{"id":38713,"date":"2022-04-22T01:44:31","date_gmt":"2022-04-22T08:44:31","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.jewishindependent.ca\/?p=38713"},"modified":"2022-04-21T11:08:40","modified_gmt":"2022-04-21T18:08:40","slug":"presenting-mixed-repertoire","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.jewishindependent.ca\/index.php\/2022\/04\/22\/presenting-mixed-repertoire\/","title":{"rendered":"Presenting Mixed Repertoire"},"content":{"rendered":"

A Million Voices, choreographed by Matthew Neenan, is described as a \u201clighthearted and whimsical ode to Peggy Lee\u2019s iconic jazz standards.\u201d (photo by Rob LatourRob Latour)<\/em><\/p>\n

Los Angeles-based BODYTRAFFIC returns to Vancouver for their DanceHouse debut, May 5-6, at the Vancouver Playhouse. The company, which is led by artistic director Tina Finkelman Berkett, will present Mixed Repertoire \u2013 A Million Voices, The One to Stay With<\/em>, SNAP<\/em> and PACOPEPEPLUTO<\/em>.<\/p>\n

\u201cIt is an immense privilege to present BODYTRAFFIC\u2019s DanceHouse debut this spring, which also represents the company\u2019s return to Vancouver since 2015,\u201d said Jim Smith, artistic and executive director of DanceHouse, in a press release. \u201cThis is a masterful program of short works that effortlessly showcases BODYTRAFFIC\u2019s singular ability to take on any dance genre, moving from hip hop to ballet to jazz and back again. Beautiful, virtuosic, political, and with a dash of much-needed lightness, this evening of dance will leave audiences breathless and wanting more.\u201d<\/p>\n

\"photo<\/a>
Tina Finkelman Berkett (photo by Guzman Rosado)<\/em><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

\u201cWe love coming to Vancouver,\u201d Berkett told the Independent<\/em>. \u201cThe audiences are always so welcoming and so curious. There always feels like a supportive energy for the work we are sharing. I loved that program that we offered back in 2015 [at the Chutzpah! Festival]. Typical to BODYTRAFFIC programming, it was packed full of works by choreographers who I believe in wholeheartedly.\u201d<\/p>\n

As for the May program, Berkett said, \u201cThe works the company will offer on May 5 and 6 showcase the versatility and virtuosity of our dancers. The program offers singular choreographic voices, some emerging and some established. Baye & Asa and Micaela Taylor are newer voices in our industry and are certainly taking the dance world by storm; I\u2019m so excited to share their works. As always, the program will offer the audiences a chance to enjoy and be entertained.\u201d<\/p>\n

According to the press release, the 90-minute show will open with A Million Voices<\/em>, from Matthew Neenan, which premi\u00e8red in 2018. \u201cA lighthearted and whimsical ode to Peggy Lee\u2019s iconic jazz standards, this infectious piece featuring seven dancers reminds us that, even during our toughest moments, life is always worth enjoying.\u201d<\/p>\n

The One to Stay With<\/em> by choreographers Baye & Asa was commissioned by BODYTRAFFIC and premi\u00e8red only just last month. \u201cInspired by Patrick Radden Keefe\u2019s 2021 book The Empire of Pain<\/em>, about the Sackler family\u2019s role in \u2018Big Pharma\u2019 and the current opioid epidemic,\u201d The One to Stay With<\/em> is a work for eight dancers. It \u201ctackles ideas of power, greed and deceit, punctuated by a lively score of Russian waltzes and Romanian folk songs.\u201d<\/p>\n

SNAP<\/em>, from Micaela Taylor, which BODYTRAFFIC premi\u00e8red in 2019, features six dancers in a \u201chip hop-infused choreography [that] urges audiences to \u2018snap out of\u2019 pressures to conform, encouraging us to embrace the individuality of our own selves as well as those around us.\u201d<\/p>\n

The final piece, PACOPEPEPLUTO<\/em>, by Alejandro Cerrudo, which premi\u00e8red in 2011, features three male dancers, \u201cwho each perform an athletically charged solo set to a Dean Martin classic.\u201d<\/p>\n

BODYTRAFFIC was co-founded in 2007 by Berkett and Lillian Rose Barbeito. It is now under the sole artistic direction of Berkett, who started her career at Aszure Barton & Artists, with which she became a feature dancer, as well as Barton\u2019s assistant and an instructor.<\/p>\n

\u201cI never dreamt of having a dance company,\u201d Berkett told the Independent<\/em>. \u201cWhen I was a young dancer, I had a very different idea of what my future would be. I thought I\u2019d join a repertory company \u2013 not start one! But life led me to Los Angeles and eventually to launching BODYTRAFFIC to fulfil my dreams as a dancer.\u201d<\/p>\n

Before moving to Los Angeles from New York and co-founding BODYTRAFFIC, Berkett was a founding member of Mikhail Baryshnikov\u2019s Hell\u2019s Kitchen Dance.<\/p>\n

\u201cJewish values are a part of everything I do,\u201d Berkett said when asked how her being Jewish influences her outlook and choices. \u201cFamily, community, charity, honour, respect, curiosity and a commitment to learning are also central to who I am and the work I do.\u201d<\/p>\n

BODYTRAFFIC\u2019s May 5 and 6 shows at the Playhouse start at 8 p.m. Tickets (from $35) can be purchased at dancehouse.ca<\/a>.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

A Million Voices, choreographed by Matthew Neenan, is described as a \u201clighthearted and whimsical ode to Peggy Lee\u2019s iconic jazz standards.\u201d (photo by Rob LatourRob Latour) Los Angeles-based BODYTRAFFIC returns to Vancouver for their DanceHouse debut, May 5-6, at the Vancouver Playhouse. The company, which is led by artistic director Tina Finkelman Berkett, will present […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":38715,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[785],"tags":[21457,3119,2343,2345,268,9011,21458],"class_list":["post-38713","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-performing-arts","tag-bodytraffic","tag-dance","tag-dancehouse","tag-jim-smith","tag-playhouse","tag-social-commentary","tag-tina-finkelman-berkett"],"blocksy_meta":{"styles_descriptor":{"styles":{"desktop":"","tablet":"","mobile":""},"google_fonts":[],"version":8}},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.jewishindependent.ca\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/38713","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.jewishindependent.ca\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.jewishindependent.ca\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.jewishindependent.ca\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.jewishindependent.ca\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=38713"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.jewishindependent.ca\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/38713\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.jewishindependent.ca\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/38715"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.jewishindependent.ca\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=38713"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.jewishindependent.ca\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=38713"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.jewishindependent.ca\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=38713"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}