THE FALL Comes to The Toronto Fringe Festival
By: Julie Musbach May. 17, 2018
At the edge of the abyss, do we fly or do we fall? Do we land or crash? The body hurtles through space, collapses, gives in to gravity. This is the choreographic language of The Fall, an original, site-specific dance by Frog in Hand, presented at the Toronto Fringe Festival.
The Fall explores the battle to stay upright, the influence of gravity, exhaustion, control and loss of control. It is the story of our relationship with the speed of life. This multigenerational dance work is performed by established dance artists including: Kelly Shaw, Clarke Blair, JT Papandreos, Daniel McArthur, Sydney McManus, Alvin Collantes, Micha Baltman, and Aria Evans and emerging artists, part of the Frog in Hand Apprentice Company.
Colleen Snell, Director of Frog in Hand says, "Our performance involves both apprenticing dancers who are currently students, as well as professional dancers currently in the industry. It is a wonderful, rare opportunity for both established and emerging generations of dancers to collaborate. Thus, this project supports two generations of artists in a tangible way. Our cast is large because of this - 15 highly skilled artists, 8 are current students and 7 are professional dancers. To have 15 performers is almost unheard of in the dance industry."
Choreography involves massive, thick crash mats in the gym at Trinity Saint Paul's, an immense, lofty space with beautiful, natural light. Costume design for the performance is by Noelle Hamlyn, Frog in Hand's co-artistic director.
Frog in Hand is a collaborative venture - a contemporary dance theatre network of storytellers. While our "discipline" is difficult to define, we play on a spectrum between visual art and dance, often creating installation projects and performance work that includes contemporary dance theatre. We tell stories that question human nature - stories with emotional resonance and challenging thematic material relevant to the time in which we live. Our mission is to craft narratives that question human nature through the creation and performance of powerful new work, and to transfer knowledge / wisdom through outreach and engagement with diverse communities.
Videos
