Performed April 30, 2022 Gesù Theatre, Montreal Kemal Payza tackles the philosophical themes of love, death and creativity in his new production, Amour, Mort et Création, which is a followup to his 2019 debut contemporary dance show Mythologies. Can we live on after our death, through our children and through our creative works of beauty, music, dance, he asks in the program. Can this kind of a legacy survive our death? The inspiration for his new dance work, says Payza, a local artist and musician, developed from his interest in ancient Greek philosophers’ vision of love (the God Eros), death ..read more

Reviewed October 16, 2019 NAC Babs Asper Theatre, Ottawa (Repeat performances through October 27, 7:30 p.m.) Stoo Metz Photography This musical play, written by Ottawa-born Hannah Moscovitch (in collaboration with Ben Caplan and Christian Barry), is a curious and entertaining mix of tragedy and humour based on the real lives of Moscovitch’s great grandparents. Moscovitch, an award-winning Canadian playwright currently in residence at Toronto’s Tarragon Theatre, admits to taking artistic liberties with her story to fill in gaps in her knowledge of actual events. Briefly, it is a saga of two J ..read more

The Geography of an Archipelago, In Transit, Sigan Reviewed October 8, 2019 Babs Asper Theatre, Ottawa (Repeat performance October 9, 7:30 p.m.) For the first time ever, Ottawa audiences have the privilege of witnessing a small and spirited emerging 21st century dance company out of New Zealand, featuring Māori dancers and choreographers. Of particular note is In Transit, a fascinating multi-dimensional work of dance, light, sound and images projected onto the back of the stage as well as on movable screens. Created by Māori multidisciplinary artist Louise Potiki Bryant, In Transit is predom ..read more

Mythologies Reviewed September 22, 2019 Gesù Theatre, Montreal This past weekend, I stopped in to see the opening of Mythologies at the intimate Gesù Theatre in the basement of the ornate 19th-century Gesù Church on Montreal’s Park Avenue. This was the debut of a contemporary dance production by local scientist/artist/musician Kemal Payza. Mythologies opens with Montreal-based contemporary dancer Susannah Haight (Spirit Mother) performing a short mesmerizing dance of beauty and mystique. Informed by a harp accompaniment called Imaginary Prelude, composed and performed by New York-based contemp ..read more

Finding Wolastoq Voice Reviewed September 21, 2019 Azrieli Studio, Ottawa (Repeat performances September 22 & 23, 8:00 p.m.) Dancer Aria Evans interprets Samaqani Cocahq’s Finding Wolastoq Voice  Indigenous artist Samaqani Cocahq-Natalie Sappier (The Water Spirit) launched a compelling new piece of dance theatre in Ottawa Friday night that speaks gently but insistently of a young Indigenous (Wolastoqiyik) woman’s journey to self-love. This gem of a work opens on a solitary note, a wavelength that washes over the theatre in a soothing, peaceful tone, slowing down the heartbeat, lengthenin ..read more

who we are in the dark Reviewed April 12, 2019 NAC Babs Asper Theatre, Ottawa (Repeat performance April 13, 7:30 p.m.) Peggy Baker’s newest dance project, who we are in the dark, is an impressive collaboration with musicians associated with Montreal indie rock band Arcade Fire, the late artist John Heward, and Baker’s long-time lighting design partner Marc Parent. An icon of Canadian contemporary dance, Baker often presents works that are something to behold. She is not afraid to experiment with the media of movement, music and other arts. When she teams up with others, she is at her best — t ..read more

Giselle Reviewed April 4, 2019 NAC Southam Hall, Ottawa (Repeat performances April 5 & 6, 8 p.m.) Giselle is the quintessential beautiful classic ballet. Even though this Jules Perrot and Jean Coralli creation was first performed 178 years ago, Giselle continues to draw audiences across the world because it’s a ballet that is rife with history, drama and, yes, real dancing. In fact, it is about the young village girl Giselle who loves nothing more than to dance. And, as the story goes, she dances not only during her short, sweet life, but in her death with the hordes of ghostly “wilis,” y ..read more