The Nationwide Ballet of Canada/Adieu: A Celebration of Guillaume Côté, choreography by Guillaume Côté, Ethan Colangelo, and Jennifer Archibald, 4 Seasons Centre, closes June 5. Tickets right here.
This system is meant to be a celebration of Guillaume Côté. It’s his Adieu, but it surely actually isn’t. Quel disappointment!
After over 1 / 4 century with the Nationwide Ballet, the dancer is leaving to move his personal firm, Côté Danse, and to run the annual Le Competition des Arts de Saint-Sauveur in Quebec. In actual fact, instantly after Adieu finishes its run on June 5, Côté Danse begins its run on the Bluma Appel on June 6.
However again to Adieu.
This system is bookended with Côté’s Bolero and his new swansong Grand Mirage. Within the center are two new commissions of relentless up to date choreography to taped music from Ethan Colangelo and Jennifer Archibald, and that is the place the night goes off the rails.
Colangelo’s Reverence, impressed by the Hieronymus Bosch portray The Backyard of Earthly Delights, and Archibald’s King’s Fall which explores themes of technique and sacrifice taken from the sport of chess, could be wonderful selections for a combined program of latest Canadian works, however really feel fully misplaced on Adieu, in addition to making for an overlong night.
Absolutely Adieu may have been crammed with Côté’s personal choreography, both full items or excerpts, which might then make a profession parade main as much as the showpiece Grand Mirage. In actual fact, these earlier choreographies would give context and which means to Grand Mirage. As a substitute, the piece comes out of nowhere, because it have been.
So, let’s speak concerning the two items which might be truly by Côté.
The pleasant bonbon Bolero was created for the Nationwide’s sixtieth Anniversary Gala in 2012. Côté has interpreted Ravel’s repeated rhythmic melody as one lady in a white physique go well with (Genevieve Penn Nabity) being manipulated by 4 males (Christopher Gerty, Ben Rudisin, Peng-Fei Jiang, and Shaakir Muhammad) in black fits.
She does get to execute some very unballetic however arresting solo strikes between heart-stopping lifts, actually turning her into an aerialist. Because the music turns into extra agitated, the lads start to interrupt out into showy solos or ensembles dances, all of the whereas conserving the lady afloat in thrilling vogue, till the 5 explode collectively again to the quiet starting.
The attention-catching Bolero, performed with nice drama by the Nationwide’s orchestra below David Briskin, introduced down the home.
Grand Mirage ended this system.
Apparently it was the Nationwide’s inventive director Hope Muir who urged that Côté work with filmmaker Ben Shirinian, with whom he has collaborated earlier than, and the 2 have provide you with a piece on the darkish aspect.
Grand Mirage is an formidable piece that mixes movie, dance and scenic design in a formidable merging of artwork types to painting a person caught up in reminiscences as he transitions from one life to a different.
The piece begins with a stunning movie sequence of Côté, as a person known as Will is caught up in a violent storm that captures the tumult of feelings that he’s present process.
At first there’s a black and white movie of a moderately vicious psychiatrist, The Thriller Visitor (former dancer Greta Hodgkinson) telling him to get a grip on himself, however he can’t.
We then see him in a tawdry lodge room designed by Michael Gianfrancesco who additionally did the costumes. The shades of brown and pink look darkish and menacing.
So as to add to Will’s emotional confusion, the wall’s open and dissolve into a movie set. All through he goes by way of a flashback of photographs, virtually like a Fellini movie the place issues are off centre and never fairly actual.
There are younger males who might be former incarnations of himself at varied phases of his profession.
Some can dance up a storm just like the Faun (David Preciado) and others like Arnie The Bell Boy (Albjon Gjorliaku), Fred The Movie Crew (Ross Allen) and The Stunt Double (Mattieu Pagès) who train extra managed dance or varied duties of command whereas wandering all through.
Then there are the ladies, The Sylph (Hannah Galway) and Renee (Arielle Miralles). The primary is overly romantic, whereas the latter is extra tempestuous.
Every sequence has it personal very particular person alternative of music from Chopin to Frank Sinatra to Peter Gabriel to Flamable Edison, all put cunningly collectively by sound designer John Gzowski.
The piece will not be a lot dance as motion, with characters blurring into one another. There’s a type of pas de deux with The Sylph, however it’s extra raise and keep it up the mattress.
Grand Mirage represents a whirlwind of confused reminiscences, and the result’s a chunk that appears again greater than it appears to be like ahead, however simply on the finish we do get a flash of Will trying forward.
Briefly, Côté has created a film in actual life photographs.
Now if solely we may have had an all-Côté night as a construct to this climactic Grand Mirage.
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Paula Citron is a Toronto-based freelance arts journalist and broadcaster who hosts her personal web site, paulacitron.ca. For over 25 years, she was senior dance author for The Globe and Mail, affiliate editor of Opera Canada journal, arts reviewer for Classical 96.3 FM, and dance previews contributor to Toronto Life journal. She has been a visitor lecturer for varied cultural teams and universities, notably on the function of the critic/reviewer, and has been a panellist on COC podcasts. Earlier than assuming a full-time journalism profession, Ms. Citron was a member of the drama division of the Claude Watson College for the Arts.
