Spiral
Spiral
1979
About
From a performance of the Toronto modern-dance troupe Dancemakers at the Theatre of the Riverside Church, New York, in which, “under the direction of Carol Anderson and Patricia Fraser, its eight members gave totally committed performances of a program consisting almost entirely of works about derangement and dementia.
Karen Rimmer's Spiral pitted a lonely woman against a violent crowd. One dancer even had to roam the aisles menacing members of the audience. And all the lost souls of the cast kept asking, ‘Excuse me, do you know the way?’ As one could easily predict, nobody did.”
- Jack Anderson
“Dance: The Rhythms of Mental Illness”
The New York Times, February 28, 1982
The People
Choreography: Karen Jamieson
Dancer: Peggy Smith Baker, Grant McDaniel/Keith Urban, Carol Anderson, Patricia Fraser, and Daniel Albert
Music: Michael Baker
Reviews
“Working from a base established on the principles of the Martha Graham/Jose Limon schools of modern dance, Dancemakers’ five dancers choose to explore and depict the essence of emotions or moods rather than pursue traditional methods of precisely following a choreographer’s planned sequence of steps and movements. The dancers are part of the creative process, not just repetitive instruments.
Spiral, choreographed by Karen Rimmer, was their best representation Wednesday night of this highly personal approach and through it, they managed to achieve a balanced, thematic cohesiveness.
In this dance, Peggy Smith Baker is a wide-eyed innocent caught in a vortex of chaotic, threatening and menacing energy represented by Grant McDaniel (replacing Keith Urban who premiered the role in Toronto this past March) in tails and a red bow tie, Carol Anderson in white silk pants and top, and Patricia Fraser and Daniel Albert in pseudo-punk regalia.
Albert’s paroxysmal outbursts and glares toward the audience threaten to break down the comfortable barrier between spectator and observer and thereby create an air of urgency to the proceedings. Baker’s repeated question, ‘Excuse me…do you know…the way?’ above the taped whispering, heartbeat and electronic score by Michael Baker, heightens the aura of nihilistic, solitary isolation.”
- Dennis Kucherawy
“Artistry of dance explored”
The London Free Press, October 11, 1979
“One of the most disturbing works in their repertory was Spiral, a nightmarish landscape of human alienation and isolation, composed a year ago by Vancouver choreographer Karen Rimmer. This dance gets stronger with every performance. It was a very powerful dramatic piece of five choreographed characters. Its eerie mood of foreboding and angular dislocation was reinforced much by Michael J. Baker’s excellent sound score, composed separately from the fragmented movement but miraculously enhancing it. The dancers assisted the score with witty snapping, slapping and clapping sounds.
A tone of urgent despair emanated from a verbal sentence which the dancers addressed to the audience (‘Excuse me, do you know the way?’) in jagged pieces that sliced the air into whining bits of loneliness. One woman approached the others for help but they withdrew from her. One man lunged aggressively into the audience several times, only to be dragged back onto the stage by the others who beat him and hovered over him like violent birds of prey. Alone or in groups of two or three, each dancer had a moment to stand out with bravura dancing!
Quite abruptly and inexplicably, this drama changed tone as it reached its conclusion, becoming delicate and evocative. A dawn of rebirth was announced by quiet bird sounds of chirping and tweeting, accompanied by a new sense of the dancers’ repose.”
- Richard Horenblas
The Downtowner, 1980 Spring Season
“Karen Rimmer’s Spiral is a piece of choreography whose execution depends on the versatility of its dancers. The piece starts with a dancer encircled in light spilling from above. She reaches to the limits of her body and doubles over in sharp contractions. Hunting. Hunted. Haunted. She is watched by four dancers sitting in the shadows. They appear audience-like until beckoned forward, then they surround her.
There are clearly depicted stereotypes and images that emerge. The woman on pedestal, lust, death and seagulls. This case of characters affronts the audience. ‘Excuse me’ is repeated over and over. There are bursts of insanity and anger. ‘Do you know the way?’ The original dancer moves in and out of these characters and their enactments. We follow and witness through her perspective the blissful observer swallowed up by the enormity of that which encircles her.”
- Mike Azzarello
“Dance makers”
The Peak, November 4, 1981
“The company has chosen its dances well. Choreographically they give us a variety of approaches. I was particularly pleased to be able to see Karen Rimmer’s work. She is one of the most inventive and important choreographers working in Canada today. Spiral is a complex dance for five performers unusual in the fact that the dancers also speak. This piece draws the watcher into the action in a curious way; it seems to tell everyone that they can dance too.”
- Arthur McDougall
“Toronto dance troupe shows freshness, amazing versatility”
The Lethbridge Herald, November 17, 1981
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