ASTUCES POUR PROFESSEURS : Préparation d’un spectacle des fêtes

De Katharine Harris à l’École nationale de ballet du Canada
Traduction de Marie Claire Forté

Alors que le mercure tombe, de nombreux studios de danse planifient leur spectacle annuel des fêtes. Pour l’élève, c’est l’occasion de se présenter devant sa famille et ses amis, ainsi que la culmination de son travail depuis le début de l’automne. Bien que le plaisir d’un spectacle découle en partie de sa nature imprévisible, il est judicieux de bien se préparer afin que les événements se déroulent dans le calme, autant que possible. Voici quelques conseils.

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1. Soyez aussi inclusif que possible. Lorsque vous pensez à des thèmes, discutez-en avec l’équipe du studio, demandez-leur des suggestions et partagez les idées. Cela permet à tout le monde de se sentir concerné, et aide à créer une ambiance effervescente. Souvenez-vous qu’un spectacle des fêtes demande beaucoup de travail ; assurez-vous que l’équipe, les élèves et les parents se sentent engagés.

2. Une fois que vous et vos collègues décidez du thème, faites appel aux comités de parents. Ils peuvent vous aider pour la coordination de détails, comme les costumes, la logistique, la promotion du spectacle ou la supervision en coulisse.

3. Préparez un plan de match écrit pour le spectacle. Commencez par les grandes lignes et allez ensuite dans le détail, du thème du spectacle aux particularités des costumes et à la logistique en coulisse. Si vous l’écrivez, il sera clair et ainsi plus facile à communiquer aux autres.

4. Le lieu de présentation est spécial ; prenez-en soin. Si le spectacle est à l’extérieur de votre studio de répétition habituel, parlez-en à vos élèves. Expliquez-leur le respect qu’exige une salle de spectacle. Si le spectacle est dans votre studio, collaborez avec vos élèves pour le transformer. Vous pouvez le faire avec des accessoires comme des rideaux ou des gradins, mais cela peut être aussi une simple question d’approche. Si tout le monde aborde le lieu différemment, il sera transformé.

5. Le jour du spectacle, l’excitation sera à son comble. Cela fait partie du plaisir des fêtes, mais c’est bien d’avoir des personnes dans les alentours qui peuvent participer au plaisir sans le laisser déraper. Assurez-vous d’avoir des personnes en arrière-scène pour gérer l’énergie des élèves.

6. Pour les écoles qui présentent plusieurs spectacles, rappelez-vous que chaque spectacle est unique. Chaque présentation doit être traitée avec la même considération que la première. Chacun devrait prendre le temps de se concentrer et de se rappeler que même s’il connaît le travail, le public le voit pour la première fois.

7. Un dernier conseil facile à suivre : demandez à tout le monde de prendre soin de leurs possessions : costumes, souliers, maquillage et autres accessoires. Après chaque spectacle, rangez les objets comme il le faut afin que tout soit prêt pour le prochain spectacle.

For the English version of this article, see The Dance Current October 2009 print issue. | Pour la version anglais de cette rubrique, voyez The Dance Current October 2009 édition imprimé.

Pour en savoir plus | Learn more >>
www.nbs-enb.ca

HEALTHY DANCER: Daal with Autumn Vegetables

Protein: meeting the body's needs
By Nathan Payne

Animal protein delivers all of the essential amino acids our body needs, whereas proteins from vegetable sources are generally missing one or two of the essential amino acids. (An exception is the grain quinoa, which happens to contain all eight essential amino acids.) For those following a vegetarian or vegan diet, eating a variety of foods and combining food items such as legumes with grains or nuts and seeds will ensure that you are meeting your body’s protein needs.

Try this recipe for Daal with Autumn Vegetables: a vegetarian dish with a strong protein component and a punch of flavour.

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Daal with Autumn Vegetables

2 tablespoons olive oil
1/2 cup onion, finely chopped
1/2 teaspoon salt
Freshly ground pepper
2 teaspoons ground cumin
1/2 teaspoon chili pepper flakes
2 cardamom pods
2-3 tablespoons of chat masala
2 bay leaves
2 cups butternut squash (1/4 inch cubes)
3 cups Brussels sprouts (washed and quartered)
1 can whole tomatoes
4 cups vegetable stock (plus 2 cups water)
1 cup lentils
1 cup brown rice

In a large saucepan, sauté onion, season with salt, and add all the spices (chat masala can be incorporated or sprinkled on top of the final dish). Add the chopped squash and Brussels sprouts, and cook on medium for 5 minutes, stirring frequently. Pour in the can of whole tomatoes along with 4 cups of vegetable stock and 2 cups of water. Add the rice and lentils, bring to a boil, reduce heat, cover and simmer for 15 minutes. Remove lid and simmer for an additional 20 minutes or until lentils and rice are tender.

Remove bay leaves before serving and garnish with a bit of plain yogurt if so desired.

Note: This dish will thicken over time. Simply add more water to return it to a soup-like consistency.

The Demise of Le Groupe Dance Lab: The End of An Era, Part 1

By Michael Crabb

For those not watchful of events at Ottawa’s Le Groupe Dance Lab, the July 31st announcement that it would be closing its doors forever came as a stunning shock.

For more than twenty years – ever since Artistic Director Peter Boneham reinvented his performing company, Le Groupe de la Place Royale, to become a centre for contemporary dance research, experimentation and development – the Lab had been a vital incubator of dance creativity in Canada and beyond. In the late 1980s, as he surveyed the Canadian dance scene, Boneham detected a crucial need for choreographers to explore and hone their craft in a supportive environment, free of the distracting pressure to produce a finished work.

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Le Groupe – with rented headquarters at Arts Court in Ottawa’s Sandy Hill district – offered visiting choreographers a resident corps of dancers, technical, design and production support and, most importantly, the outside eye of an experienced mentor, or “monitor”. There were also public showings during which choreographers could engage audiences in constructive conversation – feedback sessions intended to help decipher the sometimes problematic gap between artistic intent and how it is perceived.

In 1988 Boneham’s idea was not entirely novel. Dance workshops and choreographic intensives had been around for years, mostly operating in compressed timeframes, simultaneously involving several choreographers and often without the benefit of monitorial oversight. What was unique and visionary about Boneham’s project was the creation of a permanent, integrated institution where choreographers could be individually nurtured over the course of several weeks in what came to be known as a “process”.

Boneham’s initial assessment of the situation proved accurate and his solution successful. “Peter was definitely ahead of his time,” says Yvonne Coutts, an Ottawa-based dancer, teacher and choreographer whose association with Le Groupe began when it was still a performing company.

Le Groupe Dance Lab became a seemingly indispensable resource, not only for emerging choreographers but for those more seasoned, such as former artistic director of Winnipeg’s Contemporary Dancers Tedd Robinson, seeking creative revitalization.

“I had a great job,” says Robinson, “but nobody was telling me the things I needed to hear. Peter, on the other hand, does not hold back. He told me I had an innate theatrical sense but that my vocabulary sucked. He made a lot of sense.”

It was not only choreographers who benefited. Although their schedule was onerous, Le Groupe’s dancers had two invaluable benefits. They took daily class with a tough but inspirational teacher – Boneham himself – and worked creatively with a wide range of choreographers. For dancers who were often in the developmental phase of their careers it was an extraordinary experience – a crash course in endurance and versatility – and if they felt a strong urge to choreograph there was also the possibility of undertaking a “process”.

As a senior officer at one of our major public granting agencies recently remarked: “It’s rare in contemporary dance to open an applicant’s file nowadays and not find a connection to Le Groupe somewhere along the way.”

Even last fall, when Le Groupe was in the midst of a serious financial crisis and trying to adjust to new leadership, the work in the studio continued at its usual intensity with visiting choreographers from Canada, France and The Netherlands.

So why did it all unravel?

That July 31st announcement included a prepared statement from Le Groupe’s long-serving – and, one suspects, long-suffering – board chair, University of Ottawa law professor John Manwaring. “Many factors, financial and otherwise, have led to this extremely difficult decision,” Manwaring stated. “It is always difficult to move from a founder-led organization to one with new artistic leadership and while Le Groupe Dance Lab tried determinedly to do this, in the end the transition proved too difficult.”

The choice of words “too difficult” is telling. One might have expected something more emphatic, such as “impossible”. “Too difficult” suggests that perhaps, in other circumstances, there might have been a solution. And, since this was a decision made by Le Groupe’s legal trustees, its board of directors, it also hints at the understandable exhaustion – even exasperation – of those four public-spirited volunteers who had, for so many years, done their best to keep the company afloat.

Few would argue Professor Manwaring’s contention that moving beyond a founder-led organization is difficult. Canadian dance history is littered with examples, from the Royal Winnipeg Ballet in the early 1950s to Toronto Dance Theatre thirty years later.

Choreographer-driven companies present particularly intractable problems since they are essentially founded to serve as platforms for a specific creative vision. When that creative vision appears to dim or loses the confidence of audiences – or the peer-assessment juries that decide who gets public funding – there is no clear way forward. It is no secret, for example, that the Anna Wyman Dance Theatre, Desrosiers Dance Theatre and Danny Grossman Dance Company – albeit in the latter case specifically in its form as a performing organization – suffered the painful death of slow, progressive cuts.

Although it was not strictly a single choreographer-founded company, a similar fate might have overtaken Le Groupe de la Place Royale had it not successfully convinced the funding agencies to support its refashioned mandate – one not only designed to serve the needs of the dance community but tailor-made for a then fifty-four-year-old director/choreographer seeking to redefine his role as a contributing artist.

Peter Boneham was part of Le Groupe de la Place Royale from the start. Its roots lie in the heady cultural milieu of early 1960s Montréal. Québécoise artists Jeanne Renaud and Françoise Riopelle, with a shared aesthetic forged by their youthful involvement with the modernist automatistes, launched Le Groupe de Danse Moderne de Montréal. Vincent Warren, then a principal dancer with Les Grands Ballets Canadiens, was intrigued by the fledgling troupe’s intellectually rigorous avant-garde experimentation and introduced fellow Grands Ballets member Peter Boneham to Renaud and Riopelle.

Boneham and Warren, both ballet-trained Americans, had become friends in New York City before either joined Les Grands Ballets. Boneham agreed to dance with Renaud in a piece called “Rideau” at Montréal’s Expressions 65. The two quickly became artistic compadres in launching Le Groupe de la Place Royale. Dance was intentionally excluded from the title because of its founders’ cross-disciplinary, collaborative intentions. Although Winnipeg’s Contemporary Dancers proudly claims its status as Canada’s oldest modern dance company, in 1966 Le Groupe was the first to receive a Canada Council grant.

Renaud was gone within five years but Le Groupe continued under the direction of Boneham and company charter member Jean-Pierre Perreault. Perreault, thirteen years younger than Boneham, began as a dancer, learning as he went along, and by 1972 had begun to choreograph. Le Groupe became known for its boldly innovative approach to dance making, particularly the use of mixed media and new technology.

By the mid-1970s, however, Boneham and Perreault had grown restive. Le Groupe was struggling financially and it seemed that the Québec government was favouring the rival Groupe Nouvelle Aire. Boneham – an English speaker with less than functional French – thought it was time to get out. Initially he proposed moving the company to Toronto because it seemed to be “a happening place”. Perreault demurred. Finally, having sounded out the Canada Council, they agreed on Ottawa. Le Groupe moved its company and school there in 1977.

Perreault, meanwhile, was becoming a choreographer of note. It gradually became clear that his ambitions could not be accommodated in Ottawa or within the company. “Le Groupe didn’t suit his artistic needs,” says Boneham. Perreault formally resigned as co-artistic director in 1981. Dancer and choreographer Michael Montanaro, now chair of the contemporary dance department at Montréal’s Concordia University, served as Boneham’s associate director until 1985.

Le Groupe’s switch from being a touring performance troupe to a stay-put centre for creative development was not an overnight event but was formalized in 1988 with a new name and a new mandate. Whether one regards this as a completely fresh start or an evolution of Le Groupe de la Place Royale, Peter Boneham’s claims as a founding father are unassailable.

The issue then becomes how long the founder can continue to function and what happens when he can not. Although the fire in his belly was never dampened, Boneham’s health was sometimes a concern. And since Le Groupe was not dependent on Boneham to supply it with choreography, it could, as an institution with a clear mandate, reasonably look forward to surviving him – even if the mandate might require some fine tuning for the organization to remain useful and relevant.

Conversations about Le Groupe’s future, both within and without, had begun even in the 1990s. Robinson recalls Boneham asking him if he was interested in taking over at some point. Robinson, who had been Le Groupe’s resident guest artist after leaving Winnipeg in 1990, valued the organization highly and got on well with Boneham but was only interested in the mentoring part of the job. “I can teach if I have to,” says Robinson, “but I don’t enjoy it. It’s not my forte at all.” He identifies an important issue. Boneham was teacher, monitor and artistic director. Under the best conditions it would not be easy to find one person to fill all those roles.

The issue of transition came into clearer focus when the funding bodies Le Groupe depended on for almost ninety per cent of its income (in later years the annual budget was around $400,000) suggested it was time to act decisively.

The premature death of Jean-Pierre Perreault in December 2002 seems to have been a catalyst. Though long separated as colleagues, Boneham and Perreault still had a strong emotional bond. Those close to Boneham witnessed the profound impact of Perreault’s death. “It was devastating for Peter,” recalls Coutts.

Coutts, with as clear a knowledge as any of Le Groupe’s workings because of her former involvement as a dancer and choreographer, offered to help. Coutts could teach, she could monitor; she could even write grant applications. She saw Boneham’s acceptance of her offer as a sign that he acknowledged a need for a planned transition of leadership, but while it occupied his thoughts its exact form was not always clearly expressed.

Hiring extra help, of course, takes money and Le Groupe never had much of it. Cash-flow crunches were a cyclical occurrence that the organization somehow always managed to survive. Adding to the regular payroll would take special funding; and it was forthcoming, thanks to the Metcalf and Ontario Trillium Foundations, but it was specifically tied to implementing a transition of leadership.

Boneham, whose twin passions remain teaching and mentoring, certainly embraced the notion of a diminished role for himself but almost certainly never imagined withdrawing completely. The answer, as he saw it, was team leadership. Tony Chong now enters the story.

Originally from Vancouver, Chong moved as a young dancer to Montréal in 1984. There he became immersed in its vibrant dance scene. Chong performed with, among others, Compagnie Marie Chouinard, Carbon 14, José Navas’s Compagnie Flak and Perreault’s company. He danced in Germany’s Steptext Dance Project and with Belgium’s Ballets C. de la B.

Chong first connected with Le Groupe in 2003 as a visiting choreographer. Boneham was impressed. By late 2004 he’d convinced Chong to join Le Groupe as associate director, working alongside Coutts. “I’m not sure why I was specifically asked,” Chong reflects. “We had a shared idealism but maybe it was because I didn’t have an historical connection and came with a different aesthetic.”

Coutts was completely unprepared for Chong’s arrival in January, 2005. “It caught me quite off guard,” she explains; and probably left her feeling slighted. “I had committed a lot to Le Groupe. I’d developed the skill set to be artistic director.”

From Boneham’s viewpoint, the combination of Coutts and Chong was ideal. “Each had strengths and weaknesses and they kind of balanced out. I never saw Tony as artistic director on his own. He still wanted to be a choreographer.”

The team leadership concept, even if it could have been financed over the long term, was ill-fated. It was a sometimes tense ménage à trois that ended abruptly and unpleasantly in the winter of 2006. Coutts decided to bring in choreographer Ame Henderson, along with her own dramaturge/monitor.

Coutts says she felt Le Groupe needed to find new ways to meet the needs of the dance community, part of which involved bringing in “a different kind of outside eye”. Although for many choreographers a major attraction of Le Groupe was the opportunity to work with Boneham, other visiting choreographers had requested their own chosen monitor. According to Chong, Boneham was open to the need for the organization to evolve. “He knew it would need to change,” says Chong, “but Peter was also concerned about his legacy and his ideals.” For him, process and experimentation were the essence of Le Groupe, whereas visiting choreographers sometimes came to view a residency as a chance to produce a finished work. “At times it was almost becoming a production company,” observes Robinson. “That was not what Peter wanted.”

Henderson’s residency brought things to a head for Coutts. Henderson was inadvertently caught in a fomenting cauldron of conflicting ideas about how Le Groupe should function. “It was three weeks of hell trying to support her. I couldn’t understand what was going on. All I could see was this tightening of the grip.” Coutts decided the situation had become intolerable and quit– leaving Chong as sole heir apparent.

And so Chong’s apprenticeship continued until, on April 29th, 2008, Le Groupe’s board announced the passing of the torch with Chong’s official appointment as artistic director, effective July 1st.

Boneham – who by then had been honored with a Governor General’s Performing Arts Award for lifetime artistic achievement in 2005 and appointed a Member of the Order of Canada in April 2008 – would assume the position of senior artistic advisor. It was at this point that a concatenation of events, so intricately entwined that it’s hard to follow the threads, conspired to bring Le Groupe down.~

Read the rest of the story in "The End of an Era, Part 2" by Michael Crabb, posted in November 2009 (above).


Michael Crabb is a Toronto-based writer, broadcaster and lecturer. He was a CBC Radio producer and on-air host from 1981 through 2000, and is still heard on the Toronto program "Here & Now". He has written about dance for thirty-five years.

IN THE STUDIO: Jorden Morris and the RWB for Moulin Rouge - The Ballet

Interview by Megan Andrews
Photos by Bruce Monk








Amanda Green and Jorden Morris rehearsing for Moulin Rouge – The Ballet by Morris for the Royal Winnipeg Ballet





After retiring as a principal dancer with Canada’s Royal Winnipeg Ballet (RWB), Jorden Morris began to explore choreography. His first ballet, The Three Musketeers, premiered in 1999. He has created numerous works since, including the transformation of the popular children’s television show The Toy Castle into an interactive live dance performance, and the Celtic-themed ballet Deverell. In 2006, the RWB presented the world premiere of Morris’s full-length ballet Peter Pan. The critically acclaimed work is the company’s biggest box office success to date, and toured Canada last year. Morris is also the associate director of the Royal Winnipeg Ballet School.


As part of its seventieth anniversary season, Canada’s Royal Winnipeg Ballet premieres Moulin Rouge – The Ballet by Jorden Morris from October 21st through 24th at Centennial Concert Hall, Winnipeg. A Canadian tour follows from November 2009 through April 2010.

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You’ve said that you consider music the soul of a ballet. Where do you begin in terms of making this fundamental choice?

After I have found a story and characters (this is for full length works), then I start the process of finding music that speaks to me for those scenes and characters. I spend anywhere from twelve to eighteen months finding music for my ballets. I try to find a composer, or group of composers that have great harmony and cohesiveness with their music. For Peter Pan I used primarily British composers that were writing music at the same time that J.M Barrie was writing the book. I like to think that perhaps Mr. Barrie heard some of that music while writing and therefore for me it creates a connection between the music and the story. For Moulin Rouge - The Ballet I explored the French composers from the time the Moulin Rouge was opening, Toulouse Lautrec was painting and the Eiffel Tower was being constructed. For the Tango and Gypsy scenes I found Quartetto Gelato and Astor Piazzola made a great fit with the mix.























Costume sketch by Shannon Lovelace for Moulin Rouge – The Ballet by Morris for the Royal Winnipeg Ballet

As you’ve indicated, developing a score for a full-length work isn’t a simple matter of finding a single piece of the required length. How do you decide which selections you’ll use and how they fit together?

Initially I make a list of music for a scene that I think will work – then I listen to those selections over and over again until one of them sort of jumps out and says, “I’m the right music for this scene.” This process can take hours, days or weeks. Sometimes it speaks to me very clearly, and sometimes it’s a piece I’ve listened to twenty-five times before I hear something in the score I hadn’t heard before, and it just clicks. Occasionally, there is a piece that I like for a particular scene, but it doesn’t work well as a transition to the following scene. This is where the lengthy process of “weaving” the score takes place. I try to find a way for all the selections I’ve chosen to work together. I may change the order of the scenes slightly to accommodate the music, or I may re-think the characters’ action in a scene if the music is right and suggests I take a slight turn with the story. This is one of the most exciting times of the creation process, but also one of the most frustrating and exhausting times.





















Angela Galt sewing a costume for Moulin Rouge – The Ballet by Morris for the Royal Winnipeg Ballet

Once you have the music in place, how do you begin to develop the dance?

People often ask me if I choreograph the steps first and then find the music, or if I find the music and then choreograph the movement? For me the music is the most important thing after the initial idea. However, I start to envision choreography from day one of story and through music selection. I make notes for future reference and then pull those choreographic ideas into play at this point in the process. During the story/music process, I have an idea of what the dance will be like in each scene. For example: this will be her entrance solo, this a pas de deux, this a group corps section etc. So when I get in the studio with the dancers, I know what “type” of scene it is and what the dancing will be like to a point. I will work on my own to identify certain movements or series of steps for each character, as well as the “flavour” of big scene dances (lots of jumps and turns, or pattern work with canons) or pas de deux (lyrical, romantic, hostile etc.).





















Set construction for Moulin Rouge – The Ballet by Morris for the Royal Winnipeg Ballet

In terms of developing the movement material overall, and for specific characters, how would you describe your use of the established classical ballet vocabulary?

The classical vocabulary is such a great medium to work in, so I try to stay within that language. But I also develop derivative movements or a slightly different dialect for certain characters or sections. At times I will use more contemporary movements, and it’s always good to think outside the box.






















Thiago Dos Santos, Jorden Morris, Gael Lambiotte and Tristan Dobrowney in Moulin Rouge – The Ballet by Morris for the Royal Winnipeg Ballet

Classical ballet has sometimes been seen as an art that features the female dancer, and that the male dancer is simply there to present and support the ballerina. What is your perspective on the balance between male and female dancers in a work?

I think that perception is a bit dated personally – as a choreographer, I look at what stories would make great ballets. (Cyrano would be great for a male dancer, Joan of Arc for a woman). I think historically there were more female-focussed works, but I hope in the future of this art form, we will create works that promote the balance.





















Jorden Morris, Gael Lambiotte and Tristan Dobrowney in Moulin Rouge – The Ballet by Morris for the Royal Winnipeg Ballet

For Peter Pan and Moulin Rouge – The Ballet, you drew on an existing story or text as a primary source for the dance. Is this a common starting point for you? How is your process different when working with more abstract concepts, as compared to character and narrative?

For Moulin Rouge – The Ballet, I wrote an entirely new script. All I took from existing sources were historical facts and names; then I wrote a script and developed it with my dramaturge. It’s an exciting process, but creating new characters can be a challenge as well. When working on an abstract piece, I let the music dictate the source of movement and what I want it to say.
























Costume sketch by Shannon Lovelace for Moulin Rouge – The Ballet by Morris for the Royal Winnipeg Ballet

In the past, you adapted a children’s television show into a dance performance. Have you ever adapted dance for television or film? Do you have a dream project that you’d like to develop?

I have done several projects that take dance to television and film; it’s always an interesting process to combine these media. As long as I have the opportunity to create, this is my dream project. I would like to keep creating new ballets, and I would love to film Moulin Rouge – The Ballet. I think it would be a very successful ballet on film.


*A bilingual photo essay on Morris’ creative process for Moulin Rouge – The Ballet appears in the October 2009 issue of The Dance Current.

As part of its seventieth anniversary season, Canada’s Royal Winnipeg Ballet premieres Moulin Rouge – The Ballet by Jorden Morris from October 21st through 24th at Centennial Concert Hall, Winnipeg. A Canadian tour follows from November 2009 through April 2010.

Learn more >>
www.rwb.org

ASTUCES POUR PROFESSEURS : Costumes

De Katharine Harris à l’École nationale de ballet du Canada
Traduction de Marie Claire Forté


L’Hallowe’en approche à grands pas et nombreux sont les parents et enfants qui pensent aux costumes. Pour ceux qui dansent, toutefois, le port du costume n’est pas un privilège réservé à un seul jour de l’année. La préparation de costumes pour le spectacle d’une classe peut être laborieuse, alors voici quelques conseils pour un processus sans embûches.

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1. Évaluez votre classe. Tenez compte des types de corps, des convenances propres à l’âge et des questions culturelles possibles avant de planifier des costumes. Chaque danseur à une histoire de sa pire expérience avec un costume. Pour la plupart, c’est une anecdote drôle, mais pour certains, cela peut être traumatisant.

2. Mettez les parents à contribution. Vérifiez auprès du comité de parents pour voir si quelqu’un a une machine à coudre et collaborez pour un costume fait maison. C’est non seulement une option créative, mais elle peut aussi s’avérer très abordable.

3. Mettez les élèves à contribution. Prenez en considération les idées des élèves sur les costumes et les thèmes. C’est un bon moyen de les engager dans le processus.

4. Barbara de Kat, chef de l’atelier de costumes au National Ballet of Canada, offre un bon conseil pour le choix des tissus : « Rappelez-vous que le tissu danse aussi ». Les tissus légers et coulants rehaussent le mouvement.

5. Ne favorisez pas nécessairement les costumes amples. Le costume ajusté met en valeur le mouvement du danseur. Le vêtement ne devrait pas limiter le mouvement. Les jupes ne doivent pas dépasser le milieu du mollet et les pantalons doivent tomber juste en dessous de la cheville, pas plus bas.

6. Réduisez, revalorisez, recyclez. Goodwill, le Village des valeurs et l’Armée du salut et autres friperies sont de bons endroits pour trouver des costumes. Lorsque vous achetez du linge usager, demandez à vos élèves d’essayer les costumes et de faire de grands mouvements. Le vêtement devrait suivre le mouvement. Il faut parfois ajuster le costume. Si vous ou un parent n’êtes pas en mesure de le faire, un couturier peut vous aider pour une somme modique. Si vous cherchez des costumes pour toute une classe, choisissez un élément unifiant – une couleur, un chandail rayé ou un accessoire commun – pour assortir le groupe à peu de frais et d’effort.

7. Le coffre à costumes et le garde-robe à la maison sont aussi des sources abordables de costumes. Entreposez des costumes potentiels tout au long de l’année. Lorsque vous commencez la conception des costumes, demandez aux élèves de fouiller dans les coffres et les garde-robes pour des trésors.

8. Si vous optez pour l’achat de costumes, cherchez bien. Demandez conseil auprès des autres studios et professeurs de danse dans votre région. Autant que possible, achetez local. Vérifiez dans les pages jaunes pour les rubriques de magasins de costumes.

Avant tout, souvenez-vous que bien que les costumes fassent partie de l’expérience du spectacle, le public vient pour voir les danseurs ; ainsi, assurez-vous que votre classe se concentre sur la danse et non seulement leurs habits.

For the English version of this article, see The Dance Current October 2009 print issue. | Pour la version anglais de cette rubrique, voyez The Dance Current October 2009 édition imprimé.

Pour en savoir plus | Learn more >>
www.nbs-enb.ca

IN THE STUDIO: Janak Khendry

Interview by Megan Andrews
Photos of Janak Khendry Dance Company in rehearsal by David Hou

Janak Khendry is an internationally renowned classical dancer, choreographer and the artistic director of the Janak Khendry Dance Company. He has trained extensively in four distinct dance styles of India: bharatanatyam, kathak, sattriya, manipuri and also in western modern dance. Khendry’s choreographic career started in 1961 in Hyderabad, India, and he has performed around the world, including five command performances for two past Presidents of India. Khendry has a Master’s degree in sculpture from Ohio State University. His works have been exhibited and are in private collections in India, the United States, Canada and Europe.

Janak Khendry Dance Company presents GANGA from September 17th through 20th at the Fleck Dance Theatre, Toronto.

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In addition to your training in four different Indian dance styles, you also trained in modern dance. How does this complement your Indian dance practice?

I studied modern dance as part of my Master’s degree program in sculpture at Ohio State University, Columbus. The focus of my modern dance study was Graham, Limon and Cunningham techniques. What fascinated me about the modern dance was the floor technique of Graham, the emotional impact of Limon and the powerful-expanded movements of Cunningham. I have studied several Indian dance styles and with study of each new style I become aware of the potential of the human body and the beauty of each new form. The study of modern dance was a very special experience because it was completely different than any dance style I had studied before. In my current choreography it gives me a great deal of understanding of the movement and flexibility to merge different dance styles. If used properly and with understanding then all dance styles complement each other.




With respect to your training as a sculptor, how does this background influence your approach to choreography?

The study of sculpture has given me very deep understanding of form, space and movement, which I use in my choreography with great freedom. In my choreography I see the human body as a moving and alive sculpture. Due to my study and knowledge of sculpture, the space has become very important for my choreography. My choreographic works can be viewed from front, back, sides and above. Each view is equally interesting.


For the past eighteen years, you’ve been conducting research into ancient Indian scripture, seeking philosophical ideas to take up in your dance work. How have you developed these themes choreographically?

At this point in my choreographic life, I want to create works that have a universal message. The reason I am searching information in ancient Indian scripture is because the sages who compiled these scriptures had a universal vision. The themes I have handled so far have been about non-violence, human equality, self realization, life, light and creation – to name a few. Though some of my works are connected with the different religions of India, I do not look at them from the religious point of view. I never use the word religion in my work. I always search for the real message that is below the surface. It is that search below the surface that takes so much research time for each of my works. After extensive research and reading, several hundred verses are selected – which are very carefully edited keeping the most essential ones, then a script is prepared. The most challenging part is giving a concrete and sequential form to an abstract subject. Once we are satisfied with the script and are confident that the audience will receive the message we are trying to convey, a copy of the script is sent to the music composer.




How do you work with scholars and researchers? I want to understand more concretely this aspect of your preparatory work.

I work very closely with the scholars, anywhere from two to four years, depending on the subject we are dealing with. We meet quite frequently for three- to four-hour sessions and discuss the subject on several levels and I constantly take notes. They recommend books and I also keep searching for books on the subject. Most of the subjects I have been choreographing recently are very abstract subjects. To present them as dance works is a huge challenge. I have to create a sequential order for the audiences to understand what I have created. To be able to do this, I have to have the inside-out knowledge and understanding of the subject. These subjects have different meanings at different levels and to understand them, the serious discussions with the scholars are imperative. One cannot always find all the information in books, so one has to depend on the accumulative knowledge of the scholars. I have been very lucky to have contact with some of the most brilliant minds in the field.




You like to work with dancers from different disciplines. For GANGA (The River Ganges), how many dancers are involved and what are their primary training backgrounds?

Yes – I love to work with dancers of several different disciplines. For me it is a challenge to create dance movements that all dancers can perform comfortably and with ease. The dancers I work with are very special to me because they carry forward my creative dreams to the public. They become a very important part of my life. For GANGA I am working with seventeen dancers of African, modern, bharatanatyam, kathak, odissi, mohini attam and kathakali dance styles. They are excellent dancers. The dancers themselves enjoy working with colleagues of different disciplines.




Do you consider GANGA to be a work about environmental awareness or is this angle secondary to the river’s historical and cultural significance in the dance work?

GANGA was started for its historical and cultural importance and I have found the most incredible amount of information about the river on many different levels. I have travelled and photographed the entire Ganga (Ganges) route of 1600 miles and have been fascinated by its unparalleled beauty, power, moods and colours. During this journey, I also saw to my horror that in certain places this magnificent river has been turned into sewage. Now the environmental issue has become as important as the historical and cultural aspect.

I would like to add that my working relationship with everyone involved with my creative work is very special. My scholars, music directors, dancers, designers, lighting director and photographers are very special to me. From the beginning I share every piece of information with them, I ask for their input and they become a very important part of the creative process and they give me their best.

*A bilingual photo essay on Khendry’s creative process for GANGA appears in the September 2009 issue of The Dance Current.

Janak Khendry Dance Company presents GANGA from September 17th through 20th at the Fleck Dance Theatre, Toronto.

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ASTUCES POUR PROFESSEURS : C’est la rentrée

De Katharine Harris à l’École nationale de ballet du Canada
Traduction de Marie Claire Forté

La rentrée est un moment excitant de l’année. L’année scolaire s’entame, ainsi que la plupart des programmes facultatifs et spécialisés. Les papillons du premier jour sont coutumes pour toute nouvelle activité. De l’élève qui commence un premier cours au professeur qui rencontre un nouveau groupe, chacun doit composer avec sa fébrilité. Voici quelques conseils pour partir l’année du bon pied.

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1. L’objectif essentiel de votre première journée en studio : installer un climat de confiance et de communauté. C’est la journée qui donne le ton à l’année alors faites un effort particulier pour inclure tout le monde.

2. Une journée d’orientation est un bon moyen de commencer l’année. Voir le studio, trouver les vestiaires et rencontrer les enseignants et les employés avant de commencer le travail peut aider à tempérer le stress du premier jour. Les parents peuvent aussi faire une mise en situation complète, avec la préparation du sac de danse et le voyage au studio, afin que tous sachent à quoi s’attendre.

3. L’engagement des parents est une question cruciale pour la plupart des classes de danse, surtout pour les jeunes élèves. La formation d’un comité de parents crée un bon réseau et permet une communication facile sur tous les sujets, de la levée de fonds au covoiturage. Les élèves ont davantage d’appui lorsque les parents sont mis à contribution dans le studio.

4. Consultez la liste d’appel avant votre premier cours. Vous vous familiariserez avec les noms des élèves en plus de voir la taille de la classe et la proportion de filles et de garçons.

5. Le premier cours, les jeux pour faire connaissance sont un moyen de faire parler et danser tout le monde. Un excellent jeu en cercle : chaque participant crée un geste qui correspond à son nom. Non seulement cela aide élèves et professeurs à retenir les noms, mais ils s’amusent ensemble et commence à former une communauté.

6. Le toucher fait partie de l’enseignement et de l’apprentissage de la danse. Planifiez une présentation sur le toucher pour montrer aux élèves comment vous utiliserez vos mains pour corriger la posture, la coordination et la qualité de mouvement. Il est important de communiquer cela aux élèves dès le départ pour ouvrir un dialogue. Encouragez les élèves à articuler leur confort et leurs frontières par rapport au toucher.

7. Expliquez à votre classe que les questions et corrections d’un élève devraient être suivies de tous. Chacun tient à bénéficier de la réponse à une question ou d’une correction, peu importe à qui elle s’adresse.

8. Avant tout, gardez l’esprit ouvert. Vous ne saurez pas comment la classe se déroulera ni le niveau de vos élèves avant d’être en studio ensemble. L’ouverture d’esprit assurera la qualité de l’expérience pour tous.


For the English version of this article, see The Dance Current September 2009 print issue. | Pour la version anglais de cette rubrique, voyez The Dance Current September 2009 édition imprimé.

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