Prana

Friday night at the Fleck Dance Theatre, ProArteDanza opened its 2012 season with a 4 piece show. Decorum (2005) had the most classical repertoire with its en pointe and spins. But unlike your usual pas de deux, the abusive domestic relationship on stage manifested in violent lifts and turns, with Kristen Dennis trying to escape Tyler Gledhill's controlling embrace. It was a harrowing piece; I almost expected to see bruise marks on her arms at the end.

Expire had its world premiere. The piece was a meditation on breathing and death, or its smaller cousins stress and suffering. The stage was strewn with crumpled paper bags, which seemed rather hazardous to the performers' movements. A series of vignettes occurred, illustrating aspects of this essential act of life. My favourites included a second movement where yoga-like flows then led to broad arm sweeps of air into the dancers' mouths; the third in which pas-de-deux and trois had dancers kicked and jumped while their partners menacingly clamped their hands over his or her nose and mouth; and the fifth where they all fought against a billowing sheet wielded by 2 dancers which stormed back and forth across the stage. It was an interesting piece but reducing the number of disparate vignettes would yield a more cohesive vision.

We will ... (2008) returned us to a more convivial pas-de-deux relationship. To mostly silence which finally ended with excerpts from Lascia Ch'io Pianga, the couple playfully teased each other with sly and witty interactions. The older age of Mami Hata and Robert Glumbek enhanced the sense of familiarity and comfort of an established relationship.

The night ended with choreography set to Beethoven's 9th - 1st Movement. This was powerful music but luckily this dance troupe is known for its athletic and physical movements. Most striking were the male pas-de-trois with its jumps and lifts. The female dancers were sexy, strong, and tough.