Dancing to the beat of an icon
http://www.bclocalnews.com/okanagan_similkameen/vernonmorningstar/entertainment/80957282.html
January 07, 2010
It was in 1969 when a Saskatoon-raised folk singer, who had by this
time made it big in New York, released her second album.
Joni Mitchell's Clouds featured such iconic songs as Both Sides Now
and Chelsea Morning, and also showed the world her prowess as a
visual artist with her self-portrait, an ode to her hometown, painted
on the front cover.
The album also featured the song The Fiddle and the Drum, now the
name of a new production that Canada's third largest ballet company
is bringing to stages across Western Canada as part of Vancouver 2010
Cultural Olympiad.
Alberta Ballet's production of Joni Mitchell's Fiddle and the Drum,
which made its world premiere in Calgary in 2007, is about to tour
B.C., with its first stop at the Vernon Performing Arts Centre Jan. 19.
The performance is the third of five shows in the Vernon Performing
Arts Centre Society's dance series.
One of the most influential singer/songwriters of her generation,
Mitchell has integrated 44 years of her music and paintings with
Alberta Ballet's innovative choreographer Jean Grand-Maitre to create
a ballet that speaks volumes of Mitchell's life-long concerns about
environmental neglect and the temptations of war.
"As an artist creating today, quite frankly, I can see no other
subject matter that is of more importance now. We need people to
awaken to this reality," Mitchell is quoted as saying.
Currently serving as choreography director for the 2010 Olympic
Games Ceremonies in Vancouver, Grand-Maitre said working with
Mitchell was something she will never forget.
"Even if it was for a very short moment it was worth a lifetime
for me," she said. "The creative process for The Fiddle and the Drum
has renewed my faith in my relationship between art and life. Ms.
Mitchell's selfless and gentle participation will most likely be the
highlight of my entire career."
An athletically thrilling ballet, Fiddle and the Drum is set to
selections from Mitchell's wide-ranging catalogue. Though mostly
balletic, the arabesques and high-flying leaps merge with a variety
of dance styles, including jazz, hip hop, modern and club.
The production opens with Mitchell's unaccompanied voice, singing
lyrics from the title track, "How did you come to trade the fiddle
for the drum?," while a single dancer stands alone in white trunks,
his bare-chested body streaked with red and green paint, lips eerily scarlet.
The company gradually joins him swelling into a huddle, walking
upstage, as the haunting 1969 anti-war lyrics declare the timeless
truth of peace over war.
The fusion of Mitchell's words and melodies accentuated with movement
is captivating and poetic throughout the production, said Grand-Maitre.
"In some pieces a trio of dancers are the three-part harmony, with an
ensemble of duets dancing to the groove often in contrast to the
lyrics", she said. "He hopes the various art forms will complement
one another and speak to the audience on many levels: to their
intellect, to their instinct, to their conscience."
Smoke effects, intricate lighting, exposed metallic fixtures and
multimedia screens projecting Mitchell's own artwork round out the production.
The result is a critically-acclaimed ballet that has consistently
earned standing ovations across North America.
It's even captured the attention and imagination of Sir Elton John,
who has since collaborated with Grand-Maitre to create Elton,
premiering in May.
Joni Mitchell's Fiddle and the Drum starts at 8 p.m. Tickets are $30
for adults, $27 for seniors and $25 for students, available at the
Performing Arts Centre's Ticket Seller box office, 549-7469,
www.ticketseller.ca.
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