I'm going to be in Vancouver, BC this weekend (Nov 9-11)...anybody know of any good modern/contemporary shows, or any dance concert for that matter, and any venues?

There's nothing on that I know of Trina, it might have something to do with it being the Rememberance Day weekend. There is something at Main Dance, "Close to the Artist: Words in Dance" featuring Kaija Pepper, Grant Strate and Max Wyman; but it's an all talk event. <P>For future reference, this link is to the Dance Centre's calendar page, they're very up to date: <A HREF="http://www.vkool.com/dancentre/newsletter/calendar.html" TARGET=_blank>http://www.vkool.com/dancentre/newsletter/calendar.html</A> <P>It seems like all the good shows I see recently are in Seattle; I'm looking forward to Streb's Action Heroes in December at the Moore...<BR> <BR>

Thanks Marie. Are you coming to Seattle to see E.Streb then? How about Netherlands Dance Theatre in February.... I would also recommend that, as well!! Are you a newcomer to critical dance? If so, welcome. I see you are from Montreal..are you then familiar with LaLaLa Human Steps? Are they still touring?..I havent' heard much about them as of late. How about O Vertigo Danse... I saw them about ten years ago..and they were just fanatastic!!...what are the other contemporary groups in Montreal?

PS...also, thanks for the information on Vancouver...that International Dance Festival looks great!!

Hi Trina, I'm relatively new to Criticaldance and was very happy to find this board (as I'm sure my non-dancing friends were too as they don't have to listen to me blah blah blah all the time about dance).<P>I'm going to see the Streb show, I know one of the dancers who was working here in Vancouver until last summer. I hadn't heard about the NDT show, is that at the Moore as well? Is it NDT 1?<P>Yes, I know about LaLaLa, did you see Salt/Exaucé? Strong piece, but I thought it needed a good edit though, way too long with too many repititions. I'm not sure if they're still on tour, I don't even know if LaLaLa even exists now as a company beyond each project. <P>I saw O Vertigo two years ago, I love the partnering work they do. Really wonderful dancers as individuals who work together so well. <P>Other contemporary groups in Montréal...well it's been a while since I've been going to school in Vancouver but... there's Jose Navas who is quite popular right now but I personally feel he's a little weak in actual choreography however he produces works that are visually captivating, very sensual. <P>Benoît Lachambre has a company, par b.l.eux, which I have not seen so I can't say too much about it but apparently he does edgy stuff. <P>Lynda Gaudreau has Compagnie De Brune which seems to produce really cerebral work that uses a lot of form in what I can only think to describe as moving tableau like an installation almost. <P>Marie Chouinard is still producing work, Les Solos, a retrospective that toured about two years ago was amazing, that woman really knows how to use the body to speak clearly and efficiently. The group piece that I saw recently was not as strong (much harder to get a whole lot of voices together in unison) but still very good work--one of Canada's best choreographers in my book, I'm an absolute fan and I'm not easy to please.<P>Anyway that's a very very small overview, there's a million things happening in Montréal.<BR>

Here is the topic where we discussed Streb - not my cup of tea I'm afraid:<BR> <A HREF="http://www.criticaldance.com/ubb/Forum5/HTML/000205.html" TARGET=_blank>http://www.criticaldance.com/ubb/Forum5/HTML/000205.html</A> <P>Marie, we have just seen Les Ballets jazz de Montreal in London and I have to say that I was very impressed with the dancers and the choreography. Sadly, they came at a very busy period for dance in London and received little publicity and small audiences. They deserved better.

Oh my gosh Marie, I knew Benoit Lechambre from NYC! He used to take the same ballet class I did!! Small world-- a sweet guy! With a funky sense of humor...I bet it shows up in his work which you desribed as "edgy"!<BR>To answer your question--NDT I is performing Feb. (I can get the exact dates for you)at the Paramount Theatre. tickets are 21-41 US dollars. I'm excited!! Looking forward to it!

What are NDT I performing trina?

NDT I is performing in Feb in Seattle at the Paramount Theatre.

Regarding dance in Vancouver. When we were there last weekend, we saw a construction site which had a big sign over it- "Scotiabank Dance Centre"? It was near downtown Vancouver on Granville. Do any of our Canadian friends know anything about this? What can you tell us?

You can read all about The Scotiabank Dance Centre in The Dance Centre's <a href="http://www.vkool.com/dancentre/newsletter/index.html" target="blank">Facility Report</a><P>The nutshell version is that it's going to be an administrative facility with studio space and a production studio, the permanent tenants being Ballet BC, DanceArts Vancouver (Judith Marcuse) and The Dance Centre (a service organization). There have been about a million meetings here to discuss how the building will be used, etc. I fluctuate between being excited about it and wondering whether I will actually be able to afford to use the space because like most arts institutions, if they can't subsidize the artist, the artist can rarely afford it. Not that I'm an advocate of handouts, but it's a complex issue...<BR>

Hee is a link to a discussion about jeff's fantasy venues and a couple of actual examples that do rather well.<BR> <A HREF="http://www.criticaldance.com/ubb/Forum8/HTML/000056.html" TARGET=_blank>http://www.criticaldance.com/ubb/Forum8/HTML/000056.html</A>