of the project, how to transform the performance space so that the audience could suspend belief and be transported with me into an otherworldly arena. My instincts told me I needed to work with a scenographer or set designer.”
Barton approached Andreas Kahre and they “started to have many discussions about universal space and The Little Prince.” She also brought her long-term collaborator and light designer, Mike Inwood, into the process.
“Together, our research began in the theatre, playing with objects and materials to create the surface of the moon and other environments relating to space and scale,” she said.
After that, “I knew it was time to go back and figure out how to create a journey through dance and movement, which then seemed like such a daunting task.
“By this time, I brought in another dear long-term collaborator of mine, music and sound designer Marc Stewart. He had the opportunity to have a glimpse and visit us while we were building environments in the theatre and, from there, he created a couple of 20-minute series of sound samples. Upon hearing one, I knew it was the direction I wanted to go and it helped me immensely to start creating a movement journey.
“Because the music at that point was a series of samples, the sound was constantly changing, which I thought was perfect,” said Barton. “As far as the loose narrative of the solo goes, I wanted to create the sense of waking up in a dream, being lost and, as in a dream, constantly dealing with new environments and surroundings out of my control.”
Along the way, the creative team engaged more support to both flesh out and edit down their ideas. They also had a two-week residency supported by Dance Victoria, which, said Barton, “was instrumental in finalizing the set and visual aesthetic of the production.” About a year later, they had a week residency at the Massey Theatre, which led to the première, in March 2018, at the Dance Centre, as a co-production with the Vancouver International Dance Festival.
On the response. website, VAST is described as “a singular expression of an individual’s choice to be by oneself, a meditation on our limitations as human beings and how, despite these limitations, we still desire to propel ourselves forward into unknown territory.”
“As human beings, there are times we assert our agency and choose to be ‘by oneself’; that night you wanted to stay in, the decision to leave a relationship, the choice to travel and/or explore alone. For me,” said Barton, “‘being alone’ can be similar, such as being alone with your thoughts and/or feelings, but then ‘being alone’ is that liminal space I think we’ve all experienced: feeling so small, as if you couldn’t possibly make a difference in the world. Feeling overwhelmed by how we want to, or should, live our life. Feeling lost as to what our purpose on this planet is. And then, hopefully, to choose to face our fears by ‘being alone’ and to overcome and/or embrace them.”
The story of the protagonist of VAST “starts with waking up in an environment and quickly realizing she has no control of the world around her,” said Barton. “At times, this is playful and full of wonder but, for the most part, it is terrifying. When I perform the work, I always imagine myself being trapped in a dream and being unable to wake up. And, of course, it is terrifying being in unknown territory alone.
“Being alone, traveling by yourself, exploring on your own – I believe these are the biggest gifts we can give ourselves because they ultimately bring us closer to meeting our true selves. There is a point, where we learn to stop fighting the rhythm of life and accept it, embrace it, realize that there is a force greater than us that is allowing our heart to beat and the conjunction of the planets. There are simply things we will never be able to understand and/or explain or have the answers to.”
Towards the end of Barton’s solo, when she is “exhausted and feeling completely alone, there is a faint sound in the distance,” she said. “A message. A song. Something that connects with our molecules and convinces us to keep going. I think we have to be very quiet to get our ‘messages.’ For me, in the dance, when I receive my message, it is also completely submitting to the universe, accepting my fate, accepting my weaknesses and limitations, realizing I am no better or worse than anyone else…. My absolute final movement is inspired by the whirling dervishes of Turkey, who spin with one open palm towards the sky, the other palm facing downwards towards the ground in recognition of the soul’s connection to both heaven and earth. I can’t think of a more appropriate image for VAST to end with.”
VAST does not provide any answers to life’s questions, but, rather, said Barton, “I think of VAST as a moving meditation and I feel it is quite interactive for the audience with regards to how they interpret the journey of the protagonist.”
Of venturing into the unknown herself as a creative person, Barton said, “We all have the capacity to investigate change. But, of course, it is not easy and certainly not encouraged in our society. It’s scary so, sometimes, we need people to remind us to take that leap. I think artists play a very important part in our society, of not only inspiring their communities but also reminding them that we are not alone in our thoughts and feelings. I believe art is a confirmation of our humanity and, a lot of the time, it is art that encourages people to take that next step or to pursue their dreams.”
“Speaking as a creator,” Gagnon told the Independent, “the act of creating a new work is an act of courage. There is no guarantee that the images I initially picture in my mind and what I intend to evoke will reach the audience with the right attention to tension. What is required of me is the deepest awareness and careful attention to each and every aspect I can think of in order to find the perfect physicality, musicality and intention in the talented dance artists with whom I am working. That awareness of and attention to every aspect is what I was referring to when I described Pathways as being my ‘heart, soul and brain.’”
Vision Impure in rehearsal for Pathways, which is at the Dance Centre Nov. 21. (photo by Erik Zennström PhotoArt)
The Independent interviewed Gagnon prior to the première performances of Pathways at the Vancouver International Dance Festival this past March. (See jewishindependent.ca/dance-explores-our-relationships.) The JI asked him whether any elements of the work had changed since then.
“When the 10 incredibly generous and talented dance artists of Vision Impure return to rehearse one week before the Dance in Vancouver biennial begins, I will likely be making the few changes that I feel are most needed,” said Gagnon. “My first priority for the upcoming process is keeping my dance artists safe and ready to blow the roof off the theatre the night they perform Pathways. The work is mentally, physically and emotionally demanding and requires the same focus from the dance artists that I required of myself during creation. We have a tough job ahead of us because, with this kind of intense work, nothing can be taken for granted.”
Pathways has not been performed since the dance festival in March, but Gagnon would like more audiences to see it.
“Speaking for this generous cast of dance artists, they can hardly wait to be performing this beast of a work,” he said. “Like me, they are deeply aware that the effort and demands required to perform this work may seem impossible at times, but the result is this incredibly empowering, life-changing reward. We are all keeping our fingers crossed that the Dance in Vancouver biennial presentation will be productive.”
For tickets ($34/$25) to DIV, visit ticketstonight.ca or call 604-684-2787. For more information, visit thedancecentre.ca or call 604-606-6400.
Noam Gagnon’s Vision Impure performs Pathways at the Roundhouse, as part of the Vancouver International Dance Festival, which runs March 4-30. (photo by Erik Zennström)
“It’s important that dance and art ask questions, even without necessarily explicitly spelling out the answers,” Noam Gagnon, artistic director of Vision Impure, told the Independent.
Vision Impure presents the world première of their latest contemporary dance work, Pathways, at the Roundhouse Performance Centre March 20-23, as part of the Vancouver International Dance Festival, which runs March 4-30.
“The works I create are not meant to be stories but rather are meant to be seen as a series of powerful images and states that hopefully anchor, engage and stimulate the audience to have their own powerful experience,” said Gagnon, who is a member of the Jewish community.
Pathways is described as a work that “illuminates the stories we share, exploring the intricate push and pull of relationships impacted by urban living. Simple moments lead to more complex ones, questioning our ability or inability to connect with one another and what makes us react more strongly to some than to others.” It was performed as a work-in-progress at last July’s Dancing on the Edge festival.
“Pathways has lengthened and developed considerably since Dancing on the Edge,” said Gagnon. “It is now a full-length work, approximately one hour long, presented in two parts with an intermission in between. The company has continued the research and investigation into Part 2, which informs what has already been seen, what else was potentially needed, and then added the alterations necessary to create better cohesion for Pathways as a full work.”
Gagnon is an award-winning choreographer and his work has been performed internationally. He is regularly commissioned by dance artists and companies, and is an associate dance artist of Canada’s National Arts Centre. He has collaborated often with other artists, and Pathways is no exception.
“The creation of Pathways has been a long process of research and accumulation in multiple cities involving multiple companies and dancers,” said Gagnon. “The initial concepts for Pathways started germinating in May 2012 during a choreographic laboratory under the mentorship of Davida Monk at Dancers Studio West (DSW) in Edmonton, where I was given the opportunity to develop the original concept on seven amazing dancers.
“In 2014, I was invited to create a dance work on 17 crazy, generous student dancers at L’Ecole de danse contemporaine de Montréal (EDCM). It was in Montreal where the first version of Pathways Part 1 came to life and was subsequently presented as part of the EDCM Professional Program spring presentation Danses de Mai, Opus 2014.”
Back in Vancouver, in 2017, Gagnon was invited to create a work for EDAM’s (Experimental Dance and Movement’s) Spring Choreographic Series and to develop additional material for the piece with a few other dancers. And, in the spring of 2018, he said, “I was invited by Lesley Telford to do research/creation at Arts Umbrella on nine of their very gifted PReP program emerging dance professionals, further expanding on some of the concepts of the previous works.”
The development of Pathways continued in 2018 with nine dancers at Simon Fraser University’s School for the Contemporary Arts and 27 dancers at Modus Operandi.
“The current cast of 10 incredible young dancers for the new full-length version of Pathways, to be presented at Vancouver International Dance Festival (VIDF), has been my heart, soul and brain,” said Gagnon.
In addition to the dancers involved, composers James Coomber (Vancouver) and Guillaume Cliche (Montreal) created Pathways’ sound design.
“My creative process always starts with images, which evoke various states in me initially and then evolve, arousing strong desires within my imagination that make me want to act upon them. Then the hard work and countless hours to bring a piece to the stage begin,” explained Gagnon.
“For the Pathways project,” he said, “I first came up with a series of questions, with answers coming from the responses of each of the dancers. I then started to generate a physical vocabulary, which would become my text. I immediately reshaped the movement vocabulary that was given to me in order to generate a more cohesive bank of movements and to ensure that all the artists involved were part of the same world. With this bank of movements, I then started gathering and creating worlds of moving physical landscapes in various states of action and transformation. Each movement phrase evolved over time to support the vision that first drove me initially.
“It is also extremely crucial for me to tailor the work perfectly for who is dancing it and to always create the strongest structure possible,” he added. “I then challenge or reshape the work with movement that creates strong intent and keeps these incredible dance artists alive and real in the world I have envisioned.”
Part of Vision Impure’s mission is to create “performances that explore the intricacies of human relationships and the dynamic tension that move us … [and to reflect] the intimate concerns, ideas and attitudes that shape our relationships to ourselves and each other.”
When asked what he has learned through his work and life experience about how we connect and isolate ourselves and others, Gagnon said, “Everything in life starts from within ourselves first, the choices we give ourselves, how we negotiate what comes our way, what we do with what we have and then being honest and real enough to accept the facts and be accountable for the choices we make. Action-reaction is real and undeniable to me. In relationships, I find communication to be the biggest challenge, seemingly constantly lost in translation.
“Recently,” he said, “I have begun to strongly believe that, as a species, we are hardwired for extinction. Despite our biggest strength being our ability to learn to adapt, it seems lately we as a whole are not able to learn from our experiences or the past experiences of others. We are living in an era of social amnesia. Our desires have become powerful weapons going in uncontrolled directions.”
The Vancouver International Dance Festival presents many artists during its run, including the Japan-based butoh ensemble Dairakudakan, Vancouver’s Raven Spirit Dance, Ottawa’s 10 Gates Dance, Montreal’s Daina Ashbee and Tjimur Dance Theatre from Taiwan. The festival features workshops, as well as many interactive dance activities at various venues throughout the city. For more information, visit vidf.ca.
