my battery is pure love

I had the distinct pleasure of seeing Rock Bottom Movement while I was in Stratford this spring as part of SpringWorks Festival. Their work was funny from the get-go, clever, absurd, wonderfully danced and thoroughly enjoyable. I loved watching it, and I also longed to get up there and join them.  Luckily, choreographer Alyssa Martin was on hand and I got to meet her and her electrically-charged dancers after the show. When I heard they were self-producing in Toronto this July (DO IT YOURSELF at Dancemakers Centre for Creation, July 2 and 3 at 8pm) I knew Alyssa would be my next interview. And here it is.... photo of Alyssa Martin courtesy of Rock Bottom Movement LR: What drove you to make this show happen? AM: I’m always driven by a need to get my voice out there & try out my work with an audience. This time in particular, I was itching to get back into a theatre because I’ve been using more casual spaces with limited lighting & space for the past little while...

With a rush of immersive, augmented, non-traditional, call-it-what-you-will new dance works being staged inventively these days, it has got me thinking a lot about rehearsals. As dancers we spend a lot of time training our bodies to physically do very specific things and be in the best, most responsive physical shape for the tasks at hand. But when the tasks at hand involve the unpredictability of an audience immersed in your world with no clear separation of stage and witnesses, how do you prepare? You can't rehearse an interactive audience without just performing with an interactive audience. A new level of readiness and confidence is imperative. I sat down -- usually that's a cliche in interviewing terms, but we really did sit down in the same room together! -- with Jennifer Robichaud to speak about her site-specific, potently interactive work GRIDLOCK for Larchaud Dance Projects which opens June 11th at the Artscape Youngplace building. The work moves through t...

photo of Jessica Runge by Omer Yukseker When I first moved to Toronto in 1996, Jessica Runge was one of the first dance artists I encountered. She was a blur of wonderful energy. She danced, she created, she made opportunities for other artists.  Her mind was speedy and imaginative. She seemed to live life in the same way she danced, exquisitely. I was more than a little in awe.... Almost 20 how-is-that-possible-years later, she still is one of those artists who is works tirelessly and embodies a vision where art and life cannot be addressed separately. In talking to her about her upcoming show "Possible Dances" it is clear she remains all those things I admired in her when I first met her.  She has a marvellous way of speaking about her life and her work that reveals her as a visionary -- I don't say that lightly -- without really knowing it.  "Possible Dances" incorporates the spectrum of the vision and presents to us in an intimate way. Her show...

For my final feature covering the CanAsian Dance Festival of 2015, I am lucky again in getting to interview another great of Canadian dance, Lata Pada.  Her career is vast and varied, her work personal and universal in its storytelling. Vivarta,  Lata's work for her company, Sampradaya Dance Creations, will be part of this year's festival. Lata Pada photo by Onward & Upward photography LR: How do you begin creating? What is it like in the studio at the start of a process? LP: Ideas for a new work come sometimes out of nowhere; a phrase from a song, a personal turning point, reflections on life. Even though the ideas have been percolating in the head for over several years and start taking shape for a new work, collaborators contacted, discussions had, outlines formed, when one gets into the studio, it is a terrifying experience. Where and how to start is the most traumatic feeling I am confronted with.  For me, the most intuitive and important sta...

Lee Su-Feh is a Canadian dance force. A choreographer, a teacher, a dancer, a dramaturge, an innovator, she has been rocking the Vancouver dance realm since 1988. Cofounder of battery opera with multi-disciplinary artist David McIntosh, Su-Feh is a fiercely intelligent, fiercely gripping performers. And she'll be here next week with CanAsian Dance Festival 2015. Don't miss her. Despite a hectic time for her, Su-Feh was gracious, frank and wonderful in answering my questions.  I am inspired. I hope you are too. Lucy: Y ou have referred to the dancer as activist not object. I am curious: how do you make this happen? What steps do you take, approaches, goals, physical or psychological tactics re alize this goal? Su-Feh: A fundamental tool I use is the eyes, the gaze. On a concrete level, I, the dancer, must ask myself, what do I see? Do I see the room I am dancing in, do I see the colours in this room? Do I see the shapes? Do I see the other people in this room? And do...

If you know Bageshree Vaze, you know these things (and if you don't know her, here's the short and sweet): she is funny she is multi-talented she is ambitious she is dedicated to dance in all its expanses  she is a sparkling and inviting presence on stage Following my line of interviews on collaborations this year, Bageshree answered a few of my questions about collaborative processes as they relate specifically to her inter-disciplinary projects, working with her husband and sources of inspiration. h     LR: How did you come about gathering this particular cast of dancers? They are an interesting intersection of dance. BV: I have worked over the years with dancers trained in various styles – in fact I have worked with very few professional-level Kathak and Indian classical dancers in group works. Whenever I am working on a piece, I look for dancers who are very physically-versatile, and able to interpret music and movements from cultural styles outsid...