Dancing Through Cultures: Canadian Multiculturalism Day Gala

Dancing Through Cultures, the Canadian Dance Festival's two day celebration of Canadian multiculturalism and diversity in dance, was held at the National Arts Centre on June 26 and 27.  Beginning with an Aboriginal Contemporary Dance Platform on Friday night before moving into the official Canadian Multiculturalism Day gala on Saturday, the event demonstrated the diverse range of cultural origins that combine to form the fabric of Canadian culture.

Gaétan Gingras performs Blood Memory

Byron Chief Moon of the Blood Nation in southern Alberta (who recently appeared in this summer's X-Men Origins: Wolverine) then took the stage for a contemporary ritual dance.  Dressed in a striking costume of flowing furs and fabric combined with pale white face makeup, Chief Moon honoured his ancestors with Blood Alley, a dance performed before a video montage projected onto the stage's backdrop.

By the end of the second performance, the theme of the evening had already become clear: grappling with modern spiritual disconnect, while trying to reconnect with the traditions of elder generations through dance.  Within the context of this theme, the third performance made perfect sense: led by DJ Bboy CreeAsian, the Red Power Squad melded Aboriginal traditions with hip hop culture through a performance that included beatboxing, two rap songs, and various hip hop, funk, house and breakdance moves.

Byron Chief Moon

Ironically, the Saturday night portion of the gala, held in the NAC's 900 seat Theatre hall, began with a performance that went too long.  Inspired by Tribal Crackling Wind artistic director Peter Chin's research of the ritual forms of Cambodian dance, Transmissions of the Invisible ran for over an hour.  The program notes Transmissions concerns the cultural and human losses during the Khmer Rouge era, but with a primary focus on the subsequent recovery and rebuilding, especially of the arts.  The dance expresses how culture is so easily annihilated, but also how it survives through intimate interaction.  Unfortunately, for audience members who are not thoroughly familiar with the nuances of modern narrative dance, this performance, amongst several others over the course of the festival, felt very much like watching a foreign art film . . .  without subtitles.  There is a definite sense of narrative at work, yet the audience is never made privy to that narrative, and the resulting confusion creates an aura of pretension and self-importance on the part of the dancers.

Ballet Creole performing Brekin Out

Following intermission, artistic director Menaka Thakkar's dance company staged the world premier of The Fiery Chariot, featuring a dancer (representing the sun) hanging from a ring suspended high above the stage, while seven dancers (representing the sun's rays) danced below.  Thakar's company also closed the evening with a dance titled Riaz.

In between was Ballet Creole's Brekin Out - the undeniable hit of the evening, judging from audience reaction.  Created from African roots and infused with a Caribbean sensibility, Brekin Out lived up to its billing as a dance "as energetic as any in Canada today, overflowing with rhythm, energy, machismo and nuance."  The performer's grace, strength, and beauty was completely intriguing, and rather than distance itself from the audience with an obfuscated narrative, the dancers demonstrated an athleticism that could easily be enjoyed by everyone in attendance.

While Dancing Through Cultures may have lacked the accessibility needed to win over newcomers to the world of dance, it certainly succeeded in demonstrating the cultural diversity of contemporary dance within Canada.

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