FFWD Weekly
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| Dance by Nikki Sheppy 1999 Alberta Focus Season An intuitive means of expression that helped him come to terms with his identity as a young gay man and find an entrance into a community that prides itself on being inclusive – in dance, Edmonton-based choreographer Trevor Klushin found an ally. It all began back in high school in Stony Plain, Alberta, when he started listening to music in his room and instinctively moving to it. Today, after training with the likes of Bernard Salva and Peggy Baker, Klushin finds that the paradox of putting into words how dance can transcend language still leaves him grappling. "It’s difficult to define the art of dance," he says. "For the most part, it comes intuitively. Yes, I’ve had education. Yes, I’ve had training. But when I’m in the studio, I don’t go in with an idea.... I go into the studio empty and I come out full." To Klushin, dance defies language. It’s always been something he feels in his body, not something he thinks rationally. His early self-consciousness about his voice made dance even more attractive, since it gave him a way to mask that insecurity and still communicate effectively. "For me when I’m performing and not needing to use my voice, it’s a powerful tool. I feel elated when people get images and feelings from me without sound." Klushin is one of two Alberta choreographers featured in Dancers’ Studio West’s 1999 Alberta Focus Season. While Calgary’s Tara Wilson will show four pieces, Klushin will open two of his own. The first, The Diary of Roy G Biv, Part Two: Politely Pickled, is a funny trio that explores gay identity, drawing on the idea of the richness of diversity (Roy G Biv, an acronym for the colours of the rainbow, also alludes to the colours of the gay flag). The piece is structured as a dream infused with stories about gay and lesbian life. Klushin drew some of the segments from his former partner’s open-mic series, Queer Behavior. In his 1997 premiere of Part One, Klushin focused on coming out. Part Two represents the next step – an individual opening up to his community and honouring who he is. Klushin says it’s a very personal piece and an affirmation that he hopes will send a positive message to gay teens, who suffer one of the highest suicide rates for their demographic. His work has already had an impact on someone close to him – his brother, Chris. Klushin says the two have become closer since he came out and his openness has helped his brother look at people in a different light. In fact, Klushin got the playful title of the piece, Politely Pickled, from something Chris said. "He was at a reception and there were all these people who were fairly well off and had this air of superiority. They were drinking, but they were also being very intellectually there. And Chris said, ‘You know, these people are just politely pickled. They don’t want to get drunk and really get down to it. They just want to stand there and look good.’" Klushin’s second piece, Going Somewhere, is in some respects an answer to a piece he did at Dance Explosions 10 years ago – a dance called Going Nowhere. But besides being an affirmation of hope for Klushin personally, Going Somewhere is about how souls meet and how those relationships alter us. "By a set of circumstances or by coincidence, they join together. In this union, they learn, teach and instruct each other then they leave to each go on their separate paths – but on different ones than they were on before." |
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