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LuminaTO

Fun how the red balls in Brookfield Place steal the arc created by the galleria roof, twirl it around a couple of times, and are suddenly gone - up, up and away ...

Nederlands Dans Theatre on Friday night were thrilling, mostly - as engaging as Lipsynch. I've been to just three events this year, and two were standouts.

I thought that the middle piece - Jiri Kylian's Wings of Wax - was less effective than the two that bookended it, though - and audience response was less enthusiastic. In fact, I found my attention wandering from the dancers to the tree suspended upside down above them in the final few minutes. It seemed less fresh than the first dance ( Shoot The Moon by Lightfoot Leon ) and the stunning The Second Person by Crystal Pite which ended the evening.

The spinning set, consisting of three darkly Goreyesque wallpapered rooms, for Shoot The Moon reminded me of the spinning set for the mime sequences in the COC's Rusalka. Five dancers, three rooms with doors and windows linking them, voyeuristic glimpses of troubled relationships playing out, everything turning, turning ...

Crystal Pite's The Second Person was the highlight of the night. It's difficult to describe the emotional connection that it created with the audience. None of it was a particularly literal telling of anything we would recognize as a storyline. There was a tiny puppet at the beginning - manipulated by an entire crowd of dancers in suits moving across the stage beneath a stormy sky - and by the end the puppet was a person coming to life and creating ripples of movement among the humans arrayed behind it. And, in between, everything! Not a linear narrative, for sure. A great ensemble piece.
 
Are you going to post yours?

most definitely. i'll have to go through the all the photos from luminato before i do though. i've really been slacking so the pile keeps getting larger and larger since i've been going to see the big red ball installation all around town.
 
So, Luminato is over for another year. It was, for me, a pretty wonderful experience. The top of my favourites list has to be “The Children’s Crusadeâ€, followed by “Nevermore†and then “Lipsynch†(that I’ve consistently misspelled in every post). The “Crusade†represented what Luminato is about; an original work that surprised and delighted at (literally) every turn. “Nevermore†was more accessible (in every way), quirky and entertaining. And" Lipsynch", while I still think it a mess, was a GRAND mess, with plenty in it to appreciate. Daring is something I want to see in Luminato and I saw it. Twice.

I loved that “Red Ball†and wish him well; I hope he gets out of the city without incident. The “Long Wave†at Brookfield Place was beautiful and different every day I saw it, changing as the light changed. Just perfect!

One of the most memorable images I’ll keep with me: all those people at Dundas Square for the “Helpless†jam session holding their guitars aloft. From my vantage point, it looked liked the guitars floated in the air above a sea of humanity .

“The Luminato Box†at Brookfield Place was a good idea that should be expanded on next year. “Boxes†located in different areas of the city, featuring the work of local artists could only increase awareness of the festival and the art it wants to celebrate.

I was happy to see “The Atlantic Fiction 2009†issue handed out at one of the events I attended. It’s the first year of partnership for Luminato and “The Atlantic†and I’ll look forward to seeing what they come up with next year.

The first year of the festival was still the best and is still the one to beat. Considering this is still a baby of an event, I was pleased enough with this year’s effort, but I look forward to more big, fat, in-your-face art work that engages the city in the way it did that first year.

Here’s to Luminato 2010! Who knows, by then I may even forgive Rufus Wainwright and attend his opera.:p
 
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Luminato Finale

The finale peformance of Cirque du Soleil on the Central Waterfront was truly a spectacular event! Too bad Hto park wasn't a larger venue for more people to enjoy it!

The city should really consider developing the parking lot it owns north of Queen's Quay and turn it into Hto Park North to create a prime new event space on the central waterfront.

Can't wait until Luminato 2010!

Louroz
 
The Globe on Cirque

Colourful chaos lights up the streets

James Bradshaw

Monday, Jun. 15, 2009 03:35AM EDT

Queens Quay was a scene of beautiful anarchy on Friday evening. A colourful, exuberant troupe of characters wound down the road, exploring their surroundings, clambering into passing cars and chasing cyclists on commandeered police bicycles.

And that was just a warm-up.

This parade into Toronto's Music Garden kicked off a free weekend of Cirque du Soleil performances that closed the third annual Luminato Festival, setting the standard for silliness, childlike wonder and eye-popping acrobatics that were to come.

From the first moments, Cirque's performers were determined to leave behind the big-top shows the company is known for and to get close to their audience.

To that end, the event was centred at two hubs, the homes of rival tribes that would eventually find harmony with each other through a loose storyline.

Nearly a kilometre down Queens Quay from the Music Garden was a fantastical water world crafted inside the Harbourfront Centre's Natrel Pond, complete with barely submerged stages.

It was ringed all weekend by a continuous stream of bodies as thousands of spectators braved two days of hot sun and were treated to a rolling array of vignettes.

Backed by Cirque's characteristically ethereal music, a group of jittery, splashy water nymphs romped through the pond in waders, bright orange tunics and swim goggles; a trio of men paddled themselves to a stage to act out an acrobatic fight scene that saw one performer execute a one-handed handstand on another's head; and a pair of hand-balancing experts twisted and turned their bodies in a series of handstands that seemed to ignore the restrictions of physics.

These staple acts were replayed throughout the weekend, but constantly improvised and adapted by the artists, who also cartwheeled around the crowded boardwalks and streets, charming children and adults alike. At the Music Garden, the other tribe set up shop in two geodesic domes decorated as the rooms of a Dr. Seuss-like house.

Acrobats and contortionists dangled from the matrix of bars above, dazzled onlookers with feats of balance and flexibility, and coaxed the crowds into joining their playful antics.

While the Harbourfront Centre's visitors had to be roped off at the pond's edge, the Music Garden's spectators were constantly pulled into the acts.

A trampoline bed had children bouncing on it as often as it had Cirque's tribesmen flipping and twisting, and though this site attracted smaller audiences, the intimacy of these performances earned an even more joyous reaction than did the Harbourfront shows.

Like many others, spectator Derek Resner stumbled upon the Music Garden by chance, and he soon attracted the tribe leader's attention.

The painted performer approached, wide-eyed, then suddenly licked the top of Mr. Resner's shaved head, drawing a chorus of cheers. A bewildered Mr. Resner later said he'd enjoyed the show “immensely.â€

Though huge, the crowds were manageable.

But they were dwarfed by an endless stream of thousands who sampled the 1,000 Tastes of Toronto, a lineup of food tables that stretched for hundreds of metres between the two hubs, offering $5 treats by top chefs.

True to the theme of the two tribes learning to work together, some of the best moments came yesterday when the camps began to join forces.

At the pond, five acrobats from the two worlds came together, hurling themselves around two parallel 20-foot-high poles with a nimbleness and daring Spider-Man would be proud of, and earning a huge ovation.

A grand finale mounted at HtO Park was delayed about an hour Sunday night by a thunder shower, but the crowd of thousands stood steadfast. And as the clock struck 10, the skies finally cleared and the patient throng was treated to a final high-flying, hour-long spectacle.

The show concluded the weekend's theme of finding harmony, uniting all 60 performers from both tribes on a special 360-degree stage built at the midpoint between the two hubs and bathed in light under the night sky.

The stage floor was a trampoline and Cirque's brave souls artfully soared above their adoring audience, just as they had all weekend.

source: http://www.theglobeandmail.com/news...l-chaos-lights-up-the-streets/article1181871/
 
It'd certainly be nice to see more dance next year. The NDT gave three performances of their program, whereas last year Mark Morris gave seven ( and had three programs ) of theirs.
 
I finally have a couple of moments during which to report back on the end of Lipsynch, and without having time to go into it more, these impressions are mostly for US & Benc's considerarion...

Jackson - fun enough, ties more together of course, but the least interesting visually of all the stories. (I think this still leaves Sebastian's story feeling tangential. Not that the mausoleum wasn't fun, 'cause it was.)

Loved the Michelle story - seen from outside her bookstore, but within her mind, and then from inside her bookstore, but with only our memories of the inner demons she is managing - wonderful!!!

Lupe - a neat wrap-up, with Rebecca Blankenship acquitting herself by singing her way (beautifully) out of the play...

but in the end, it's the sisters' stories - those of Marie and Michelle - that were the most significant for me, despite the Lupe/Ada/Jeremy "centre" of the work.

Anyway, I was very glad to see it all - I'll remember it for a long time. Looking forward to Lepage at the COC this fall!

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Some Pix

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If Luminato continues at this level in 2010 I'll be happy. But I'm hoping it'll kick up a notch - with a wider choice of theatre and dance events especially, more avant-garde programming generally, and less of the safe, cutesy Zisele-type filler. I also think it's a bit fraudulent to promote existing programming ( the National Ballet's Carmen and Skin Divers, for instance ) as if they're Luminato exclusives. And the big, free, public events have to be top-notch to capture the imagination of the city. I think Yonge-Dundas Square should be given over completely to the festival, with events happening there as close to round-the-clock as possible during its duration.
 
but in the end, it's the sisters' stories - those of Marie and Michelle - that were the most significant for me, despite the Lupe/Ada/Jeremy "centre" of the work.
Anyway, I was very glad to see it all - I'll remember it for a long time. Looking forward to Lepage at the COC this fall!

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For me too! I wouldn't have missed this for anything...flaws and all.


I think Yonge-Dundas Square should be given over completely to the festival, with events happening there as close to round-the-clock as possible during its duration.

I second that! No nays? Motion carried! More! More of everything! (Except for Zisele and (ack!) Continuous City!)


Adama, I'm sure "Red Ball" thanks you! LOL!:D
 
The finale peformance of Cirque du Soleil on the Central Waterfront was truly a spectacular event! Too bad Hto park wasn't a larger venue for more people to enjoy it!

The city should really consider developing the parking lot it owns north of Queen's Quay and turn it into Hto Park North to create a prime new event space on the central waterfront.

Can't wait until Luminato 2010!

Louroz

Yes, I have to agree. The opening show I saw was a big disappointment but that closing show at H2O, was wonderful. They really redeemed themselves. I also agree that the park was much too small to hold such a large event. It was packed like crazy and many people were complaining that they couldn't see the show. A large video screen would have helped and maybe put the stage a bit higher. A new, larger square for large events would be ideal. Everybody around me seemed so short, so I'm not surprised they had trouble seeing. Being over 6' tall has it's advantage.
 
So then move Luminato's big shows to Nathan Philips Square? Seems like we have a large square for big events...

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Hto Park North

Mmm, there was something magical about it being on the waterfront framed directly by the Rogers Centre and CN Tower lit up as the background. It just wouldn't have the same WOW factor at NPS square.

I also believe its strategic on the part of Luminato and its government partners to host large events along Queen's Quay to finally bring people down to the waterfront to see the revitalization process finally taking place.

What frustrates me is that the city of Toronto owns this massive parking lot north of Queen's Quay, at such a key location with so much potential, and it is doing nothing to capitalize on it. At the moment it has absolutely NO plans to hand it over to Waterfront Toronto or to proceed with development of Hto Park north.

Louroz
 

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