Lawrence Adams 145 George St. Toronto ON M5A 2M6 -----~~~~· ~1:,. ~ .. (V O V N V O) ~ s •~J. B / ? A N A D A) Published quarterly by the Dance in Canada Association. Issue Number 48 Summer 1986 Ete June/juin Steve Dymond COVER STORY: Executive Director 4 Christopher House: Susan Hilary Cohen A Choreographer Fascinated With Structure Founding Editor and Form Sandra Evan-J ones Pat Kaiser Editor Robert Donald 12 Vancouver DANCEWEEK 1986: Art Director Does It Reflect a Cultural Coming-of-Age? Patty Margolcse Jamil Brownson A dv ertising Rep 1'esentative Circulation Manager 21 Talking With Susan Macpherson © Copyright by the Dance in Canada Association. Paula Citron All rights reserved. The views expressed in this publication do not necessarily refkct thost of the Dance in Canada Association. Erik Bruhn 1928-1986 Dance in Canada publishes articles in offu:ial language of origin. 26 Unsolicited manuscripts should be accompanied by a stamped, self-addressed envelope. 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ISSN 0317-9737 Printed by General Printers. 4 9 In Review: Performances Copyright© Association Dame ar, Canada. Taus dro its reserves. Susan Inman (Vancouver), Karen Sherlock Les opinions exprimees dans ce magazine ne rqletent pas (Edmonton),Jacqui Good (Winnipeg), neceuairement celles de I' Associ.ation Danse au Canada. Danse au Canada publie /es articles dans leur langue d'origine. Paula Citron (Toronto), Iro Tembeck (Montreal), Les manuscritJ non sollidtis doivtnt t tre accompagnis d'une Elissa Barnard (Halifax) enveloppe a.ffranchie et adressle a l'tnvoyeur. Les direeteurs dt la publication apporteront tout le soin nicessaire aux documents non sollu:itis, mais declinent toute responsabilitl en eas de perte ou de dommages. 56 In Review: Film Toute co rrespondance doit ftre adressie a la ridaction, D anse au Pat Kaiser Canada, 38 Charles Street East, Toronto, O ntario M4Y 1T1. (416) 921-5169. .\Jumbo d'enregistrement de courier de seconde dasse: 03874. Frais de retour garantis . 57 n.b. What's New and What's Happening Danse au Canada est pub/ii en parcie ..~race a !'assistance du People, Performances and Exhibits Gouvernement du Canada par l'imermidiaire du ministl?re des Co,mmmirntions et du Conseil des A rts du Canada; du Gouvern emew de /'Ontario pa r l'intermidiaire du mi11istere des Ajfaires civiques et culturelles et du Conseil des Arts de 62 Dance at a Glance/Classified l'Omario; du Gouvemement de !'Alberta par l'intermidiaire du ministere des Ajfaires rnlturelles de /'Alberta; de la Ville de Toronto par l'it1termidiaire du Conseil des Arts de Toronto; et de la municipaliti du Toronto mitropolitain. ISSN 0317-9737 COVER: Christopher House. Photograph by Imprimi par General Printers. Andrew Oxenham. 4 Christopher House: A Choreographer Fascinated With Structure and Form by Pat Kaiser After I saw Fleet, I went back and told him, "You hwnble me." -James Kudelka he respect of one's peers, particularly the very personal priority in activity at Toronto Dance Theatre lies in talented ones, is surely pleasing at any time, but the a slightly different direction. 'Tm a dancer, and that, to me, T opinion that Christopher House, one of Toronto is more important than being a choreographer," he says. Dance Theatre's resident choreographers (together with Pa­ 'Tm really hungry to perform." tricia Beatty, David Earle and Peter Randazzo), is gifted In his early years with Toronto Dance Theatre, Christo­ flows from many diverse quarters. pher House, dancer, displayed a sometimes inhibiting aura An audience doesn't have to consist of denizens of dance of self-consciousness; today the self-consciousness is not evi­ classes to find itself seduced by Boule11ard and Schola Ca11- dent, and, with polished technique and easy confidence, he toni111. Observers who have had few brushes with dance, but saturates his own dances and those of his fellow chore­ find an analytical joy in complex patterns can experience de­ ographers in thoughtfully brilliant hues. light in the compelling tempo changes and repetitions of Veronica Tennant, principal dancer with the National Class Houses and Untitled Quartet. Ballet of Canada, has twice danced with House in Toronto "It's not enough for me to communicate with an audience Dance Theatre's Christmas production Court of Miracles. of dancers ... or even of people who know theatre," Chris­ "There's so much inner Joie . Christopher loves to topher House says quietly, but emphatically. "I hope I'm dance," she declares, "and that shimm<'rs in his perform­ creating works that can be accepted on many levels, in any ances. I had this chemistry with him. We clicked instantly; place we tour. I feel I've been honest with audiences, and au­ we feel music the same way." diences respond to that honesty and respect it." David Earle, co-founder-with Patricia Beatty and Peter He has won this respect through the creation of roughly a Randazzo--of Toronto Dance Theatre, is brief and blunt dozen works-from Toss Quintet, his first piece for Toronto when asked about House, the dancer. "Phenomenal!" he Dance Theatre (in 1980), to his most recent work, gree11 eve- says. 11ing, clear and wann. Invariably, any conversation with House's colleagues At 31, Christopher House has become part of the Cana­ about him ends up peppered profusely with praise for his in­ dian choreographic hierarchy. Yet the recipient of the 1983 tellect. "He is exceedingly intelligent," remarks Tennant, Jean A. Chalmers Choreographic Award and winner of the "and he never uses that intelligence for its own sake, but 1986 Clifford E. Lee Choreography Award insists that his channels it through his love of dance." Grace Miyagawa, one of the members of Toronto Dance Theatre, observes: "Yes, Christopher is so intelligent, so clever, always challenging himself ... and so challenging 11s. Very satisfying for the dancers." "A very fertile imagination-I guess a fertile brain," smiles Kenny Pearl, artistic director of Toronto Dance Theatre. "He has such a fast brain," relates Patricia Beatty, "he al­ most had to train his body to keep up! " Christopher House, choreographer, speaks of his work: " Yes, there it is ... my fascination for structure and form.·· He offers a personal manifesto, written in 1985, of his choreographic interests that include "texture, speed, weight and balance, and the clement of surprise". "Carpentry" is one of the words House uses in describing his approach to choreography. "Anarchy" is one of the words used by David Earle. Both arc appropt;ate. It is easy to picture House as the kind of child who might have meticulously taken apart the fa mily clock to sec what made it tick and then, in reassem- Dance in Canada Summer 1986 6 David Earle, Suzette Sherman, Michael Moore, Sara Pettitt, Karen duPlessis and Michael Conway in Schola Cantorum. b!ing it, experimented with how many variations would still consciously chose to work in a symmetrical way. And, well, result in a functioning mechanism. it's pretty lively!" He brings new meaning to the expression "dance work­ He elaborates: "I've often chosen to work in what is con­ shop" when he speaks of "assembling the necessary tools" sidered a traditional, or mainstream, old-fashioned idiom, for his craft. first of all to learn what is to be learned from it, but also to He offers comments on some of his works. Toss Qui11tet: see if my imagination can get something from it." "Fairly cohesive, but not masterly formal." House wrote in his manifesto: "I experiment with many Schol a Cantorurn: "Serialized . my most consciously as pects of 20th-century dance . a responsible artist created piece, in a very perverse way. I set up rules for myself achieves originality through synthesis, not self-conscious in making it that meant hours and hours spent making a radicality or mindless rejection. I want to preserve all that very tiny choice about something that was about to happen. remains alive and valuable." It was like solving a puzzle in the most complex way pos­ The word "anarchy" may suggest violent upheaval, but sible. I think I drove everyone crazy with detail!" House's anarchy, in the face of the old rules, is characterized Class Houses: "I picked it up in a Doris Humphrey book. by courteous contrariness of a respectful order-which is not She said something like 'Symmetry is death in modem surprising in a man devoted to classicism. dance', and I thought, 'Hmm .. I wonder why?'- and David Earle recalls that "one summer, [Christopher] went Dance in Canada Summer 1986 7 to 21 consecutive performances of New York City Ballet". David Earle explains: "We thought right away that Toss House readily speaks of Balanchine as a major influence­ Quintet was a clearly and absolutely successful piece of the mention of which provokes laughter from James Ku­ choreography, with the necessary qualities to be used in the delka, principal dancer and a resident choreographer with repertoire.