The groundbreaking contemporary dance company, Alysa Pires Dance Projects (APDP), is gearing up for its most innovative season yet. Exterminating Angel is set to premiere at the Toronto Fringe Festival (June 29th-July 10th). Inspired by Luis Buñuel’s surrealist film, Exterminating Angel follows a group of dinner guests who find themselves “psychologically trapped and see their social pretence give way to hostility and hysteria.”
We spoke with Alysa Pires this week.
SDTC: How do you make contemporary dance accessible to more people?
AP: The biggest challenge is getting audiences to take a chance and come see the show. There are so many different choreographers and so many different variations on contemporary dance; audience members might be hesitant to see a contemporary dance show based on a preconceived notion or a past experience that actually doesn’t apply to all works. Contemporary dance tends to get lumped together. If we don’t like a play that is of a specific style or genre, we would never generalize and say that we don’t like all plays.
We are working to make Exterminating Angel accessible to people who traditionally might not be able to enjoy the Fringe Festival. With physical storytelling, our show is a great fit for non-English speakers and for those who are Deaf or Hard-of-Hearing. Our venue, the Al Green Theatre, is also one of the only Toronto Fringe venues that is wheelchair accessible.
Our company focuses on creating work that is equally athletic and emotional. APDP utilizes the extreme physical ability of the dancers while maintaining their humanity so that the audience can see their own trials and tribulations expressed through a heightened but relatable physical language. Through highly dynamic athleticism and tender intimacy, APDP makes contemporary dance works that aim to transcend their abstraction and connect to an audience beyond dedicated dance lovers.
Diverse! There are so many artists in Toronto’s contemporary dance scene making work of all different types. This is why I would encourage audiences who are a bit hesitant to go a dance show to try at least two to get a real sense of the diversity of the work being created. Especially with Fringe’s affordable ticket prices and short show lengths, trying two dance shows has never been easier!
Exterminating Angel is inspired by Luis Buñuel’s surrealist film of the same name. I was first introduced to the film as part of a Choreographic Lab that I attended in the UK in 2013. The show follows a wealthy group of dinner guests who become psychologically trapped in their host’s mansion. There is nothing blocking their exit but, for whatever reason, they cannot leave. As days pass, and the basic necessities of food and water become scarce, the formality of their social event dissolves into hostility and hysteria. The source material is so rich and begs for the heightened physicality and theatricality of a dance work. It is a perfect fit for our company’s mandate of creating work that is equally athletic and emotional.
What do you want audiences to take away?
I hope all audience members, but especially those who don’t regularly see dance, are able to connect to our show in their own way. I hope that they don’t feel like their interpretation was “wrong” or that they didn’t “get it.” Whether they watch for the athleticism and physicality of the dancers or are building more of their own narrative, contemporary dance is like a choose-your-own-adventure story. There are no wrong answers.
Help support APDP in making great contemporary dance happen in Toronto.
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