Growing up in the ballet world, I had often heard her name, but I never dreamed that I would be fortunate enough to see Evelyn Hart dance. Master of her craft, she is everything I hoped she would be. Her hands appear as light as a bird as she moves so tenderly and gently through […]
Ballet BC made a stop in Toronto on a packed tour, and showcased an evening of athleticism, nuance, and sensitivity. Performing at the St Lawrence Centre for only two nights, I was lucky to catch a glimpse. It was refreshing and exciting to see another nationally renowned ballet company perform, as I am so used […]
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 […]
“You only leave home if home is the mouth of a shark” This is one of the many hard truths about the refugee experience that No Woman’s Land asks its audience to grapple with. Through thoughtfully constructed and highly theatrical vignettes, Jaberi Dance Theatre challenges viewers to experience the plight of refugees on a deeply […]
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 […]
The proof is in the pudding is a strangely apt synopsis of The Art of Degeneration, a solo show by Louis Laberge-Côté. Why so? Because the climax of the show is him dipping his hands in chocolate pudding and smearing it all over this body. But here is the crazy part: it is absolutely appropriate […]
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 […]
Be sure to check out our Full List of SummerWorks Reviews Café Sarajevo episode 1 (A+) A surprising diversion from the usual SummerWorks lineup, Café Sarajevo is a live SummerWorks LAB podcast discussing the nature of humanity, the implacable human spirit, the importance of language and the heartbreaking struggles of war. Inspired by a famous […]