On the Edge of an Era

Dances For A New Life
Dancetheatre David Earle
St. Jacobs Schoolhouse Theatre
March 26 and 27, 1999
by Sherri Telenko

Like many people, last night I had a dream. It was an esoteric experience, people drifted from one to another both physically and visually. The narrative was loose but somehow comprehensible. Moments of clarity were fleeting and there appeared to be few rules. It may or may not have had something to do with my conversation with regional dance choreographer and dancer David Earle.

"It's best to approach modern dance as if it was a dream," he states as we discuss his upcoming show Dances For A New Life at the St. Jacobs Schoolhouse Theatre March 26 and 27. "Really it's that kind of logic. People come together and separate; they work together and then part in the kind of free flow association that you allow yourself in dreams, but we have trouble with in our conscious mind.

"Often, because there are people involved in dance, the audience thinks there is something they are supposed to get that you can say in words. They try and come up with a verbal explanation of what they've seen - which of course, they don't do with music, even if they were really moved or affected by the music."

If we ever needed to find someone who could make the world of modern dance both meaningful and accessible, it would be Earle. Co-founder and director of the Toronto Dance Theatre for almost 30 years, he left both the company and the big smoke two years ago for the calmer pastures of Elora.

"It seems a lot of very interesting people have moved out of the city, and wisely so," Earle states with good humour, "the rewards of living in the city aren't what they've been in the past. It tends to take away more than it gives. It's quite an angry city. It's not a very nourishing place culturally. You don't have much chance to meet the people you're dancing for. There is no sense of community."

Earle seems to have found his community outside angry urban boundaries. He's now making this upcoming show in St. Jacobs an annual even since his group's success last year dancing with a choral music group. Plans are underway to team up with the Waterloo Symphony soon. Last fall, his thematic dance presentaion Passchendaele, about personal relationships during times of war, was featured on the cover of iD Magazine and oversold each night during its Remembrance Day weekend run. Co-choreographed with long-time associate D.A.Hoskins, Passchendaele marked the beginning of yet another annual dance event in this region.

Hoskins joins Earle again to help develop the upcoming Dances For A New Life "dance concert," as Earle calls it. It's a varied program with about 12 different works including what Earle calls a Canadian dance classic.

"We are doing a piece called First Music which is about 20 years old and is done to the music of contemporary classic composer Charles Ives. It's choreographed by Patricia Beatty, who was one of the founding members of Toronto Dance Theatre."

The piece is being performed by Suzette Sherman, a dancer Earle has worked with for over 16 years and a woman he can't speak highly enough about. He's grateful to have her presence in his group of dancers, both because of her extraordinary talent and because she is, he explains, an inspirational presence for the younger dancers. She too escaped the city and has made her home in the serene town of Erin.

Proximity has only strngthened their dancer/choreographer bond - Sherman joined Earle for six performances in Vancouver two weeks ago when he was there teaching at Arts Umbrella, a school for young dancers. Touring across Canada isn't something Earle and his group of dancers have done much of yet, although it's a possibility. So is Europe. "I've always found there is a tremendous appetite for this kind of dance there," he explains.

For now, Earle would prefer to stay closer to home. And considering he is working on two new works - one for the Spring Rites Festival in Toronto April 16 and 17, and another for a festival in May - he may have to.

Another factor, which Earle reluctantly admits has influenced his career decisions as of late, is age. While in Vancouver, he did 15 performances himself and he will perform a solo to Bach in the upcoming St. Jacobs show. "But," he laughs, "it's nervy considering I'll be 60 in September."

Earle neither sounds, looks, nor acts like a man old enough to be a grandfather. "It's a bit of a surprise to me too," he laughs. Yet after four decades of dancing he feels this form of artistic expression may finally be verging on its renaissance. "It's a very good age for dance," he states. "It has a physicality of sport and it also has an emotional impact like a film. But it also has a spiritual impact - people are a bit suspicious of words when it comes to those areas. It's a very good time for people to suspend their disbelief and go with something that's not verbal."

Live performance in general might also be increasing in appeal and that's good news for the vast number of artist who share our geography. "I think people have an increased curiosity," Earle states. "I have a feeing that, with much of people's attentions being drawn to the solitude of computers and the internet, that somehow the chance to see live performance has become precious to people." Precious also to Earle, whose dreams and waking visions are one and the same.