The Garden

1999

About

The Garden is a work centered on “the Garden” as a metaphor springing from the universal myth of the garden of life, of exile from the garden, of captivity, oppression, and the central hope of the reinstatement of the garden. The work addresses our connection and lack of connection to the earth and to the spirit of place.

The Garden was inspired by the powerful mytho-poetic material contained in the Biblical texts from Genesis, the Songs of Solomon, the Prophets and Revelations. Collaborating with composer Peter Hannan, Jamieson created a work full of music and movement that returns to seminal ideas that have shaped this culture. She says, “the Biblical material gave me a jolt: when what was thought to be known and familiar was not what it seemed; when familiar ground is unfamiliar and full of unexpected surprises; when nothing is what it seems and nothing is as we thought it was.”

The Company was forced to postpone performances of The Garden, scheduled for May 12 to 22 at the Alexander Space, 611 Alexander Street, Vancouver, owing to late-developing physical problems with the original site, and relocate to a different venue. The re-scheduled performances took place at Christ Church Cathedral at Georgia and Burrard, Vancouver on Friday, May 21 and Saturday, May 22, 1999 as two work-in-progress shows.

The People

Choreographer: Karen Jamieson

Composer: Peter Hannan

Dancers: Sylvain Brochu, Laura Crema, Caroline Farquhar, Nicole Fougére, Peter Hurst, and Hannu Huuskonen

Chorus: Tina Allen, Robyn Campbell, Aimée Guido, Zoë Koeleman, Lana Olson, Nadine Windjack, and Rachel Zottenberg

Set and Costume Designer: Catherine Hahn

Lighting Designer: Gerald King

Reviews

“The new spaces presented Jamieson with significant challenges: not only did the choreography have to be altered, so did the lighting and the set design. But now that she’s had time to grieve the loss of the Alexander Centre, she sees the last-minute change as just another part of the piece’s evolution.

‘It’s extraordinary to have the piece go through this,’ Jamieson says. ‘It’s a whole new phase, with dialogue with different spaces. It’s a challenge, because in the church, viewers will be sitting in pews. The outcome will be in interesting; it should be illuminating to the piece and to its development.’

Although the work’s new cathedral setting seems appropriate, Jamieson is swift to note she doesn’t want The Garden’s journey to end there. Ideally, she’d like viewers to see the piece both at Christ Church Cathedral and in its next phase, wherever and whenever that may be. Until then, planting seeds for The Garden’s next incarnation seems satisfying enough.”

- Gail Johnson
“Exiled Karen Jamieson Grows a New Garden”
The Georgia Straight, May 20-27, 1999

“Choreographer Karen Jamieson connects the garden of the Old Testament with the concrete forest of today in The Garden (featuring music by Peter Hannan), which received positive notices last summer at the Dancing on the Edge Festival.”

- The Vancouver Sun, October 7-14, 1999