Contemporary dance company delivers spirited, heartfelt tribute to founder Rachel Browne

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This article was published 29/11/2024 (317 days ago), so information in it may no longer be current.

As Winnipeg’s Contemporary Dancers continue to celebrate its diamond anniversary, its latest show, Tribute to Rachel Browne, proves that its visionary founder’s indomitable spirit is very much alive and kicking in her iconic works, performed by a new generation of dancers.

The 50-minute program (no intermission) that runs through Sunday features five retrospective works spanning 1990-2001 chosen from her canon of more than 80 dances. The tireless artistic director, award-winning choreographer and teacher maintained close ties with the 60-year-old troupe she established in 1964 (currently led by Jolene Bailie) until her death in June 2012.

Browne’s three daughters, Ruth Asper, Miriam Browne and Annette Browne, were in attendance during Thursday’s opening night performance, adding a poignant grace note to the evening.

The first offering, Sending Love, dedicated to Browne’s four grandchildren, set the tone for the intimate program (the rather dryly titled program might have adopted this as a more evocative moniker). Carol-Ann Bohrn, Justine Erickson and Aileen Holzritcher take turns melding their bodies together in close embrace as individual dancers break away for their own playful solos, including Bohrn’s languorous, slow-motion stretching of limbs into space, performed with swan-like elegance.

The piece, which premièred in 2001, ends with the same dancer leaping with abandon while the others gaze at her under fading lights; this richly multi-layered piece, performed to J. S. Bach’s contrapuntal piano music, is a compelling testament to the ambiguities of love.

The first of three powerful solos, Mouvement (1992) featured its first-ever male performer, Reymark Capacete, tackling the riveting piece immortalized by former WCD members Alana Shewchuk and Kristin Haight.

A bare-chested Capacete, with every taut muscle fibre and sinew shimmering under Hugh Conacher’s striking lights, transforms into the highly sculptural solo’s animalistic creature, inspired by Mexican artist’s Frida Kahlo’s painting The Little Deer.

His fierce concentration matched equally by supreme physical control infused his performance with dramatic intensity throughout as he stamped his feet, lunged and listened intently to Bernard Xolotl’s piercing score while showing us equally his character’s strength and searing vulnerability.

Certain sections could be tightened further, albeit this is a work that only grows deeper with each passing year as its dancers further internalize its complex choreography — as we witnessed with his predecessor’s performances.

By contrast, the lushly lyrical My Romance (1990), dedicated to Browne’s daughter Miriam and performed to American singer/pianist Almeta Speak’s rendition of the Rodgers and Hart song of the same name, featured Bohr caught as though in private soliloquy.

Her suspended movement, including expansive sweeps and spins across the stage, juxtaposed with flailing arms and quicksilver direction shifts to become pure poetry in motion. Her white slip dress, based on Randal Newman’s original design, balances Browne’s more dynamic movement vocabulary with the ethereal.

The third solo, an excerpt from a suite of dances, Fine, Thank You! (1990), shows off the choreographer’s penchant for jazz, with the snazzy crowd-pleaser performed with plenty of sass by Erickson. Her light-coloured suit (original design Wanda Farian) did not limit her athletic leaps, kicks and splits, performed with ease in this joy-filled work accompanied by American folksinger Odetta’s vocals.

The program is bookended with the second ensemble work, K.J. 4. (1994), its quartet of dancers performing to American jazz pianist’s Keith Jarrett’s improvisations. The percussive, hypnotic piece — performed by Capacete, Julious Gambalan, Ellice Kynman and Thomas Oberlin — begins with the ensemble sharply exhaling in unison, while punching out syncopated rhythms with their angular, slicing arms.

As the driving piece builds to a crescendo, the performers break apart only to come together to render their own individual solos, delivered with the swaggering ease of a late-night jam session.

The WCD’s heartfelt homage to its beloved matriarch received a rousing standing ovation, proving Browne’s legacy will never be forgotten as her torch is carried proudly into the future by her newest legion of interpreters.

holly.harris@shaw.ca