Pride News Canada's Leader In African Canadian & Caribbean News, Views & Lifestyle
By Neil Armstrong
Pride Contributing Writer
A Review
TORONTO, Ontario – Ballet Creole, one of Canada’s premier dance companies, recently celebrated its 25th anniversary with a production from its past and current creations focused on water – and a surprise.
Entitled “Agua Como Vida: The Ripple Effect” meaning “water as life,” the two-day celebration at the Fleck Dance Theatre, Harbourfront Centre on April 17 and 18 featured a remount of the company’s first piece, Fete.
It was the first original work that the company produced for the theatre in 1990, choreographed by founder and artistic director, Patrick Parson.
The lively, joyful contemporary is work inspired by neo-Trinidadian dance and performed to live percussion and the steelpan. The dancers capture the festive carnival atmosphere typical of the Caribbean.
In line with the theme of water, there were two world premieres: Patrick Parson’s Agua Como Vida, featuring live percussion, keyboard, and spoken word; and Gabby Kamino’s Myth of Atlantis, a beautifully ethereal piece depicting lost souls in search of their humanity.
Parson’s piece effortlessly blends the movement of the dancers with the power of the force of the ocean (a video of waves crashing against land), calm and effective voice of the spoken word by Melisse Watson, and live percussion of musicians: Patrick Parson, N’Dere Headley, Mikhail Parson and Jordan Armstrong.
“Water is unstoppable. No matter what barriers appear, water discovers a way to forge ahead and find a new path to continue its journey. As an artist, I connected with this element in life with new challenges, never forgetting my past, but learning and developing for the future. I also believe in passing my experiences to the next generation,” writes Parson in his message in the program.
The dancers: Matthew Cuff, Yuhala Muy Garcia, Alistair Graphine, Karen Murray, Gabriella Parson and Tara Pillon, were in sync with the energy of and constant motion of the natural resource, water, and the rippling effect.
Myth of Atlantis invites patrons into the celestial spheres to witness the search and journey of the soul for meaning.
In a surprise appearance, Parson and long-time friend, dancer/choreographer, Ronald Taylor returned to the stage for a duet choreographed by associate choreographer, Gabby Kamino.
The piece, Refleksyon, a new work is a mixed media journey through the dance careers of these two accomplished black male dancers.
In a trio of vignettes, the dancers intersperse moments of movement vocabulary from their artistic careers with reflective pauses, gazing upon images of themselves in their ‘glory days’. In the final section, the Ballet Creole Company dancers join them onstage to pay homage to their elders.
Taylor showed the true essence of the artist when despite a wardrobe malfunction he continued performing without pause until the end.
He has emerged as a leading force in black dance remaining true to his Caribbean roots and fusing his training in modern, folk, jazz and ballet to create a style, which he warmly describes as Caribbean Contemporary.
His early training came from his birthplace, Trinidad, under the tutelage and mentoring of the late Astor Johnson, choreographer of the Repertory Dance Theatre.
He is a graduate of Juilliard School in New York City and received a scholarship to the Dance Theatre of Harlem.
He holds an MA in dance from York University and was awarded and completed an Artist Fellowship from the Djerassi Resident Artists Foundation in California, USA.
Taylor commissioned and curated a dance trilogy entitled ‘HE..Moves’, a premiere performance which celebrated the black male persona in dance. He serves as the rehearsal director for Ballet Creole and Kashedance.
Active on the Canadian dance scene since August 1990, Ballet Creole has been recognized as a company where “multicultural traditions blend deliciously with profound theatrical expression.” Their high-energy works range from African ritualism to abstract modern, with a repertoire driven by the rhythm of the drums.
Without a place to call its own for a few years, Ballet Creole has a new home, “a place to create, to share and to build together,” says Parson.
While focusing on traditional and contemporary performing arts of the Caribbean and Africa, the company aims to establish a dynamic new artistic tradition in Canada based on a “creolization”, or fusion, of diverse dance and music traditions. It comprises both a professional ensemble of dancers and musicians and a School of Performing Arts.
