FFWD Weekly
Copyright © 1998 All Rights Reserved.
 |
| DANCE Preview En Corps Dance Collective's Eclipsed is the common tale of life's everyday struggles rendered uncommon through the candor of physical expression. It draws its title from the troupe's feeling that during everyday life, as during an eclipse, you must "pass through darkness on your way to light," explains Corps member Karen Pearce. The collective was formed here in Calgary three years ago. Most of its members are former students of the Foothills Academy of Dance and all six members are experienced dancers who have traveled and studied dance abroad. Pearce, Alfi Forsch, Laura Di Stefano, Melanie Malarchuk, Tanis Baer and Wendy Beaver are all young, creative, enthusiastic and talented dancers full of hope for the future - making En Corps a rebel voice in a sea of disillusioned artists. Eclipsed is Corps' second full show and its first attempt at a dance narrative. "Last year's show was more of a recital. People performed pieces that weren't related," says Pearce. "This year we decided that we wanted to have a theme. We really want people to understand that dancing is not just a bunch of steps, it has themes and expresses feelings." Considering this is their first shot at a unifying theme, En Corps picked a doozy: the struggle to achieve ultimate reality. "Our theme of ultimate reality comes from Socrates and Plato and the idea that the soul is trapped inside the body. The soul is finally released when you reach ultimate reality, which, for Socrates and Plato is when you die," explains Pearce, "but we don't believe that." She goes on to describe how Eclipsed represents the struggle to achieve ultimate reality while still on earth. "It is the journey I'm sure everyone in the world is on. You have all these insecurities and the world feels chaotic. You don't know what to do and you're lost. You're unhappy but you just keep going because that's what everyone else is doing." Throughout the show the dancers struggle toward the moment when their hopes become reality. "What makes you ultimately happy is different for everyone. In the finale we've all found it and things are clear," says Pearce. En Corps began choreographing Eclipsed in January. In true collective fashion, each member choreographed one ensemble piece and one solo piece. Former Corps member Christa Mayer, who is currently pursuing an acting career, agreed to round off the performance by choreographing the finale. The pieces are highly personal and incorporate a mixture of jazz and modern dance. Pearce says that with Eclipsed, En Corps is trying to stretch beyond the dance community and their friends and families to reach people who wouldn't normally go to see dance. "This is dance as communication with no limits and no rules. It's a form of emotional release. We want people to get it." Pearce feels that En Corps isn't rebelling against an established force as much as it is trying to communicate sincere ideas and feelings. That in itself is a risky and rebellious act. |
| |