‘Swan Cake’ by Hofesh Shechter, Photo by Jeanette Bak
For the final event of Torque this season, Harbourfront Centre presented Swan Lakes & Minus 16, a collaborative bill showcasing work from Gauthier Dance/Dance Theaterhaus Stuttgart and featuring eclectic visions from three deeply compelling choreographers.
The first part of the program offers up two wildly different riffs on Swan Lake, each with their own contemporary concerns, but referencing iconic gestural moments from the classic ballet and hints of Tchaikovsky’s score.
‘LE CHANT DU CYGNE: LE LAC’ by Marie Chouinard, Photo courtesy of the artist
LE CHANT DU CYGNE : LE LAC is Marie Chouinard’s rebellious take on the swans dynamic. Accompanied by Louis Dufort’s electronic soundscape and set against a backdrop of projected flames, the women in platter tutus and featured wigs, come together in familiar formations tinged with a sense of defiant purpose. Each has a gloved hand which, when raised and pointed, suggests the long neck and delicate heads of each swan. Banding together they chant “Un Violador en Tu Camino” (“A Rapist in Your Path”), a confrontational anthem written by the Chilean feminist collective Las Tesis. The evil wizard here isn’t von Rothbart; it’s patriarchy. As the piece reaches its conclusion, the fire behind them gradually glitches and morphs, sliding into light blue waves—a calm and healing image after so much blazing.
‘Swan Cake’ by Hofesh Shechter, Photo by Jeanette Bak
Hofesh Shechter’s Swan Cake is a dynamic change of pace. Dressed in casual yet evocative outfits that feature contrasting textures like denim and velour, the dancers embody a casual, urban vibe. With gentle, propulsive movements, they groove with each other in a communal trance. It’s sensual and exhilarating, with lighting and rhythmic soundscape so fully integrated as to seem a singular entity. Shechter’s direct involvement in all aesthetic elements is obvious, resulting in a fluid and hypnotic event that feels both eerie and curative. This was absolutely my jam.
‘Minus 16’ by Ohad Naharin, Photo by Jeanette Bak
The final part of the program, Ohad Naharin’s Minus 16 fuses elegance and chaos in a fedora-clad fever dream celebration of movement and the shared joy it brings. It features an exciting blend of musical stylings from mambo to a traditional Hebrew Passover song, “Echad Mi Yodea.” This cumulative, humorous number is staged in the most intensely arresting sequence of this piece. All sixteen dancers are seated in semi-circle, going through a series of frantic, propulsive movements that culminate in a communal wave that, over and over again, pushes the last figure violently our of their chair. This spectacle is both exhilarating and deeply haunting.
There is also a partly improvised element as audience members are invited up on stage to dance with the performers. Representing a diverse mix of abilities and comfort levels, it’s fascinating to watch how, as the patrons ease into the movements, a mutual adaptation occurs as they influence the performers and the performers, likewise, take some cues from the invited guests.
This aspect reminded me of Naharin’s KAMUYOT, which I caught at last year’s Fall for Dance North festival. His work is fixated on breaking down boundaries between audience and performer, creating dynamic and expansive environments in which technical precision and spontaneous reaction confront each other as a hybrid expressive form.
Swan Lakes & Minus 16
ran April 18 to 20, 2024
Fleck Dance Theatre (207 Queens Quay West, 3rd Floor)
running time: 88 minutes (with intermission)
‘LE CHANT DU CYGNE: LE LAC ‘by Marie Chouinard, Photo courtesy of the artist