reviewvancouver: Joshua Beamish-Source Amnesia, John Jane

Joshua Beamish/MOVETHECOMPANY
Source Amnesia

When & Where January 13 & 14, 2023 at 8pm | Vancouver Playhouse Theatre, 600 Hamilton Street

Director & Choreographer Joshua Beamish Music Director Daniel Okulitch Costume Design Joshua Beamish Lighting Design James Proudfoot Rehearsal Director Heather Dotto Musical Selections Rival Consoles
Performers Marisa Christogeorge, Juan Duarte, Evan Rapaport, Renee Sigouin and Calder White

Reviewer Nancie Ottem

Every story needs a hook, a beckoning gesture to draw attention to itself. Joshua Beamish/MoveTheCompany opened the world premiere of Source Amnesia with quietude. No curtain, dim lighting and a state of stillness that permeated the stage. The dancers, clad in street clothes moved with a calm demeanor drawing the audience into their orbit.

Lack of props, ordinary clothing and subdued lighting focuses attention on the story Beamish is telling. A story of today’s world of misinformation, social media, questioning of information, memory loss, finding truth in a fast paced world.

Source Amnesia moves from a quiet start into a demanding fast paced choreography set to the music of Rival Consoles, a musician who explores the self within his music. His pieces, Howl and Persona partnered well with the choreography of Source Amnesia. The pulsing beat accentuates the crisp movements required of the dancers. Moving in tandem, in groups or alone the five dancers exuded a hypnotic rhythm that mirrors a fast paced world.

Renee Sigouin (currently with Out Innerspace Dance Theatre and Kidd Pivot), Juan Duarte (formerly with Ballet BC), Evan Rapaport (formerly with Ballet BC), Calder White (performed with Toronto’s Canadian Contemporary Dance Theatre) and Marisa Christogeorge (formerly of Sidra Bell Dance) exhibited incredible teamwork and the professional skill level of seasoned artists. It is breathtaking to watch them perform.

James Proudfoot, a well known fixture in the theatre lighting scene used the lighting equipment as well as the light it produced to great effect honing in on the shadows and glare of life in the world today.

Joshua Beamish/MOVETHECOMPANY was founded in 2005 by Joshua Beamish to promote awareness and appreciation for contemporary dance. Both in his speech and his choreography Beamish is very articulate. A bright spark in the local, national and international dance world that Vancouverites are privileged to enjoy.