ON STAGE
What: Man
Where: McPherson Playhouse
When: Friday Jan. 25, 7:30 p.m.
Tickets: $40-$46 from , by phone at 250-386-6121 or in person at the Royal McPherson box office
There鈥檚 an exotic air about Man, a听collaboration between two titans of Norwegian dance that is heading to the McPherson Playhouse on Friday. The union of choreographer S酶lvi Edvardsen and dancer Sudesh Adhana bears the hallmarks of Scandinavian design 鈥� clean, minimal, functional 鈥� but with a twist of Kathakali dance from Adhana鈥檚 native India.
The result is a powerful piece of solo dance performed with a single chair.
鈥淪udesh has an incredible capacity for movement,鈥� said producer Stephen White of Dance Victoria. 鈥淗e鈥檚 got this beautiful, Indian classical dance training, overlaid with contemporary dance training. He鈥檚 a fantastic technician and he鈥檚 in great shape, so he鈥檚 able to produce these virtuosic movements. You can鈥檛 keep your eyes off him. He grabs you in the听beginning and holds you right until the听end.鈥�
Edvardsen and Adhana have been making waves in Canada for the better part of a month. Dates in Halifax, St. Catharines, 91原创, Nanaimo, Victoria and Salt Spring Island were booked in collaboration with White, who was instrumental is putting together a six-city tour with partners across Canada.
White began working on the tour after seeing a performance of Man in Copenhagen in 2016 that left him speechless. 鈥淭he next day, I approached the choreographer and company manager indicating that I would like to bring Man to Canada.鈥�
White鈥檚 colleagues from dance companies across Canada travelled to Victoria for a number of Man-related events this week. Edvardsen and Adhana were guests of honour at Norway House on Tuesday, and joined Dance Victoria sponsors at dinner on Wednesday. Adhana also led local advanced dance students in a workshop and visited with students on Salt Spring Island.
While those paying attention are aware of Man鈥檚 arrival, White expects audiences won鈥檛 be fully prepared.
They will be both surprised and impressed by what transpires, he added. 鈥淚t鈥檚 a performance like this where I become a little bit of a kid. I鈥檓 so excited for Friday, for people to see this. I鈥檓 excited about sharing this with the public.鈥�
The danger with bicultural messages is that they can get lost in translation 鈥� not only in dance, but in all areas of the performing arts. That鈥檚 why White plans to let Edvardsen and Adhana speak for themselves. Audience education is required with a piece such as Man, he said.
鈥淭hat鈥檚 been a trend in the dance milieu. My colleagues across the country, we do what we call outreach activity, and have been doing it for a number of years. It allows an audience member to gain a deeper understanding and appreciation of听artistic process. These are rare and fantastic conversations that get audience members outside the box and thinking in a different way.鈥�
>听Edvardsen and Adhana to participate in Dance Days events
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