Results tagged “dance”

Another year's Luminato has come and now gone, raising the question of just how brightly this new(ish) festival's star is shining.

Summer festival season is about to begin in earnest, and kicking things off is that multi-disciplinary, multi-location, multi-day extravaganza known as Luminato. With everything from nine-hour theatrical epics to a giant red ball popping up where you may least expect it, Luminato is again sure to draw its share of fans and also its share of haters. (It's whimsical fun! It's heartlessly corporate! Stuff is free! Stuff is overpriced! Pick a point of view, and you're bound to find someone who shares it.) Ever your intrepid cultural emissaries, we'll be on the lookout for the wacky, the wonderful, and the just plain trying-too-hard.

Each week, Drama Club looks at Toronto's theatre scene and tells you which shows are worth checking out.

              

On any given night, a few thousand photos are snapped inside one of Toronto's clubs. Packs of friends bring their own digital cameras. Professional or semi-professional photographers move from venue to venue, party to party. And other clubs employ their own staff photographers to shoot the action and make their place and its patrons look beautiful. But that massive amount of documentation is also inherently limited: the clubs are rarely captured dormant or off-guard, never shown absent of people or activity. So for In Praise of Shadows, Ryerson photography student Eugen Sakhnenko fought and obtained permission from three different clubs in different areas of the city—Embassy Night Club (117 Peter Street), Loki Lounge (577 King Street West), and Baby Huey (70 Ossington Avenue)—and shot them vacant of almost everything save for light to, as he told Torontoist, "[shine] the light into the shadows, both physically and metaphorically, to show what these spaces really are."

WORDS: “This Is Not A Reading Series For Tots,” a new monthly literary program for children that we told you about a few weeks ago, is launching today at the Gladstone Hotel. Kids aged two to eight will get to meet the authors of childrens’ books and participate in art activities, sing-a-longs, and puppet shows. Speaking today is Matt Hammill, who will be giving a PowerPoint presentation about his new book, Sir Reginald’s Logbook. Kids will then get to do some art projects with author/artist Irene Luxbacher, who will guide the kids through some of the lessons in her Starting Art Series for children. Hosting the event is playwright/novelist Claudia Dey. Gladstone Hotel Ballroom (1214 Queen Street West), 8:30 a.m., FREE.

At first, the idea of Canadian versions of popular reality shows sounded pretty terrible, but Canuck versions of Project Runway and Top Model have been more entertaining than they had any right to be. Next up is So You Think You Can Dance Canada, premiering September 11 on CTV. Granted, we were initially anxious over Leah Miller as host and the new ads look pretty cheesy, but with Tré Armstrong of How She Move and dance legend Rex Harrington onboard as judges, it'll be hard not to tune in—especially on the recommendation of Televisualist!

WORDS: Chris Carlsson, one of the founders of Critical Mass and the author of 2008's Nowtopia, is speaking this evening at CineCycle as part of Pages' This Is Not A Reading Series. He'll be discussing Nowtopia, which researches social challenges faced by outlaw bicyclists and others looking to get away from urban consumer lifestyles. Spacing's publisher and creative director Matthew Blackett will be interviewing Carlsson, and there will be an audience Q&A following the interview. CineCycle (in the alley behind 129 Spadina Avenue), 7:30 p.m., FREE.

FESTIVAL: The Scotiabank BuskerFest is back for its ninth year. This year's line-up includes over forty of the world's best buskers from Canada, the United States, Europe, Australia, New Zealand, and Japan. BuskerFest is free with an optional donation to Epilepsy Toronto; since its inception, BuskerFest has raised over half of a million dollars for the organization. Come out to enjoy the circus performers, magic shows, and artistic spectacles, and leave knowing it's all for a good cause. St. Lawrence Market (92 Front Street East), 10 a.m.–8 p.m., FREE.

FESTIVAL: The Canadian National Exhibition is back and bigger than ever this year. Along with the usual carnival rides, games, and snacks, there will be an outdoor acrobatic and pyrotechnic circus performance, equestrian shows, an escape artist, and the always-popular IAMS SuperDogs Show. Visitors can also get a preview of new state-of-the-art TTC subway cars set to debut in 2010, which will be on display in front of the Direct Energy Centre for the duration of the CNE. Plus, if you go tonight, you'll be treated to a live performance by Q107 deejay (and uh, rock star) Kim Mitchell. Exhibition Place (100 Princes' Boulevard), 10 a.m.–10 p.m., $14.

SPORTS: The Toronto FC are playing FC Dallas this afternoon. The team's had a week to rest since their loss to Real Salt Lake last Monday, so hopefully a victory is in store. BMO Field (170 Princes' Boulevard), 4 p.m., $21–$85.

WORDS: The new season of the Toronto Poetry Slam kicks off Friday. Amateurs sign up half an hour before the show, and are given a chance to showcase their talents. Afterward, there will be a performance from musician Mark Berube and The Patriotic Few. For more information, check out the Toronto Poetry Slam website. The Drake Hotel Underground (1150 Queen Street West), 8 p.m. (sign-up at 7:30 p.m.), $5.

Photo from Paetec Music Tour.

It's a special edition of the Stone's Throw MOVE Toronto party as label head Peanut Butter Wolf will be headlining the night. Working since the Golden Era of hip hop where he partnered with Charizma as a duo, Peanut Butter Wolf overcame Charizma's tragic death to found the label that now houses acclaimed acts like Madlib, MF Doom, and Jay Dee. With impeccable tastes in artists, you can expect Peanut Butter Wolf to spin a funky set along with Stones Throw cohorts, Arabian Prince, James Pant, and Egon.

Photo by cobrasnatch.

Photo by Runs with Scissors.

It's May 24 long weekend, and you know what that means: clash of the mega-parties. On Sunday, the Guvernment complex will be hosting Freedom 08. Two-time DJ Mag anointed No. 1 DJ Paul Van Dyk will be rocking the Koolhaus. Electro lovers should not miss Chicago's Felix da Housecat and local favourite Nasty Nav spinning at The Drink. The Guvernment will feature house icons Bad Boy Bill and Erick Morillo. For people that prefer their dance music in the 160 to 180 bpm range, the Orange Room will feature some of the city's finest drum and bass talent.

Fool’s Gold Records, known for their dirty, cut-up, fidgety electro artists, recently signed Atlanta-based Treasure Fingers. Tomorrow, May 15th, Treasure Fingers teams up with rising bloghouse master Kill The Noise for the "School's Out Forever Tour" at Wrongbar, courtesy of the boys at Dopplehertz. Plus there is the added treat of a DJ set from local favourite Vaneska.

Parkdale is most definitely in the house this weekend. On Friday, the Elizabeth Shepherd Quintet will be playing a CD release show at the Gladstone Ballroom. Parkdale (at right) is the follow-up to Shepherd's acclaimed debut Start to Move and is being released by Do Right! Music. John Kong has acquired an eclectic label roster and the label is top notch. They've already promoted Parkdale with a making-of video and a podcast. It's worked too, as the album sounds like a gem. As a bonus, the Footprints DJs and Kong will be spinning after Shepherd's set.

Photo from Skratch Bastid.

It's a Hollertronix weekend as Wrongbar hosts Diplo on Saturday and Eli Escobar on Friday. While he may have dipped a little under the radar in the last couple of years when was the ambassador for baile funk, Diplo has serious skills. He has secured a place in many a music lover's heart for producing M.I.A.'s fantastic "Paper Planes." The Philly based DJ is also responsible for acclaimed remixes for Kanye West and Yeah Yeah Yeahs. His frenetic mash-up style means you can expect songs to whizz by when he spins. Here's a video of his mixture of Juvenile and The Cure. Juve and Robert Smith: together at last!

Attention, stalkers of local multihyphenate Tyler Clark Burke: either you'll have to figure out how to be in two places at once this weekend, or you'll be flipping a coin.

In a city that, he says, is devoid of an electrifying dance music scene, Matt Sims is offering up a brand-new way for party-goers to dabble in dj beats. "I feel there been a lot missing from the dance music scene down here," Sims wrote in a release sent to Torontoist, "so we’re here to save it!" His solution? Dopplehertz.

Dancemakers just closed its latest show last night at Harbourfront's Premiere Dance Theatre. Called Double Bill # 1, the show consisted of two pieces danced by the company choreographed by different artists. Though quite different, both pieces explored the repetition of physical actions and the idea of "covers." The music was provided entirely by local curiosity The Reveries, a group that exclusively covers love ballads. The twist is that they play the covers with cellphone speakers in their mouths, each playing back the music of one of the other musicians. The result is hauntingly beautiful. The music was not performed live, instead, the dancers would choose which songs they would dance to by putting their CDs into the stereo they had on stage with them. This notion of "covers" was also carried over to the dance. In the first piece, "It Was a Nice Party" (choreographed by Ame Henderson), the dancers move around the stage in a way that at first seems random and violent, though somehow reminiscent of a party. At their own pace, the audience discovers that they are actually copying the physical actions of a group of revelers in a wild party scene from Fellini's La Dolce Vita (it is eventually projected behind them). The result is energetic, funny and completely delightful.

Since its opening last October, Wrongbar has been a blessing to the Parkdale area. This Friday, it'll be hosting the second edition of the Stone's Throw Move Toronto party. The respected California indie hip hop and funk label will be sending off one of its biggest stars as Madlib spins a set. One half of Madvillian and Jaylib, Madlib also releases records under his Quasimoto guise. He will be joined by label mates Egon and Jamie Strong.

Ahh, Toronto, do you have the fever? Dance fever, that is. In June, our fair city will not only have auditions for So You Think You Can Dance Canada, but will also host the rehearsals for Toy Story: The Musical. (We suspect some dancing might happen at this shindig too.) It's enough to make a grown man suit up and dance.

Photo from The Chameleon Project.

This weekend, Toronto was impossible to miss at Miami's Winter Music Conference and Ultra Music Festival.

A historic tour rolls into town this Wednesday, as Jay-Z and Mary J Blige bring their Heart of the City co-venture to the ACC. Since 1996, Jigga has released ten studio albums, two collaborations with R. Kelly, a mash-up album with Linkin Park, and an MTV Unplugged with The Roots. He also managed to squeeze in a three-year retirement, during which he served as Def Jam president. When no major labels would sign him, he gained his indie cred by starting Roc-A-Fella Records. Part owner of the New Jersey Nets, dubbed the CEO of Hip-Hop, dating the hottest chick in the game, and tied with Elvis as the artist with the second most Number One albums in music history, it's safe to say that Jay-Z is the man. From a critical and commercial perspective, the only other music artist in his league in terms of consistency and impact is Radiohead. He'll be joined by the Queen of R&B and Hip-Hop, Mary J Blige. In addition to doing solo sets, the two will do a shared set. If it's half as good as their Unplugged performance, this show will be a classic.

Photo by Rafael Style.

Photo by Caesar Sebastian.