I know something about contemporary dance.
For
some reason, that fact distinguishes me from a fair amount of people. Dance as performance is a thing that
relatively few get to see, compared to other contemporary art forms, like
documentary films on the Earth being doomed and/or messages drawn on the back
windows of unwashed cars. Even the
automated installations of Janet Cardiff and George Bures Miller, or Claire
Rojas’ subversive street abstractions, stay in place long enough for an
audience to gather. Contemporary
dance, due largely to the fact that it’s underfunded, misunderstood in
mainstream culture, and rarely covered in media outlets with substantial
circulation, is kind of hard to catch, in an era when pretty much everything
comes to you.
I take
no credit for knowing something about this art form. When I lived in Montreal, I met a person who had spent her
life studying, contributing to, and challenging the conventions of the medium,
and she took me to see many of the best, and some of the worst, performances
I’ve ever seen, in a city that is unquestionably the mecca for this kind of art
in Canada. Through her, I had a
leg up towards catching what was really happening in contemporary dance, and
feeling that it was approachable for a music-loving, music-obsessed music
nerd.
One
of the key events that helped me figure out what I loved about contemporary dance
was the perennial celebration, Short & Sweet,
invented and curated by the go-getters at Wants & Needs Danse. For one night
only, Short & Sweet collects as many of the dance community’s current
geniuses as possible, and asks them to do whatever they can with THREE
MINUTES. Lighting, a stage,
and an audience are provided, and choreographers/performers make their most
concise, immediate, and/or purposefully chaotic efforts to engage and often
redefine the space. It’s playful,
eccentric, frantic but focused, and for people like me, it offers a window to
an art form that seemed sometimes too hidden or self-contained to dive fully into. The quality and range of work that this
event invites is completely inspiring. After every Short & Sweet celebration I attended, I walked
away with a new awareness of what might be possible inside of three
minutes. I laughed, I cried. The creative atmosphere of these
proceedings stays with you for a long while.
I’m
very happy that the person who introduced me to Short & Sweet, and
contemporary dance at large, is introducing this completely unique event to Guelph
as part of Kazoofest 2016. It’s a testament to Kazoofest’s role as
one of the most vital arts outlets in this area. Big thanks to Guelph
Dance and Katie Ewald for
bringing it to us.
We hope this whets your appetite for our upcoming 18th Annual Guelph Dance Festival - June 2-5, 2016!