From blackm00@cam.org Wed Jun 15 16:00:33 2005
Date: Wed, 15 Jun 2005 16:00:31 -0400 (EDT)
From: Michael Black <blackm00@cam.org>
To: letters@thegazette.canwest.com
Subject: lousy dance coverage

What's a Baryshnikov?  Is it anything like an Elinor Fueter?

Therein lies the problem that I see with Victor Swoboda's coverage
of the dance scene.  Since he took over the role of dance writer,
I thought it was simply that he was too snobby to take a good look at the 
Fringe Festival.  But as I look more carefully, I realize he doesn't like
anything much below the level of what appears at Place des Arts.
Nothing wrong with that, but if someone is covering the local dance
scene, he isn't covering it if he ignores what happens at Studio
303, or at the Fringe, or all the independent shows that happen.

People coming out of the Con-U dance program aren't simply university
kids wanting to put on a show.  It is they, immediately or somewhat
later, who will be the dancers and choreographers coming in the next
wave.  They will be the ones breaking things so the field takes
a new direction. The Con-U end of term shows get virtually no mention, 
yet they are part of the local dance continuum.  You can see stuff
that doesn't say much, but you can see things that really stand
out.  Almost fifteen years after I saw them, I can remember a piece
where Elaine Hooper danced with a table, or a piece where someone
in effect emulated a stripper (which is memorable because I'm still
wondering why the choice of venue affects the piece).

It is the young choreographer who has the greatest output, because
they can afford to take risks since they don't have the following
who expects them to do the same old stuff.  And they don't have
an audience who knows them, so they can be anything they want.

Take any of the dance companies that Victor Swoboda will cover,
and you're bound to find people who came out of the Con-U dance
program, or LADDMI, or UQAM.  Yet they aren't important until
they have invisibly matured and show up in a status company?

Look at the 32 Joes that kept on dancing in Europe after the company
went bankrupt last summer, and a bunch came out of these
programs (and at least three have performed at the Montreal
Fringe over the years).  Elinor Fueter was one of those Joes,
and she's performed at the Fringe 3 times, and she teaches dance.

Back in 1995, two pieces appeared at the Fringe that had already
been at Tangente, and they had a longer run at the Fringe.  Indeed,
I wrote at the time:
    Dance at the Fringe is an oxymoron.  Dance is already
    fringe.  A handful make it to the big time, but the majority
    of dance is the sort of thing that is being shown at the
    Fringe.  These shows aren't here because they are fringe in
    content or implementation.  If they are here for any other
    reason than because it's fun, it's because there isn't a whole
    lot of place for dance of any kind.

No, the Fringe and Studio 303, and the independent shows aren't
about dancers and choreographers who aren't ready for something
better, they are a key part of the vibrant local dance scene.  Like
I've said before, these give the newcomer a chance, but they also
provide an outlet for the seasoned artist to try new
things, or to break into a solo career.  They don't have to wait
a year or so to get into Tangente, if they are even chosen.

Victor Swoboda too often dismisses Studio 303 as "experimental" without 
clarifying the meaning.  I can't say I've ever seen him there, 
though Dena Davida of Tangente usually attends the shows (and the Fringe, 
for that matter).  That's a pretty broad term that can have
multiple meanings.  When the Rubberdance group did breakdancing to
"Take Five", it allowed us to see that form of dance without the
stereotypes.  I have a much better insight about Japanese dance
because I've seen it juxtaposed with much faster local pieces
at Studio 303.  I've seen that dance isn't stuffy, that it's fun
and full of life, as are the dancers and choreographers who perform
in such smaller venues.

I would never complain about a bad review, because one thing I give
credit to reviewers is that they've seen a lot more than I do. 
Their reviews are a reference point, that each review in part
brings their experience to the new piece.  But Victor Swoboda brings
no insight to the Fringe, because he has no familiarity with that
scene, and doesn't review the shows.  Any fool can write a preview
article based on press releases, it takes more to actually see
the shows and provide useful commentary.

Bring back Kathryn Greenway, and move the dance back to the "Pop
Culture" section.  Because dance is far more vibrant than Victor
Swoboda's view of it.  And so long as people perceive dance as
High Culture, they won't even taste it and learn first hand
that it's closer to their lives than imagined.

   Michael Black