05-21-2004, 02:39 AM
Toronto talent doesn't cross boundaries. Neither do audiences. You'd be hard-pressed to find a Tragically Hip fan at the International Festival of Authors, or, God forbid, a balletomane at the Horseshoe Tavern. And don't hold your breath for the day when book lovers start going to see modern dance.
But those who are feeling malnourished on a steady diet of one art form have cause to be grateful for the marriage of Andrea Nann and Andy Maize. The union of the dancer/choreographer and her singer/songwriter husband, provided the impetus behind The Whole Shebang, a one-night, 2 1/2-hour banquet of dance, song and spoken word at the Premiere Dance Theatre, headlined by some of the city's most popular creators.
With a little help from friends like Michael Ondaatje and Gordon Downie, Nann produced an evening that drew a full house from all quarters of the literary, dance and musical worlds. Ondaatje's fiction and poetry made a thread that ran through the dances, two pieces by Nann that were inspired by In The Skin Of A Lion and Anil's Ghost.
Cato And Alice, a series of duets she performed with fellow Grossman Dance company member Gerald Michaud, was her response to reading Ondaatje's novel about immigrant construction workers in Toronto during the 1920s. Short sequences with titles such as "Seeds," "Labour," "Tunnel" or "Ghost" didn't amount to much in themselves, but cumulatively portrayed a marriage marked by struggle and ending in a widow's heartache. The dancers made a nearly perfect fit, expressing in their closely calibrated movements the tension of a passionate partnership.
Nann is a show-stopping soloist on most occasions and especially in Meditation #5 — On Loss and Desire, an interpretation of the prologue to Anil's Ghost. The dance speaks of the way loss of a loved one can make a person heavy with sorrow. To the sounds of deep exhalations and chimes, Nann performed a ritualistic expression of the grief that dwells in the body.
In the Writers' Circle, poet and novelist Dionne Brand read passages that reflected darkly on city life, from a long poem, Thirsty. Ondaatje read several poems, including one about the late poet b.p. nichol, and passages from Anil's Ghost and Running In The Family. Souvankham Thammavongsa read — to evident audience delight — short poems about tiny creatures from an impressive first collection, Small Arguments.
Tragically Hip lead singer Gordon Downie joined Maize and Josh Finlayson of The Skydiggers, Ottawa performer Kathleen Edwards and singer/songwriter Andrew Cash for the Songwriters' Circle, which threatened to take over the whole show.
Their songs and camaraderie honoured the spirit of the evening, which might be summed up as tapping into the emotional currents that run beneath a city's granite facades.
But those who are feeling malnourished on a steady diet of one art form have cause to be grateful for the marriage of Andrea Nann and Andy Maize. The union of the dancer/choreographer and her singer/songwriter husband, provided the impetus behind The Whole Shebang, a one-night, 2 1/2-hour banquet of dance, song and spoken word at the Premiere Dance Theatre, headlined by some of the city's most popular creators.
With a little help from friends like Michael Ondaatje and Gordon Downie, Nann produced an evening that drew a full house from all quarters of the literary, dance and musical worlds. Ondaatje's fiction and poetry made a thread that ran through the dances, two pieces by Nann that were inspired by In The Skin Of A Lion and Anil's Ghost.
Cato And Alice, a series of duets she performed with fellow Grossman Dance company member Gerald Michaud, was her response to reading Ondaatje's novel about immigrant construction workers in Toronto during the 1920s. Short sequences with titles such as "Seeds," "Labour," "Tunnel" or "Ghost" didn't amount to much in themselves, but cumulatively portrayed a marriage marked by struggle and ending in a widow's heartache. The dancers made a nearly perfect fit, expressing in their closely calibrated movements the tension of a passionate partnership.
Nann is a show-stopping soloist on most occasions and especially in Meditation #5 — On Loss and Desire, an interpretation of the prologue to Anil's Ghost. The dance speaks of the way loss of a loved one can make a person heavy with sorrow. To the sounds of deep exhalations and chimes, Nann performed a ritualistic expression of the grief that dwells in the body.
In the Writers' Circle, poet and novelist Dionne Brand read passages that reflected darkly on city life, from a long poem, Thirsty. Ondaatje read several poems, including one about the late poet b.p. nichol, and passages from Anil's Ghost and Running In The Family. Souvankham Thammavongsa read — to evident audience delight — short poems about tiny creatures from an impressive first collection, Small Arguments.
Tragically Hip lead singer Gordon Downie joined Maize and Josh Finlayson of The Skydiggers, Ottawa performer Kathleen Edwards and singer/songwriter Andrew Cash for the Songwriters' Circle, which threatened to take over the whole show.
Their songs and camaraderie honoured the spirit of the evening, which might be summed up as tapping into the emotional currents that run beneath a city's granite facades.
