Red Sky Performance’s AF is true to brand a force of nature. The rhythm is urgent, the energy is youthful, and the choreography showcases the athleticism of the dancers. The driving beat of the vocals and percussion carries an urgent intensity throughout the work, with the dancers using percussive movements heavily influenced by locking and […]
There is no doubt that when Daniel MacIvor enters the stage, he does so with seasoned confidence. He appears a bit agitated while dressing the stage, a picture here, a nice scarf there, perhaps even pandering a bit to an audience that is eating it up, quick to laugh at his antics. The mood shifts […]
Daniel David Moses’ Almighty Voice and His Wife provides a contemporary retelling of the events leading to Cree Warrior Almighty Voice’s untimely death, and his ill fated love affair with the unnamed ‘White Girl’. First mounted in 1991, Director Jani Lauzon crafts a dream-like world for actors James Dallas Smith and Michaela Washburn to stretch […]
Minorities has a provocative set, mannequins placed across the back of the stage are costumed in various traditional Chinese clothing, with red duct tape placed across eyes, mouths and torsos. The backdrop is a large red screen with a projection of line drawn figures filling out a crudely constructed crowd featuring Chairman Mao in the […]
Celebrated Russian choreographer Boris Eifman brings to life the story of composer Pyotr Ilyich Tchaikovsky (1840-1893), and it is a tale of beauty and tragedy. Eifman, inspired by the composer’s life, utilizes Tchaikovsky’s historic works to draw out evocative imagery of the man’s inner demons and public life. At the start of the ballet we […]
Choreographer Crystal Pite’s work is always deeply thrilling—her ability to bring an audience into a transformed alternate reality is her trademark. In Revisor, her second collaboration with writer Jonathon Young, we are witness to a darkly surreal world that is presented to us both as farce and warning. Revisor is a militaristic period fantasy, heavy […]
Set in 1986 at an elite Ghanaian girls boarding school, Jocelyn Bioh’s School Girls; or, the African Mean Girls Play is steeped in Queen Bee pettiness and teenage politics. An Obsidian Theatre production in association with Nightwood Theatre, Director Nina Lee Aquino masterfully delves into the complexities of teenage female relationships, brought to life by […]
Before we announce the winners of the 2018 MyEntWorld Critics’ Pick Awards, we’re proud to present our annual Nominee Interview Series. Dancer/Choreographer Aria Evans’ versatility as a multi-modal collaborator is on full display in Finding Wolastoq Voice. Having built her career amplifying underrepresented voices and telling marginalized stories, this evocative work, created in collaboration with Playwright/Composer Samaqani […]
A periodic cry, almost a scream, penetrated the performance space as the audience arrived and settled into their seats. It was unsettling, but mostly ignored. Choreographer Daina Ashbee’s Pour– presented by TO Live in association with Native Earth Performing Arts and The Theatre Centre- seemed to begin when a figure (dancer/interpreter Paige Culley) began pacing across the front of the stage, still […]
Toronto-based choreographer and dancer Esie Mensah’s Shades premiered at the Factory Theatre with a short run, September 27 to 20, 2018. Shades is an exploration of the discrimination between lighter-skinned and darker-skinned members of communities of colour, known as shadeism. This work addresses how the privileging of skin tones leads to fractures in communities of […]
A decade of research went into the making of the well crafted I Call Myself Princess, written by Jani Lauzon, and a joint Paper Canoe Projects and Cahoots Theatre Production, in association with Native Earth Performing Arts. I Call Myself Princess weaves two stories together, one of Tsianina Redfeather (Marion Newman), a Creek/Cherokee singer and […]
Dry Land is a coming of age tale that digs uncomfortably into both the tenderness and cruelty of North American teenage girlhood. Swim teammates Amy (Veronica Hortiguela) and Ester (Mattie Driscoll) forge a bond over the secret of Amy’s unwanted pregnancy. The strongest aspect of this work is the deep bond of friendship Amy and […]
Sitting in the audience of a dance performance, feeling fully enveloped by the movement, is one of the most delicious experiences I can think of. The Cuban based Malpaso Dance Company brought to Luminato 2018 three mesmerizing performances that, along with the superb accompaniment of Arturo O’Farrill and the Afro Latin Jazz Ensemble, suspended time […]
Luminato 2018 promised to interrogate the issues of human-rights, justice and inclusion, and Swan Lake/Loch na hEala does not disappoint with its dark themes of loss—of innocence, of purpose, and of hope—rape, suicide, police brutality and populist politics all feature. Written, directed and choreographed by Michael Keagan-Dolan, performed by Teac Damsa dance theatre and accompanied […]
On April 16th, 350 artists, arts administrators, arts critics, and arts everything else gathered at The Great Hall in Toronto to celebrate another year of creativity, ambition, talent, and hard work as we looked back on the productions that defined 2017 in Toronto Theatre. With help from sponsors like Dufflet Pastries and our generous patrons […]
Last Thursday I had the privilege of attending Finding Wolastoq Voice, a collaboration between playwright and composer Natalie Sappier -Samaqani Cocahq of Tobique First Nation and dancer/choreographer Aria Evans (Mi’kmaq/Black/British). Finding Wolastoq Voice is a Theatre New Brunswick Production presented by Native Earth Performing Arts as part of the Niimi’iwe: Indigenous Dance Showcase. The naturalistic […]
Before we announce the winners of the 2017 MyEntWorld Critics’ Pick Awards, we’re proud to present our annual Nominee Interview Series. Adjusted Surrender was the penultimate performance in ProArteDanza’s 2017 season, a masterful offering from choreographer Kevin O’Day, who trained at the Joffrey School of Ballet and has subsequently produced over 60 ballets, many for highly acclaimed […]
Before we announce the winners of the 2017 MyEntWorld Critics’ Pick Awards, we’re proud to present our annual Nominee Interview Series. Adjusted Surrender was a part of the ProArteDanza’s 2017 season, a masterful offering from seasoned dancers Johanna Bergfelt and Robert Glumbek. Johanna has been a veteran of the Toronto dance scene since 2000 when she arrived […]
Before we announce the winners of the 2017 MyEntWorld Critics’ Pick Awards, we’re proud to present our annual…
The lush golden light of the Peter Pan set was a welcome contrast to the sharp cold evening we had rushed through en-route to the theatre, and the space itself served as a refuge from the busy Christmas Market (which Soulpepper ticket holders receive free admission to) surrounding the Young Centre for the Performing Arts […]
Red Sky Performance’s Backbone, playing at Canadian Stage from Nov 2 to 12, is the first production of a two year residency at Canadian Stage—to be followed up in 2018 by Trace. This multi-year residency is the first of its kind given to a dance company by Canadian Stage, and it seems most appropriate that […]
The fourteenth season of ProArteDanza, on November 1-4 at Fleck Dance Theatre, Harbourfront Centre, offered 3 World Premieres by choreographers Kevin O’Day and Matjash Mrozewski. This season’s offerings are resonate and current, boldly combining dance, text, and theatre with a self-assured confidence that is authentically relatable. Future Perfect Continuous Inspired by Naomi Klein’s book This […]
Anita Majumdar’s Fish Eyes Trilogy is an exercise in empathy, digging deep into the raw crevices of teenage desire for self-actualization. Playing at the Factory Theatre, the trilogy follows the intertwined but distinct storylines of three women as they come of age in small town BC. Layering on themes of sexism, assault, racism and oppression, […]
The 2017 Dance: made in / fait au Canada Festival was a four day biennial repertory celebration of Canadian dance, presenting a cross-section of contemporary dance makers from across the country. This year’s event featured three curated main stage series of three works each, an art installation series that included digital and virtual reality projects, […]
Athena Reich’s #ARTBIRTH was so unexpected, such a witty and subversive spectacle. Reich, as her pregnant Lady Gaga alter ego, drops a line early in the show warning us that this experience will transcend everything we think we know about music, theatre, and performance art… and it’s true. #ARTBIRTH is a parody, but it is […]
Pippi: The Strongest Girl in the World is a high-quality children’s musical theatre treasure. Set on a stylized pirate ship, produced in association with piratelife.ca, the immersive in – the – round experience also includes a short but pleasant harbour tour. Pippi, known for living by no one’s rules but her own, invites her friends […]