In two days a piece can change

The Team: Lesandra, Ric, Darryl and I 

Back in the studio with Team Dodson! Darryl Tracy, Ric Brown and I are in Fredericton, NB, at the beautiful Charlotte Street Arts Centre,  working with one of my absolute favourite choreographers, Lesandra Dodson. We are getting ready for The Trilogy Project, an evening of Lesandra's work being presented next week by Live Art Dance Productions, with a mini tour to the Fredericton Playhouse and Winnipeg Contemporary Dancers (aptly nicknamed the 'deep freeze tour').

It has been so lovely revisiting the pieces. After all the work that has gone into making these pieces over the past 3 years, and all the planning, grant writing, etc. to get us to this point, we are all feeling very proud, excited and grateful to finally be here.

 Two of the pieces are older works, a duet for Ric and Darryl called In two days a man can change,  a solo (or duet depending on how you look at it) that Lesandra and I created in 2010 called Her blameless mystery, and a brand new duet for Darryl and I commissioned by Mocean, called A leash for two hounds. (Doesn't Lesandra choose the best titles?).

Lesandra shows the boys how it's done

Each work is completely different but they all carry the signature Dodson style - detailed, fast paced, multi-layered collages of movement, text, sound, video, infused with breath, quirkiness, absurdity and a wholly unique sensibility of the profound oddities of life! She creates worlds from which colourful characters emerge, and it is so much fun to play in these worlds.

Rehearsals have been flying by, as we begin to recover, remember, rebuild, and re-imagine the pieces. Like taking out your good silver and buffing off the tarnish to reveal the shine, Lesandra is working us hard to find the essence of the pieces and bring them to life. Everyday we dig a little deeper and we have the sore muscles to prove it.

- Susanne Chui

The Trilogy Project Tour Dates:
- Jan 17-19, 8PM at the Sir James Dunn Theatre, presented by Live Art Dance Productions 
- Jan 23, 7:30PM at the Fredericton Playhouse
(Join us for an open dress rehearsal 2-5PM on Jan. 22)
- Jan. 26, 8PM & 27, 3PM at the Rachel Browne Theatre, presented by Winnipeg Contemporary Dancers