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Culture Dance

Kathleen Smith and Glenn Sumi’s top 5 Toronto dance shows of 2015

Canadian Stage/Panamania, July 23-25

Some experiences are so disturbing, there are no words for them – and that’s where dance steps in. This collaboration between playwright/actor Jonathon Young and choreographer/director Crystal Pite was inspired by the tragic death of Young’s daughter and two nieces in a 2009 cabin fire. The resulting piece – by turns nightmarish, darkly funny and harrowing – was cathartic and unforgettable.

Tribal Crackling Wind/DanceWorks, September 24-26

It was a prolific and tumultuous 30th anniversary year for choreographer Peter Chin. After critical pans and lots of community chatter following the April performance of Returning Empathis, part of Toronto Dance Theatre’s Burpee/Chin double bill, he presented the complex new ensemble piece Woven in the fall. As requested by Chin, certain reviewers stayed away from the show, which is a shame, because this work was gorgeously dynamic and textured. It would have been good for more people to hear about it.

Peggy Baker Dance Projects, April 24-May 3

Sure, mathematics is a sexy subject these days, but leave it to Baker to demonstrate how succinctly dance can express its underlying laws and principles. Teaming up with award-winning mathematician John Mighton, among others, she created her first full-length ensemble work, rigorously performed by Kate Holden, Sara Fregeau, Sahara Morimoto, Ric Brown and Sean Ling, who were also required to vocalize while stitching together space and time.

Luminato, June 24-26

In a year that saw Cuba and the U.S. resume diplomatic and commercial relations after a 65-year standoff, one of the island’s first privately funded contemporary dance companies poached some brilliant performers from the state-trained talent pool and took their show on the road. The mixed program of contemporary and Afro-Latin-based works showcased a gorgeous display of kinetics, athletics and intense musicality. A joy.

Crooked Dance Figures/hub 14, November 6-15

Absent from performing for a number of years, dancer/choreographer Kate Alton returned with this intimate, funny and touching autobiographical show that in some ways was about the things that kept her away: motherhood, osteoarthritis, aging. She admits her range of movement might be more limited now, but she made up for it with honesty, craft and a joyful wonder that made watching her a transcendent experience.

ANNA KARENINA You’d think Russian Boris Eifman and his company might have special insights into Tolstoy’s masterpiece. But this ballet was as tedious and tasteless as that human train at the end.

FALL FOR DANCE NORTH debuted to sold-out Sony Centre houses in November and will be an annual, $10-for-every-seat-in-the-house showcase designed to build the audience for dance.

SERIES 8:08 For 15 years an incubator and supporter of choreographic works-in-progress and alternative training.

EVI-DANCE CIUT’s weekly radio show about the local dance scene.

LA LA LA HUMAN STEPS Montreal legends who, along with choreographer Edouard Lock, have had a huge impact on the Toronto cultural community over the past 35 years.

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