La La La Whoda Thunk

Not quite a year after we were married, Brent and I subscribed to a series of dance performances sponsored by our university. It was a series of mixed offerings: classical ballet, modern dance, and a Chinese acrobatic troupe (if memory serves). We discovered that we were both so-so on the classical ballet (I had more patience with it than Brent did) and that we both really liked the modern dance performances. We continued subscribing to the series. There were two great years where both the Grand Theatre and Queen's had dance series: 14 or 15 shows a season between the two. It was super, and I think it was those two years that really made us the modern dance fans that we are.

We are now separated, but still good friends, and since Brent moved to the National Capital region (I had moved here some 6 years before he did) we have gotten back to Modern dance; 3 series at the NAC each season. We are classic 'but I know what I like when I see it' fans of modern dance.

One troupe neither of us have ever really liked is La La La Human Steps. They are not the first universally acclaimed troupe that has left us cold, and probably won't be the last. The founder and choreographer of the troupe (Edouard Lock) has always struck both of us as a bit of a one-trick pony and someone with a propensity for taking a good idea and beating it well past death. We usually find that he is starting to annoy us less than 5 minutes into a performance.

Last night's La La La performance (Amjad) was a first for me, in that it held my attention and interest for nearly 25 minutes. (Brent lost patience with it a bit earlier than I did.) At one point I almost felt I could see where he was going and what he was exploring. Then the lighting (harsh, getting harsher as the evening progressed), the video (blindingly bright, and it glared right into our eyes) and the constant, seemingly irrelevant appearance and disappearance of banners along the wings got between me and the performance and caused me to lose my involvement in the dance, my appreciation of the dancers' skill (extraordinary!) and my fascination with the lines and spaces that were being created by the dance. (I often see dance as the carving of space into there and not there by the dancers.)

My heart will still sink when I see La La La Human Steps on the schedule for the next season, but we will still subscribe to all 3 modern dance series, and some day I may even find that Lock's choreography and staging don't annoy the pants off me. I always go to my seat eager to be pleased. Last night he held me for nearly 25 minutes. Who knows what will happen the next time La La La is booked for an NAC dance series?