Body to Body
Body to Body
Choreographic Legacy
A Research Project 2018 & 2019
“Dance is only really passed on from body to body…”
B2B was part of our ongoing Legacy Program; of passing on a body of work through mentorship, work with scholars, and the creation of the KJD archive.
B2B investigated specific works considered Karen Jamieson’s most significant choreographic contributions to the art form. The goal is to develop investigative dance processes - to use the body as an 'investigative device’ to get to the essence of the work; the powerful generative seed that is the mythic core.
The works are ones that embody a mythic narrative and have key elements in common: each speak of the inseparability of mind and body and each cohere around a mythic idea that is embodied through a danced narrative. Karen was, and continues to be, interested to see if working with young artists today could reveal the power of myth to be both timeless and absolutely contemporary.
Visit the full ‘Body to Body’ page on our website.
Saturday July 13, 2019
Special Curated Studio Performance
Faris Theatre at the Scotiabank Dance Centre
677 Davie Street, Vancouver
Artists: Karen Jamieson, Amber Funk Barton, Lisa Gelley, Meredith Kalaman, Josh Martin, Darcy McMurray
This performance highlighted the work of the last two years with Sisyphus, Man Within, Solo From Chaos and solo|soul.
Body to Body clip from studio performance July 13, 2019. This is from the first 40 minutes of the event....
April 27, 2018
Man Within (1989) – Lisa Gelley (Company 605), James Gnam (Plastic Orchid Factory), Meredith Kalaman:
The embodied idea that informs this work is the ancient concept that carrying the weight of another body is a metaphor for carrying the spirit.
“I was interested in the fact that one person carrying another has great emotional resonance. I wondered what would happen if a woman carried a man, what would the resonance and impact be? I discovered that it was a huge impact and resonated in a way that was different from anything I had done before or seen before. I was startled by this work.”
Original Dancers: Catherine Lubinsky and Hiromoto Ida
Composer: Jeff Corness
Costumes: Catherine Lubinsky
May 11, 2018
Sisyphus (1983) – Josh Martin (Company 605), Justine A. Chambers, Natalie LeFebvre Gnam (Plastic Orchid Factory):
“During the creation and rehearsal of Sisyphus I did not know that it was Sisyphus that was coming into being. I was interested in the path of most resistance, I was interested in giving a physical, spatial and temporal form to the act of undertaking a monumental task, and I was looking for the rhythm and energy of effort, of building. I wanted to create an image of pitting the human spirit against the impossible.”
Original Dancers: Paulette Bibeau, Alison Crawford, Jay Hirabayashi, Karen Jamieson Lynne Lanthier, Aaron Shields, Tom Stroud
Composers: David MacIntyre
Musicians: David MacIntyre, Sal Ferraras
Costumes: Susan Berganzi
November 16, 2018
solo|soul (2014) - Darcy McMurray
Originally a solo work created for and performed by Karen. Darcy McMurray worked with Karen on the original research, as well as taking the role of rehearsal director.Concerned with the transformation from the muscle body to the energy body and the transformative process of aging. The body as a temporary garment. Created through a three year dialogue - Danced Conversations - with dance artists from different aesthetics, traditions and ages.
May 17, 2019
Solo from Chaos 1982
With: Amber Funk Barton (the response), Darcy McMurray, Josh Martin (Company 605)
The original name of this work was Solo from Coming Out of Chaos as the piece was a response or commentary on a long and difficult and chaotic process of creative collaboration that resulted in a group work Coming Out of Chaos. The dancers were Jennifer Mascall, Peter Bingham, Ahmed Hassan, Lola McLaughlin, Peter Ryan, Barbara Bourget, and Savannah Walling. Coming Out of Chaos was a pivotal work.
"In Solo from Chaos I was interested in finding a spatial expression for the idea of descent and ascent. I was looking for ways to create a sense of a layered universe that the dancer traveled through on her descent, and a physical language to differentiate the different levels or stages of the descent."
Original Dancer: Karen Jamieson
Composer: Ahmed Hassan
Costume: Karen Jamieson
