Dance opera strikes a chord in Banff

Page 7

Alejandro promised if I surrendered myself, I would be touched. Considering the day I had had, I was willing to give myself up to anything that would provide relief.

I had come a long way, two hours out of my way, in fact, and was well behind schedule. Time only to wolf down something greasy, throw on a pair of shoes that I had forgotten pinched my toes, limp over to the Eric Harvie Theatre to sit in an oven-hot room and fight the urge to swoon out of consciousness.

I was not in a fair mood to be reviewing a theatrical production that I understood from others was, well, different.

Surrender yourself, Alejandro reminded. Without that surrender, you have conflict. But it turned out there was no need. From the opening minutes of Bones: An Aboriginal Dance Opera, I was vanquished.

By curtain, the conquest was complete and I had become a convert of the ambitious, ground-breaking new show. It would be a shame, indeed, if this production did not travel.

Bones: An Aboriginal Dance Opera, opened to an enthusiastic audience at Banff Centre on Aug. 8. I had heard there was such a clamor of applause after each scene, the orchestra was thrown off its cues. Not so on the night I attended Aug.10. That night a quiet intensity hung in the air. I hardly noticed the other members of the audience, so silent was the house-silent, riveted.

Bones is the brain-child of choreographer Alejandro Ronceria, and writer-composer Sadie Buck, who nurtured the production over four years. It brought together representatives of 17 Indigenous nations, performers from three continents and six countries. It is like nothing I have seen before.

It is also something that rings new in the ear. Sadie Buck has invented a new language for the production, to include all the people of the earth. Her inspiration was the language of the world used by the Cansa people of South America in ceremonies to maintain the rotation of the earth. A Herculean task for the Cansa and a Herculean task for Buck, who culled this new language from the many she has been exposed to in her life. She provides a translation of the songs in the program.

But what is Bones about?

There are many issues raised over the course of the production, but the main theme, I would suggest, is interconnectedness. It is about our relationships with the earth, the spirits, our families, our communities, our bodies. But it's more than that. It is that we are those things over the course of our existence. We come from and return to the earth. We are family, community. And more than that even, it is that we can't do to one without doing to the other.

Bones reminds us of the cycle of the earth, the cycle of our bodies, the cycle of our spirit, and the peril we encounter when we interrupt those cycles.

Bones reminds us that in life there is joy and sadness, celebration and despair. Birth is exulted and death mourned. Communities built and destroyed. Gifts given and taken away.

It is how we nurture the earth, our bodies, and our spirits that will determine our very survival.

While this is an ensemble piece made up of a group of remarkable singers and dancers, there are a few stand-out performers that need to be recognized.

The first is Santee Smith, who plays First Woman. To tell you the truth, I just couldn't take my eyes off of her. She is energy personified, electric. There wasn't a moment that she wasn't there for her audience, and that's saying a mouthful because she is on from start to finish in this two-hour plus production.

Soni Moreno's voice can only be described as haunting. She is Grandmother, gentle, kind and loving, and we mourn her deeply when she moves on to the spirit world. My only complaint is the interaction between Grandmother and Spirit Woman played by Muriel Miguel. It is distracting and to my mind not well thought out.

Faron Johns is Rattle Man and possesses a presence that would astound the world. Johns is a gargantuan man with an equally gargantuan voice and impossile to overlook.

Joel Te Maro uses his body exceedingly well. He is used to great advantage in The Game, Scene 1 of the second act.

There are a few things in Bones that need a tinker or two, including its length. Act 2 is very long, and it is a comment that comes not only from me. Act 3 could use a scene with the energy of The Game, to revitalize the audience after the intermission. Sea Shells is a show-stopper, but like most big scenes, it can fall terribly flat when it doesn't quite work, which it didn't on Aug. 10. The conk shells are a masterstroke, but, let's face it, Sea Shells comes at the end of a two-hour production, and these performers have worked hard for the duration. And anybody that's tried to sound a conk shell knows it takes power.

But these are mere trifles. I want to congratulate everyone involved in the development and production of Bones. You've done brilliantly. I hope some clever producer picks up the show and runs with it around the world. You all deserve it.