>>PREVIEW
FESTIVAL DANCE
Runs until July 23
Eric Harvie Theatre (The Banff Centre)
Vancouverite Simone Orlando, the 2006 Clifford E. Lee choreography award recipient, was inspired instantly by Schubert’s evocative song cycle Winterreise. For Festival Dance at The Banff Centre, she has created her own Winter Journey, "a contemporary exploration of the esthetics and poetics of High German Romanticism."
Orlando is using 11 of the 22 songs to trace an emotional journey by a desperate artist who encounters a hurdy-gurdy man and other marginal characters during his romantic struggle. Half the dancers in 1820 Viennese-style and the rest clad in contemporary fashion emphasize humanity’s ongoing struggles.
Canadian baritone Michael Meraw, an instructor in the opera program and a senior artist-in-residence at the centre, will sing librettist and poet Willie Mueller’s emotive lyrics. Spurred on by his powerful and expressive voice, exposing the shape and sound of the words, Orlando structured her work using the intonation of the words as she set movements on the 13 dancers.
Because Orlando doesn’t speak German, the National Ballet School graduate and emerging choreographer was free to be affected by the texture rather than the meaning of the words. Her initial meeting with Meraw, hearing his interpretation of the haunting songs, had her on the verge of tears. She feels working with Winterreise – arguably the greatest song cycle ever written – excavated some of her own feelings as an artist.
Recalling her own studies in the dance-training program, followed by the professional program at the centre, Orlando says working with Lee recipients Joe Laughlin and Shawn Hounsell profoundly influenced her professional choices. She recently realized that she is both terrified by and addicted to the creative process. "I really felt a part of their process and involved and integral to what the choreographer was trying to achieve. I loved that.
"And I think the highlight of my career has not necessarily been performing around the world and being onstage. It’s actually been the opportunities to work with choreographers in the studio in the creative process. That started here with the Lee Award winners. It’s why I joined and stayed with Ballet BC – because their mandate has been to produce contemporary dance by primarily Canadian choreographers. I wanted to work with John Alleyn and be involved in his process."
Since 1996, when she joined Ballet BC, Orlando has returned to residencies at the Banff Centre, learning new Alleyn works. "I really love being in this mountain environment, when one of those powerful storms comes through and where there is this weird, eerie instability. The piece that I am creating is really about the landscape of the elements in conjunction with the landscape of emotions. What is going on in the ballet ties in with what I see outside every day."
Collaborative creation is innate in Orlando’s process. Visual interpretations of the natural and emotional landscapes also come from several giant impressionistic images by Vancouverite Charles Forsberg. On large canvases hung as scenery, the commissioned artist’s applications of paint convey a spiritual quality evoking Winter Journey in moody terms. The arrival of the paintings confirmed Orlando’s vision.
Meraw’s knowledge and understanding of the song cycle has been both supportive and liberating. The McGill voice instructor amplified Orlando’s appreciation of Mueller’s talent for leaving spaces around the imagery, increasing the viewer’s participation and personal interpretations. He also encouraged her to be propelled by her intuition and passion.
As well, the former Desrosiers Dance Theatre member uses both traditional and contemporary vocabulary in her staging, seeking input from the dancers. She explains, "It becomes this interesting puzzle that we are trying to solve. Either you can create something that is organic or you can shift it to something that is very contorted and askew. The realm of possibilities is huge. And it expands when you give the dancers an invitation to be part of the collaboration. I think great work is achieved when everyone in the room is involved in the creative process." |
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