Tappity Tap

Compagnie La Otra Orilla is a Montreal-based contemporary dance company. Headed by Myriam Allard as choreographer and dancer and Hedi Graja as director and singer. Allard is trained in traditional flamenco dancing and the 75 min El 12 (el doce), presented at the Enwave Theatre, is her vision of using flamenco techniques in contemporary dance. From the 12 beats that underly the flamenco rhythm, El 12 explores 12 hours, 12 months and more generally the passage of time. More can be found here in this review by Paula Citron. As noted by Citron, the audience was first confused but then won over by the company. This can be seen, or rather heard, by the various olés (or maybe opas) shouted after a particularly exciting set of movements.

Beyond using the dance vocabulary of flamenco, as well as its songs, there are echos of various flamenco dance styles. Unlike Paula Citron, I do not think it is purely a thematic function of each vignette that Myriam danced that way. Her robotic mimicry of the ticking of the clock came from this. The trailing gown and soft dance steps where she seemed to be the ceaseless, and eternal, ocean are from what most think of when they hear flamenco. Finally, her musty doll with its fan was inspired from the flamenco fan.

Though Graja provided fine sing, you can really hear the Moorish influence, and Eric Breton (percussion) and Kraig Adams (guitar) were also excellent, I was struck by Caroline Planté gorgeous guitar work. Her classical, Spanish-style playing was mesmerizing. I'm curious to hear her first cd, 8 reflexiones en un invernadero. Also, I'm wondering if her guitar is smaller than usual, for her fingers seemed almost freakishly long on stage, like all professional guitarists or pianists, as she worked the frets. Yet in person, she is a tiny woman with normal-looking hands.

The only minor nit-pick of the evening was that I was seated on a 2nd level side balcony seat with "obstructed viewing". Ostensibly, the obstruction is from the balcony railing, as noted by the ticket agent. Actually, a set of speakers hanging off that balcony railing just in front my seat blocked off most of the video being projected to the back of the stage as well some of the performance when it moved farther back. I had to crane around to see those parts. However, the plus side was that I was looking down right at the front of the stage and had a great close-up view of the dancing especially the intricate footwork and tapping.