Rhythm Addiction
Decidedly Jazz Danceworks
Vancouver Playhouse
June 18 & 19, 1997
DECIDEDLY JAZZ, DECIDEDLY SIZZLING!
by Gale Robinson
Decidedly Jazz Danceworks is the product of a dream. Founding Director Vicki
Adams Willis, at the time head of the Jazz Division of the Dance Program
at the University of Calgary, and two of her students, Michele Moss and Hannah
Stilwell, founded the company in 1984. Their goal was to preserve and promote
the history and spirit of jazz. the Calgary based company, has toured extensively
throughout Canada and abroad.
Today, the organization is comprised of the Dance Company and a School with
an enrolment of over 700. DJD is also the only professional dance company
in Canada devoted exculsively to jazz music and dance.
The production they brought to the Vancouver Playhouse, Rhythm Addiction
(Patterns of Our Mothers' Hearts), is one they originally performed in 1994
. It became their most popular show. The new version has added some elements
such as funk stomp to the already eclectic mix of East Indian, flamenco,
rhythm tap, and African possession-dancing, just to name a few. All are performed
to an original score by Musical Director Dewi Wood and additional music director
Ravi Poliah. The music is outstanding. From the opening drum solo by John
Pain, the music plays an integral part in the performance, partly because
the six musicians sit high above the stage on a platform that forms part
of the set, but mostly because, if you love jazz, the beat speaks to your
soul.
Opening with choreographer Michele Moss's Steppin' on d'Beat, inspired
by African masters and the company's Ravi Poliah, this version on stomp rhythm
sets the mood and the tone for the entire show. All six female and two male
dancers show their energy early, an energy that never flags through the entire
performance. If I have to single out one dancer for extra praise, I would
be unable to do so as they work as a team and all are strong
performers.
Ravi Poliah shows his Jamaican style, in patois, backed by the entire
company. How does he dance so amazingly in those running shoes? The next
number, Elemental Zap, choreographered by Hannah Stilwell and Sudha
Thakkar, was a fusion of East Indian dance and jazz. This was a prime example
of how all forms of music are interconnected. The clothing design team of
Inga Borg, Paul LaVigne, Tracey Hooper and Pat Irving deserve high praise.
They created such a visual feast that complemented each number without
distracting our attention from the dancing. This was evident in Elemental
Zap as well as the next number, Sun in Our Souls, which took us
to the hot tropics with its taste of Latin music-- the mambo, cha -cha and
the extra spicy salsa.
All aspects of this production were superb. The live band, by being part
of the staging, added a new dimension to the performance. The energy of the
dancers, along with their talent and training, made the show sparkle and
zing. Although the stage was spartan, it served well as it allowed the dancers
and their costumes to be the focus.
Altogether a wonderful evening, marred only by the front row seats which
made it difficult to appreciate the choreography and overall flow of the
numbers across and on the stage.
I would recommend this, or any other show DJD performs, to anyone who appreciates
jazz, dance, or the blending of the two.