ARTS. Have an idea for a story or review? Contact the editor at arts@theotherpress.ca Ballet BC presents trio of enchanting performances lilt at the Queen Flizabeth Theatre Julia Siedlanowska Staff Writer ilt at Ballet BC premiered two new choreographies and brought back an old favourite this Thursday at the Queen Elizabeth Theatre, where the show will run for three nights only. The first piece, “I and I am You” by Jorma Elo, was a beautiful showcase of bodies. Out of the three pieces, this one allowed us to marvel at the skill of the dancers with the cleanest slate, and was a good piece to start the show. It opened in complete silence. Then, three large industrial-looking lights came on and a dancer ran into the stream. This set the tone for the rest of the show. The piece was set solely to the music of Bach with a modern feel to the movements. The choreography struck me as largely horizontal; there weren't many spectacular lifts and the piece was very grounded. The moments when the choreog- raphy seemed to best depict the music were beautiful. The next piece, “16 +a room,” was choreographed by Emily Molnar, Ballet BC’s artis- tic director. When watching this piece, don’t remove your eyes for even a minute. After another silent beginning, the piece starts with a dancer holding a sign that reads, “This is a beginning.” The music then explodes in a Performers rehearse Tilt, which runs from Oct. 17 to 19 at the Queen Elizabeth Theatre | Photo courtesy of Gerry Kahrmann succession of pops and clicks to the fantastic composition of Dirk P. Haubrich, and the dancers similarly combust off the stage. This is where I noticed Jordan Tuinman’s lighting. The dancers perform a hair-raising piece as the lights fade and brighten as if a generator were dying and then again supplying more power. The piece culminates with all the dancers on the stage. To watch this, we must look as if on stars—the piece shines brighter when we observe the whole sky instead of individuals. Another dancer comes on stage with a sign that reads, “This is not the end.” All the dancers start pulsing as if on a video loop and the effect is unreal. The lights slowly go out. The third piece was “Walking Mad,” originally premiered in Den Haag in 2001 and presented in March of last year by Ballet BC. Choreographed by Johan Inger, this was the most theatri- cal of the three choreographies, and the only one with an actual set piece. A dancer walks on stage from the audience to seemingly lift the curtain and reveal a wooden, gapless fence. The dancing begins and soon we see the comedy in the piece. A group of men enter in pointy, red party hats and chase a girl around the room. One gets left behind to explore his pel- vic-thrusting dance moves while no one is watching, only to have the group walk in again in the middle of his solitary party. However, the piece ends on a much less cheery note. A solemn duet leaves us sad, contemplating the story we just witnessed. A sullen girl obsessed with a trench coat on the floor cannot be distracted by her partner, who eventually jumps off the fence and is never to be seen again. The night presented a variety of pieces all differing in style and composition. While in Elo’s piece we were able to admire the dancers’ amazing technique, Molnar’s choreography stands out because of the spectacular pairing with Haubrich’s com- position and because of the way she works with her dancers. The piece was in collaboration with the artists of Ballet BC, so we can only suspect that the dancers were able to so freely inhabit the piece because of the artistic licence they were able to practice. With the first two cho- reographies having a cold qual- ity about their simplicity and lack of a clear story, the night ended with more emotional reflections in Inger’s piece. Tilt showcased talent in all aspects of the production and left me thinking about the pieces longer, if not instantly dropping my jaw. The history of Cuban art Artist gives presentation at Douglas College Cheryl =% Minns - Arts Editor arts@ theotherpress.ca avana-born artist Tonel (Antonio Eligio Fernandez) graced the Aboriginal Gathering Place at Douglas College last week with a lively presentation and discussion about the many influences that affect a country’s art. The talk was presented for students in a first year Modern Languages course, Introduction to the Language and Cultures of the Spanish Speaking World, 6 but all Douglas students were welcome to attend. Tonel explored the influence foreign collectors had on shaping Cuban art in the 1990s during The Special Period, when Cuba was embargoed. “Many Cuban artists are producing work and thinking when they make their work about how this work is going to be also received outside of the country, outside of their culture,” he explained. “Think of how that can form the art and how that can create a situation where you might want to create something as an artist which looks really Cuban in a stereotypical manner so that it’s easily recognized by those foreign collectors.” and the art of Cuban history Tonel also included photos of his artwork that were influenced by Cuba’s changing state during the 1990s. One sculpture, “The Boat” (1993), is simple—an old wooden boat with the shape of Cuba carved into the wood all over—but the message is powerful: it represents the hope Cubans had at the time of taking a boat to US soil and becoming an American citizen. But for art lovers to truly appreciate work such as this, one needs to know the history and be able to relate to it, according to Tonel. “We think that we understand something because we see shapes and forms that seem to be familiar to us, but in fact often the case is we don’t know the back story,” he explained in a question and answer period with the audience. “We don’t know the culture, the history forming the making of the creation of that image.” He elaborated on the idea by explaining that Renaissance paintings cannot be fully appreciated without some understanding of the Christian beliefs that inspired such art. Tonel’s artwork has been largely influenced by his upbringing in Cuba, but after being away from his homeland for the past few years, he has a better understanding of North American ideas. “T have done work for some exhibitions where I’ve been talking about issues like money and capital, but I could only do that because I’ve been spending most of my time during these last 13 years outside of Cuba in North America,” he explained. “Now my vision of the world has changed and shifted and now I have that perspective that allows me to reflect on those issues.” Tonel is currently working as a co-curator on an exhibition that is set to open in January 2014 at the Morris and Helen Belkin Art Gallery at the University of British Columbia. The exhibition will feature contemporary art from Havana.