blue ceiling dancer

I love watching rehearsals, not just a run of a performance work in a rehearsal, but the dynamics between collaborators, the body language of artists as they chat, analyze a moment, stretch, plug a device into another device, shuffle papers and ideas around.  When Anisa Tejpar invited me to watch a bit of rehearsal and write about her upcoming show "in time", I knew with this rehearsal being part of her technical residency at Dancemakers, that I would be in for a lot of this kind of action, the movement surrounding the performance, as much as the movement in the performance. Video is being tested and arranged and timed. The composer is present taking notes, the dancer paces and chats with me, the choreographer calmly slides through the space. A network of white fabric hangs in tow pieces from the grid hinting at butterfly wings, albino stained glass or facets of a jewel. The projections break and pick up again over the seams and spaces between. The air is charged with

DanceWorks is 40 years old. A champion of Canadian choreographers and companies, of artistic experimentation. A organism that has morphed and changed, grown and streamlined, riding massive changes in the dance community within and without Toronto, and political shifts that have rocked the arts over this time. Mimi Beck, DanceWorks' curator who is kind, thoughtful and rebellious in a subtle, cheeky way answered some of my questions about the upcoming 40th anniversary celebration performance November 16-18, at Harbourfront Centre Theatre. LR:  40th anniversary!!! that’s quite an accomplishment. what are some of your most proud accomplishments with DanceWorks? MB: Keeping it going, year after year, sometimes against difficult odds. LR: And what are some of the most unusual moments for DanceWorks? MB: In preparing for the 40 th anniversary, I’ve cycled through many memories. A poignant and extraordinary experience took place in March of 2009 around the present

November dance performances in Toronto mark some amazing anniversaries. DanceWorks celebrates its 40th anniversary, ProArteDanza hits 13, Older and Reckless has its 40th incarnation and Janak Khendry Dance Company turns 39.  Janak Khendry is easily one of the warmest and friendliest people in the Toronto dance community. He is a multi-award winner, he has performed over 1000 times all around the world including performances for Indian presidents and an American Vice-President. He has trained in four distinct styles of classical Indian dance: Bharatanatyam, Khatak, Sattriya and Manipuri, and also Cunningham, Graham and Limon styles of western contemporary dance. He also has a Masters Degree in Sculpture and his sculptures have been featured in solo exhibitions and in private collections around the world.  I am honoured to share with you a brief Q and A between us in the lead up to his new work Life Eternal, premiering this week at Fleck Theatre, Harbourfront Centre. Lif

I had the great pleasure of being asked to interview one of the artists involved in Flamenco Sin Limites -- coming up November 10th and 24th at Harbourfront Centre. If you haven't encountered her before, Nazanin Meshkat is a whip-smart, fascinating woman and the best thing to do is just read below on her work, her art and her vision. image courtesy of Flamenco Sin Limites  -- LR: I am really interested in your two paths of life: flamenco dance and medicine. I wonder if you could speak a little bit about your path to each, your history with them, or what drew you to dance, what drew you to medicine? NM: That’s a question I still ask myself. I am always so curious to hear people’s stories of what drew them to their chosen career path, and I listen intently on the radio and documentaries, I read and re-read articles and blogs, in search of a clue that may lie in other people’s descriptions.  I guess, I simply think it was circumstance, and yet the question, and