Close on the heels of Wen Wei Dance's spectacular Friday night performance at the Timm's was my attendance at the Saturday night showing of "Muscle", a collection of movement pieces for the Expanse Movement Arts Festival at the Roxy Theatre. I was eagerly anticipating The Surrender Method, choreographed by Raena Waddell, but Brian Webb had brought my attention to David Raymond's solo performance at this show as well, so I had numerous reasons to be excited for this particular show.
My companion and I arrived too early, so we had some pita and dip at Koutouki's restaurant across the street. Upon our return, there were two naked men sporting Sharpie-d arms that read: DaShit. Inside the doors, people milled about, weaving between painted portraits and a magician building a red plastic beer cup tower. The theatre was blasting Foreigner's "Cherry Pie" while a woman in an American Apparel-style gold spandex romper with suggestively placed gold decoration slithered her way across the stage toward a man in a suit holding a sword erect. A rather large masked man in a cape jumped aggressively about one corner of the stage while the DJ clad in S&M costume bounced to her own beats. Did we just walk into the Rocky Horror Picture show? Wait ... bodybuilders were flexing vigorously all over each other. I don't remember that part of the movie.
The first act set the tone for an entertaining evening. Tall, thin Richard Lee walked wearily out of stage right holding a burger in one hand and an unopened beer in the other. A greedy, self-indulgent mess ensued, ending simply in "Well, I'll never do that again." After a brief mop of the floor, in walked a female magician who managed to convince a reluctant male volunteer to help lock her in a strait jacket. The act was a lighthearted but unfortunately forgettable break in the night's performances.
All of a sudden, the house lights went out and an altered voice came over the speakers, instructing us to surrender ourselves to The Surrender Method. Raena Waddell's legs were the only thing I could see, their white length sliding, creeping, bleeding across the walls over Brennan Campbell's solid grey girth. The chemistry between Raena and Brennan was instantaneously recognizable and strung the two from the back of the theatre to the stage. Here, the dance bloomed, unfurling into black silhouettes on cobalt blue and limbs upon limbs upon limbs. I wished, for one second, that the dance would just slow to a crawl so that I could savour every moment but that would take away from the incredible athleticism that shone in the piece. As the tension built, the lifts became swings and the contact more intimate. There was so much sensuality yet there was very little explicit allusion to sex. In the end, I heaved a deliciously satisfied sigh. The piece was beautifully performed and just brilliantly choreographed. I vowed to do more floorwork and learn to radiate energy right into the floor and out of every extremity.
After thunderous applause, an ominous pulsing sound hailed David Raymond's entrance. On the floor, his limbs ticked about as he strained, struggled, and collapsed. He was some kind of monster, bathed in amber light and clad only in black shorts. His face was human, at times, but held in a kind of perpetual terror or state of catatonic paralysis - I couldn't decide which. Perhaps my favourite image, and the most frightening to me, was a sequence where he was on his feet, bent over from the hips. His massive shoulders rocked slowly, like a propeller failing to make a single rotation but trying pathetically to spin. He jerked forward, his head down and his shoulders moving. A faceless Quasimodo of sorts. His final exit was reminiscent of one of his exits in "Cock-Pit", where he receded into fading amber light, shimmering as he disappeared. A haunting performance and an excellent end to the set.
What a great way to showcase Edmonton's fantastic talents! (And our Vancouver guests, of course!) I congratulate all of the performers and choreographers who participated in Expanse this weekend - thanks for the inspiration and breathtaking imagery. They have long, bright careers ahead of them and I am excited to see future performances!!
(By the way, Tracy Kolenchuk is a local photographer who seems to be everywhere I want to be. You can check out his photographs of local arts and culture - including yours truly in Motif this past January! - at his blog)
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