Orchesis pliés for 50th anniversary

University of Alberta fourth year biological sciences student Taylor Formanek, 22, studied dance for nine years. But a nasty slip on the ice caused a knee injury and put her training on hold – that is until this year.

Somewhere along the way, the St. Albert resident picked up the courage to return to the expressive world of modern dance.

This Friday and Saturday, Formanek is strutting her stuff at Dance Motif, the big avant-garde showcase celebrating Orchesis Dance Group’s 50th anniversary.

“I love the group work. You get to bond with everyone. I find it encouraging. It’s a great exercise. It’s almost therapeutic. If you’ve had a bad day, you can go dance and get everything out of your system. And it’s such an expressive form,” said Formanek.

Throughout the two-hour-plus show, 90 dancers and several alumni that received their start through Orchesis will strut their moves at the Myer Horowitz Theatre.

Modern dancer Peggy Baker, who danced with Orchesis from 1969 to 1971, before embarking on a successful career in Toronto and New York, is a guest performer and choreographer.

A few years later in the early ’70s, Brian Webb made his mark with Orchesis before testing more distant stages and earning a distinct reputation in modern dance. His choreography, Through the Skin, is a scored improvisation where dancers are asked to accomplish a series of tasks.

Two of Baker’s choreographies are featured. Four Poems for Body and Breath with 18 dancers explores the body through movement, images and sound. As well, four dancers from guest performers Good Woman Dance Collective gyrate through Yang, a representation of the Chinese I Ching.

And CRISPiE, an Edmonton dance group that mixes dancers with a variety of abilities and disabilities reveals Les Ă©toiles. St. Albert’s own Danielle Peers, a PhD and published author also flexes her muscle with the company.

“CRISPiE explores the differences between ability and disability. I’ve seen the contrasts in people’s abilities. You see dancers in wheelchairs supporting those with more ability,” said Orchesis artistic director Tamara Bliss.

Formanek dances in This Is My Dream, a choreography inspired by sleepwalking. Choreographer Jodie Vandekerkhove’s 14 dancers each collaborated to develop a dream sequence that is slow, sustained and melancholy.

“The music is hard techno. There’s no melody. It’s almost mechanical and it contrasts to the sleepiness,” Formanek explained.

Orchesis was created 50 years ago under the guidance of Dorothy Harris as part of the Faculty of Physical Education. She originally worked in the registrar’s office, but because of her dance background, was scouted to head the program.

“She started the performance group. Orchesis was a template for dance groups across North America for anyone in college and universities who wanted to pursue dance in a more focused way,” noted Bliss.

The program started teaching ballet, jazz, folk and creative modern dance for children. With the ebb and flow of time and cutbacks, the program now offers three levels of both modern and jazz.

While many dance groups in Alberta were shut down, including Grant MacEwan College’s dance initiative, Orchesis survived and evolved.

“We’ve survived because it’s been self-sustaining for most of its time. It’s always been a student run program with faculty advisors. Students are very much involved and make sure the show goes on.”

As for the show going on, Formanek encourages the public to attend.

“All the dances are so different. There is so much passion and everyone has put so much work into it. It’s very entertaining and all the dances are performed extremely well.”