In their inaugural presentation with DanceHouse, powerhouse Canadian company RUBBERBAND kicks off with a roar. Choreographer Victor Quijada marshals the forces of ten extraordinary performers and live music from composer/DJ Jasper Gahunia and violinist William Lamoureux to take apart the mechanisms of compliance and control with surgical precision.
Taking cues from the score, the performers move through a series of chain reactions, mixing combustible elements of capoeira and b-boy style. Quijada works in collaborative fashion with the dancers, allowing for both organic eruption and more intimate interactions. One moment, they are inmates in an asylum, the next, street dance warriors in boiler-suited conformity. As the dystopic contests of aggression and violence ramp up, jumpsuits become shrouds, blinding the collective to each other. The potential for genuine atrocity hangs in the air.
But all is not lost. Stripped to its bare essence, Ever So Slightly’s febrile tendrils of stubborn compassion persist, offering a path towards genuine resistance and liberation.