uuLr I~LMnu~ urnr-.-nuuu 1 vvt:DI\It::>UAT, At"'KIL 1o, LUUtl 1 D""l P<. k [email protected] cell (250) 538.7049/ home (250) 537.8977 • office (250) 537.9977 - ent free 1.800.731.7131 BUGGED: Sean Goddard is seen with his stained glass insects at the Saturday market in Ganges. DANCE REVIEW Choreography fails to match talents Final ArtSpring series umbrellas. The dancers did a fine job niscent of a silent movie where the plot of creating a charming picture of pret­ is literal and the expression is over the show disappoints ty fresh-faced girls moving through top. space. In the piece called One, The Catwalk, BY ANDREA RABINOVITCH The rest of the evening consisted of a solo for Dunbar, the same forced DRIFTWOOD STAFF Dancers Dancing's four pieces. facial expression was used to convey Since when did modern dance start The first, called 1\vo, The Late Edi­ the female image which real women to be called contemporary dance? tion, was inspired by pictures from have been reduced to by popular cul­ I noticed it while glued to the televi­ print mass media, a collage of which ture. sion watching ,So You Think You Can was placed in the lobby to peruse at Dunbar's physical talent and ability Dance. A strong ballet background, intermission. to express an idea was wasted by cho­ bare feet, floor work, off-centre spine Duets that saw all the company reography that, though it did garner technique and the fall and recovery members, with lone male Christopher a laugh from the audience, seemed dynamics spelled "modern." Duban assuredly partnering them all, irrelevant to the theme. The use of pop or modern music, the started with a snapshot of the people The closing piece Quicksilver influence of hip hop, street jazz steps in the picture with the dancers using showed just how hard these dancers and attitudes to create a genre that has exaggerated facial expressions that work with over five minutes of very moved on from 20th-century modern, then evolved into short duets. physical dancing illustrating their skill. as well as the experimentation of the Movement vocabulary sourced The dancers' floor work was excellent, post modern idiom of the '60s and '70s, Garay's roots as a member of the Mar­ Goodman's clean and dynamic steps labels it as contemporary. tha Graham Company in the '70s and shone, and a duet between Dub an and Dancers Dancing, Vancouver cho­ showed some sparks of innovation in Kiri Figueirdo was lovely. reographer Judith Garay's company, the partnering. Of special note was excellent lighting performed at ArtSpring last Saturday The dancers were all technically design by John Carter, which, for me, night as part of the Made in B.C. dance competent, some chosen from the was a highlight of the evening. on tour initiative, designed to increase Simon Fraser University Dance depart­ The opening sentence of the compa­ communities' exposure to dance. ment where Garay is on faculty, though ny's website states: Dancers Dancing is They call themselves "contempo­ Desiree Dunbar and Vanessa Good­ continuallyworkingto develop a voice, rary." man elevated their interpretation with which reflects our contemporary envi­ Opening with a piece that was cho­ more artistry. ronment. reographed by Garay and rehearsed by However, I felt the choreography For this reviewer, I found the work Gulf Islands Secondary School dance lacked depth or any kind of comment decidedly not fulfilling that mandate teacher Sonia Langer, tlie ll young about the people involved within the and judging by the sleepy looks on high schoolers cleanly executed simple snapshots. The original score by Van­ some other audience members' faces steps in floor patterns while holding or couver composer Ted Hamilton, which at the end, I might not have been + manipulating four differently coloured at one point used solo piano, was remi- alone. dYste.rCatcher FISH• GRill • VIEW ' 537-5041 Call for Reservations 82 I WEDNESDAY, APRIL 16,2008 I GULF ISLANDS DRIFTWOOD ARTS & ENTERTAINMENT MUSICIANS ON TOUR Blues-rock prodigy set to thrill Salt Spring Jimmy Bowskill compared tially a blues album, "starts to push the blues/rock boundaries," notes press to Stevie Ray Vaughn and material. "While he will never truly Black Crowes leave the blues gerue, with his skills and technique, Bowskill is clearly bridging Islanders will have the opportunity the gap and developing into an out­ to see a 17 -year-old musical prodigy standing rock guitarist and vocalist." when renowned Canadian blues musi­ Bowskill's blues/rock sound has cian Jimmy Bowskill comes to town. been compared to the likes of Stevie Bowskill will hit the ArtSpring stage Ray Vaughn and the Black Crowes. on April27 as part of his Canadian tour "I think it's coming back around," before he heads off to Europe in July, says Bowskill. "My friends at school lis­ promoting his third self-titled album ten to Zeppelin and the Crowes. People The Jimmy Bowskill Band, released on want to hear that stuff again." March 18. Growing up in the '90s, Bowskill "His story is almost too unbelievable Jimmy Bowskill is ArtSpring bound could have been inspired by Nirvana to be true, but Jimmy Bowskill is the or Radiohead but instead was "drawn real deal," states a recent press release. with Bowskill's three albums, two to the blues." "Bowskill was discovered by Canadian Canadian Indie Favourite Blues Artist "It just seemed so real," explains blues icon Jeff Healey at the age of 11 awards and the 2004 CBC's Galaxie Bowskill. "It's just a really soulful music portfolio images (only one year after he picked up his Rising Star award (amongst others) and it comes straight from the heart. first guitar) ... Bowskill's blues style has already under his belt, he has yet to There's nothing used to hide anything. the right amount of soul, twang and jive graduate from high school. It's just straight up." to lift even the bleakest of souls to rock Colin James is quoted as saying, Performing over 100 concerts a year, out, and has grabbed the attention of "Jimmy is the best natural singer I've Bowskill will be sure to impress island­ such greats as ZZ Top's Billy Gibbons, ever heard," while The Night Scrawler ers at ArtSpring. Show time is 8 p.m. Colin James and the late Jeff Healey." in the Toronto Sun describes, "Jimmy and tickets are available at the ArtSpring A Toronto native, Bowskill released Bowskill was on the right side of the Ticket Centre. EyeGo to the Arts tick­ his debut album Old Soul at the tender stage and Healey was in the middle. It ets are available at $5 for high school Photo solution by age of 11, and his sophomore album was kind of like seeing Wayne Gretzky students with valid student cards. For John Cameron garnered him a Juno nomination for and Gordie Howe getting to play on the further information and concert tour 537-5830 Blues Album of the Year while he was same line at once." dates see www.jimmybowskill.com or only 15. It is incredible to think that His latest album, while still essen- www.myspace.com/jimmybowskill. VISITING WRITERS Nim's Island author returns to source of her inspiration Wendy Orr shares years ago and Nim's Island interested in their pitch, is her 20th published book. Mazur went with Walden story during family But her childhood connec- Media, a company com- tion with the area has had a mitted to bringing quality visit profound impact on Orr. children's literature to the "You can say that [expe- screen. BY ELIZABETH NOLAN rience] was my first inspi- Orr reports she couldn't DRIFTWOOD STAFF ration," Orr said during an be happier with how the Salt Spring is known for interview last week. book has been translated for fostering more than its "I had just read Anne of film, saying the characters share of talented writers, Green Gables and I wanted and story are very true to but few have had scream- to live on the little islands how she wrote them. ing fans roped off while they I could see from the ferry. I face a media frenzy on the often think the story was the red carpet. first draft of Nim." Nim's Island can be That's the scene children's Orr was also influenced by author Wendy Orr found two little girls who coinci- said to have first recently at the Los Angeles dentally wrote to her during premiere of the film made the same week, asking her to from her book, Nim's Island. write books about them. appeared as the story There Will Be Blood Jason iud Orr will face a slightly small- The author began think- or er - but no doubt equally ing about a child who writes Known to audiences as moral support of the church matter of individual gain. appreciative - audience to a famous author, but how called Spring Island "that movie about oil", Paul as the church gets the money At the same time, though, when she reads to local the child's life is actually the Thomas Anderson's There provided by the well itself it can't be said that There children at the library this more interesting one. Orr wrote at age nine, Will Be Blood is a complex But as There Will Be Will Be Blood is some kind week. The resulting story centres and frustrating work of art Blood progresses, we find ofleft-wing pinko treatise on It's due to a family connec- on a girl and her scientist that somehow managed to that Daniel is in fact a the evils of the USA.