ON STAGE
What: Kidd Pivot Revisor
Where: Royal Theatre
When: Friday, Feb. 7, 7:30 p.m.; Saturday, Feb. 8, 7:30 p.m.
Tickets: $35-$105 from the Royal McPherson box office (250-386-6121) or
Productions from Kidd Pivot, the 91原创 contemporary dance company founded by Victoria-raised choreographer Crystal Pite, are known for their eye-popping choreography, biting social commentary and cutting-edge auditory elements.
Those characteristics aren鈥檛 the sum total of what Kidd Pivot has come to represent, however. The company Pite founded in 2002 is often a jumping-off point for deeper cultural examination 鈥� its twisting, churning creations acting as conversation-starters between both strangers and intimates, while using the human body as a reference point.
鈥淚n all of our work, we strive to ask timeless, universal questions about the human condition,鈥� Pite said in a phone interview from 91原创. 鈥淎nd there鈥檚 never been a moment in human history that has lacked for stories of corruption and deception.鈥�
The current political climate gave Pite and her collaborator, writer Jonathon Young, plenty to work with on Revisor, the somewhat farcical follow-up to their emotional gut-punch from 2015, Betroffenheit, which was inspired by the death of Young鈥檚 teenage daughter.
Pite as the director and choreographer and Young as the writer hung their new production on a version of Nikolai Gogol鈥檚 19th-century satire The Inspector General, a Russian fable about greed and political corruption.
Revisor鈥檚 ruminations on deceit will no doubt hit home with audiences staying abreast of the news surrounding U.S. President Donald Trump and company, Pite said.
鈥淲e were inspired by what was happening when we were conceiving the show. We were motivated to do something that was political in nature, but we also wanted to do something funny, because we had been touring Betroffenheit for a while.鈥�
Pite and Young created a modern hybrid of dance and theatre with Betroffenheit, which featured Young in a starring role as an actor. They were forced to work with both the foreign and the familiar during the creation of Betroffenheit, learning their respective new fields as they went along.
Experience made their task easier on Revisor, which incorporates spoken-word audio clips read by Young on top of Pite鈥檚 choreography, giving the eight dancers an added layer to which to react.
鈥淚鈥檝e been learning from him about text and theatre and acting, and have loved seeing how the performers in my company have flourished as performers and storytellers,鈥� Pite said. 鈥淚 also love how the choreography that I鈥檓 creating in collaboration with the dancers is being informed by text and stories, and how the animating aspect of the text has brought new dimensions to what everyone can do.鈥�
Revisor, which premi猫red at the 91原创 Playhouse a year ago, will be remounted for a world tour that begins with dates at the Royal Theatre on Friday and Saturday.
Coming home always brings joy to Pite, who 鈥� given her busy schedule 鈥� never feels she has enough time to reconnect with family and friends. 鈥淭here鈥檚 a kind of nostalgia to [coming home], and the passage of time feels so present when you鈥檙e faced with your childhood home. It鈥檚 a touchstone, the place you鈥檙e from.鈥�
The internationally renowned Pite is a rock star in the international dance world, with accolades too many to mention. And yet she keeps challenging herself and those around her to find new outlets for Kidd Pivot鈥檚 singular hybrid of dance, theatre, music and visual art.
She has been working on a new piece for the National Ballet of Canada involving the theme of mortality. Pite, who recently celebrated her 49th birthday, incorporated emotions surrounding maturity and motherhood 鈥� her son, Niko, is nine 鈥� into the production.
After debuting professionally as a choreographer in 1990, Pite has gone on to win every major award in her field 鈥� accolades often earned by dancers decades her senior. Pite said she plans to continue pushing boundaries.
鈥淚鈥檓 looking ahead, and not only am I thinking of those ideas, but I鈥檓 confronted by thoughts like: 鈥楬ow many years do I have left to make things? How many more shows am I going to make, really?鈥�
鈥淚 don鈥檛 make that many new things 鈥� I make maybe one new creation a year 鈥� so I鈥檓 starting to face that. But these ideas are very inspiring and potent. I feel very alive thinking about them. It鈥檚 important to reflect in our work what we鈥檙e doing in our lives.鈥�
