Water Everywhere

It was the 25th anniversary of Ballet Creole and its "Caribbean Contemporary". Though I have seen snippets of performances at various Toronto street festivals over the years, I have never seen a full show. So on Friday, I decided to attend their dance recital at the Harbourfront Theatre Centre.

The 1st half comprised solely of Agua Como Vida (2015). As per the title, it was a meditation on our relationship with water done through dance, spoken word poetry, and music. Now and then, projections of water along lakeshores, streams, and beaches illuminated the stage. Sometimes, the dancers moved with undulating limbs to evoke water's flow. Other times, they played at skipping along a rocky shoreline. Their costumes, tight black shorts and loose suit jackets, seemed odd until you hear conversational fragments spoken on stage: of leaving and escape. It's true. Water figures prominently in fantasies about cottage life and tropical paradise. It was an interesting piece but overlong.

The 2nd half was much more enjoyable for me. First up was Fete (1990), the 1st production for Ballet Creole. In a way, it was stereotypical of what someone may think of as "Caribbean dance" as the piece drew heavily on traditional sources for its choreography and costumes. But with catchy steel-pan drums and Latin rhythms, and attractive men and women at some "market place" or town square, flirting and showing off their youth and vigour via exuberant dancing, it was both universal and exciting.

The Myth Atlantis (2015) returned to the theme of water. With dancers draped in thin, diaphanous blue garments, this piece showed the vitality of multiple influences: contemporary, Caribbean, and so on. "Ethnic dancing" doesn't always equate to some frozen-in-time folk dance. My favourite movement was the multiple spins, done not with the typical ballet whips or straight-leg extensions, but with knees bent at 90 degrees.

Refleksyon (2015) was time for the elder statesmen of the troupe, Patrick Parson and Ronald Taylor, to reflect on Ballet Creole's history. It was nostalgic in spirit and got a bit self-indulgent. But it was saved at the end when the entire troupe, now in colourful street clothes, joined them for some fun choreography and improvisation. A young boy of 6 or 7, obviously related to one of the dancers, followed them around on stage, attempting to copy their moves. This delighted the crowd and served to remind everybody that the way forward is always toward the future.