- Busk and Blue Soup by Aszure Barton & Artists
- At the Norman Rothstein Theatre in Vancouver on Tuesday
Aszure Barton makes dance like no one else, each piece a wild ride of enthusiastic movement and eclectic ideas. She's like a supertalented kid who was told she could make only one dance, so it had better be good - and, in her naivety, put in everything, even the kitchen sink.
Then, guess what? Audiences loved the dance the kid made, and the great Baryshnikov himself wanted to perform in it. (He actually did dance in one of Barton's works, created when she was a resident artist at the Baryshnikov Arts Center in New York.) And so, a style was created.
Both Busk and Blue Soup, which the Edmonton-born, New York-based artist brought to the Chutzpah! Festival, are wild rides, made in 2009. They're filled with intense, dramatic movement; and often beautiful, sometimes goofy, oozing personality. Yet they also rigorously showcase the impressive skills of Barton's nine dancers.
Busk opens with a man in a dark suit and white gloves. He leaps and smiles, rests his hand on his heart, slides into the splits, and does a headstand into the hat that sits upside down on the stage. He might be a mime busking on a city street, desperate to woo passersby for some change.
Later, it's as if Barton has jump-cut to an old Eastern European ghetto. Her group, clad in dark skirts, pants and coats, toss their heads and reach out with enticing arms to the gypsy rhythms of ensemble Ljova and the Kontraband. We're somewhere else yet again when a woman in a flesh-coloured bodysuit creates a series of near-impossible curves and joint-popping stretches in a gorgeous gymnastic routine.
Blue Soup is even more varied. In fact, it's literally many works in one, a movement-to-music spectacular drawn from Barton's early repertoire, set to Kodo, Paul Simon, Andy Williams, Vivaldi and others. Each section is related to the whole only by the spiffy blue suits the men and women wear.
At first you fret: Will it add up to anything? But then the dancers' fiercely detailed solos and superbly rehearsed ensembles leave you in awe of the straightforward moment of dance.
The basics
This time around You may have seen Aszure Barton's work for the National Ballet of Canada, but this double bill features her own New York-based company - and they're all kinetic wonders. Barton herself dances, too.
The breakouts Barton makes dance that moves through the body like a firecracker. It's an unstoppable explosion of amazing, full-out movement that feels fresh and unique.
The flops The street person sitting hunched over at the edge of the stage wrapped in a garbage bag at the end of Busk seemed gratuitous. Social commentary has to be embedded in the piece, not thrown in as window dressing.
In short This is fabulous dancing, with heart and lots of visceral surprises. You could safely recommend it to your neighbour who thinks modern dance is intimidating. Yes, a little more concept would add intellectual bite, but just go and have fun.
Busk and Blue Soup will be at Toronto's Betty Oliphant Theatre on April 17 and 18; and at Kingston's Grand Theatre on April 20.