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NOW Magazine, Toronto
HIGH-WIRED - CIRCUS ELEMENTS TRANSFORM FFIDA FEST
August 2004
fFIDA International Dance Festival 2004 a festival of work by 75 choreographers. Runs to Aug 22, various times and venues at the Distillery District (55 Mill) and across Toronto. Pwyc-$35, passes available. http://www.ffida.org/.
Fire spinners, aerialists and jugglers might seem more appropriate for a street fair than a dance festival. But several acts at this year's fFIDA are changing all that. "Modern dance and ballet are often for the elite, whereas circus is for kids and everyday people," says Jodi Lomask, co-founder of San Francisco's Capacitor. "I wanted to create something my family and peers could relate to as well."
Lomask and her partner, Zack Bernstein, a former busker, have spent the last seven years developing pieces that incorporate elements of both worlds.
"When I first started performing with Zack, I was jealous of the response
he'd get from audiences," explains the classically trained dance artist.
"How could I compete with fire juggling? How could I get that kind of
attention for my dancing? So I designed a fire headpiece. I'm mixing expression
with a bit of danger."
...Dancers must not only perfect their choreography but also become, as Lomask
puts it, masters of their props.
But does spectacle upstage art?...
"Onstage, the circus can become about beauty and the dance can become
about spectacle," adds Lomask. "Today, boundaries are dissolving.
The sheer accessibility of global communication ensures that. Our work reflects
that cross-pollination."
(JUNE MORROW)
