Recently I attended an evening performance at the "Guelph Contemporary Dance Festival". This year marked the 13th year of the festival which showcases contemporary talent "in the park, in the street and on-stage" over three days. Contemporary dancers from Canada, the United States and Israel showcased their talent in a series of demonstrations, theatre performances and open workshops.
I attended the program on Stage B on June 4th which showcased Lesandra Dodson, Pulse and Puppet and The Lunge Collective. The Lunge Collective was my primary reason for attending - it is the one year old contemporary company founded by Billy Bell...a dancer famous for his appearances on "So You Think You Can Dance" US version.
His choreography called "Dokus" is based on a Sudoku puzzle. He describes it as "inspired by numbers and architecture, the piece represents the step-by-step process in solving puzzles and the concentration we endure while making the attempt". The piece marks his transition from dancer to choreographer.
It was interesting to watch as each dancer was assigned a number and moved about the spaces of a sudoku puzzle as if they were the numbers to in the puzzle. The stage was lit with nine boxes of light, 3 squares by 3 squares and the dancers moved around and within the boxes performing their unique choreography. I recognized a few of the company dancers including Channing Cook who I met in 2008 at ihollywood dance!
His choreography called "Dokus" is based on a Sudoku puzzle. He describes it as "inspired by numbers and architecture, the piece represents the step-by-step process in solving puzzles and the concentration we endure while making the attempt". The piece marks his transition from dancer to choreographer.
It was interesting to watch as each dancer was assigned a number and moved about the spaces of a sudoku puzzle as if they were the numbers to in the puzzle. The stage was lit with nine boxes of light, 3 squares by 3 squares and the dancers moved around and within the boxes performing their unique choreography. I recognized a few of the company dancers including Channing Cook who I met in 2008 at ihollywood dance!
I met with Billy following a talkback session where the audience could ask questions of dancers and choreographers. Please check on my video to see the full interview. Billy was so nice! I asked him three questions I thought other dancers would like answers to if they had the opportunity to meet him
I wished him lots of luck with his company and hope to see him again soon on the convention circuit!
I wished him lots of luck with his company and hope to see him again soon on the convention circuit!
I've also attached a video of one of my teams competitive numbers this year. It is called "Cosmic Love"...I hope you enjoy it.
