When I entered the haven of dance art in Downtown Vancouver where 4OUR is slated for its limited remount on Sept. 19, I was greeted warmly by four of the highly-renowned dancers as well as choreographer Joe Laughlin, dance company founder Joe Ink as well as Heather Dotto, Gioconda Barbuto and newcomer Jarrett Siddall.
4OUR, as a work, speaks to this essentiality of humanity and balancing act of life. As the choreographer and dancers of this work might envision, it was a counterbalance and a switching of roles, both mother and daughter, father and son, as well as caregiver and recipient of care.
As Laughlin and Dotto shared, 4OUR is bathed in memory, intended to be accessible to the audience. At its inception last year, each member of the cast had come from a different place in their lives — the serendipitous meeting of the dancers and the birth of the piece allowed the work to take on a deeply confessional quality.
Although lacking a traditional narrative, the work is a journey, especially when coupled with the live projections from a shimmering dress to a boat buffeted by the waves, meant to create an immersive emotional impact on the viewer. Also featured are transitional objects — white pieces of fabric that linger in the air, catching the light and that are worn differently by each dancer.
This year the work has been “tightened” — steps and pathways across the stage have been made more efficient in order to make the work more effective. The addition of Jarrett Siddall is a welcome one. His adventurous movement style and a powerful ability to embody conflict leaves observers in awe. Each dancer, however, brings their unique experience and movement style to the table. Mr. Laughlin’s solo featured a section of sensitive and intricate articulation through his fingers.
“Joe is very famous for his hands,” said Dotto. To me, somehow, it felt like a gesture that communicated, all at once, resolute assertion and profound helplessness.
More importantly, the cast, having worked closely together, has worked to draw out “the connection in this piece with each other,” said Dotto. In certain instances where the dancers are permitted to watch one another dancing, it feels as if “you’re seeing your brother and your mom dancing.” It sounds and feels as if from working together on a project of this magnitude, the members of the cast have attained a deep understanding of one another — not just as bodies, but as embodied beings.
At times, the power of the piece strikes even them — theatrical or narrative challenges eventually become “moments” that mark and contribute to the power of the work. Life is surprising and in the process of conceiving, creating, defining and reviving the world of this work, it seems too to have surprised them. Still, within all this, the work seems to bring us back to a fundamental understanding of relationship, recollection and ultimately humanity.