After waiting a full year and a half, Montreal dance company, RUBBERBAND, is finally in town with a show that investigates the upheaval and momentum of societal change. Director Victor Quijada founded RUBBERBAND to create space for fusing contemporary and ballet with hip hop. The show comments on the effects modern life has on us psychologically both on an individual as well as a broader social level. Quijada takes ten dancers on a journey that fluctuates in theme, speed and visual patterns.
The show opens with the dancers in earthy jumpsuits. They explore the stage with patience and pull us into their world, all the while building momentum as they go along. We see a danceform that swings between contemporary, ballet, hip hop, breakdancing and even capoeira, sometimes combining multiple genres at the same time. The first half of the show happens close to the ground. The dancers’ hands rarely leave the floor so we see a lot of breakdancing moves transformed by the grace of contemporary sensibilities, with arches made by backs, and summersaults and handstands galore. There is an anguish in the tale that the dancers tell. There is frustration, aggression and resistance to external change that challenges the physical bonds that the dancers form with each other.
The choreography is immensely fresh. Quijada’s genre-bending guarantees that you’re watching something you have never seen before. Quijada gives us innovation and takes into account the frustration that we are all carrying inside ourselves as a result of the pandemic. As the first part picks up, its soft, playful energy gains steam and we see the dancers move as one. Dancers are tossed into the air by the group and they dive back into the group’s arms like dolphins. Human chains are contorted, broken and restructured. The dancers are coordinated, they follow the same choreography and there is unison.
As we progress into the next third of the show, we notice a sense of discomfort. There is an urgency and the dancers are under duress. The choreography becomes fragmented and focuses more on the traumas of individuals. We see anger, distrust, stress and depictions of mental illness. Joyous group movements give way to silence and contemplative solos and duets. As dancers falter they are helped by some and ignored by others. Slowly the dancers make their way out of their jumpsuits and strip down to their underwear. The jumpsuits at one point serve as shrouds and signify an unspoken tragedy. We see great acting in this section with dramatic physical choreography in which the dancers slam their athletic bodies into the ground and into each other as well. We see the undoing of the dancers in the second third of the show and the energy steadily picks up for the last third to hurtle towards a resolution that is bright and hopeful.
“Ever So Slightly” showcases the athleticism and extreme talent of its eight dancers, and Victor Quijada’s abstract concept come to life. It has been a long time since we last witnessed dance on stage here in Vancouver and the show acknowledges these very unusual circumstances in the story that it tells. The dancing is beautiful and the innovation in genre is something every audience member will walk away with and think about for days. Quijada has also used dance to represent some very difficult human emotions and experiences – anger, anxiety, panic attacks, delirium, self harm and aspects of mental illness. As difficult this is at times to witness, it is also necessary for our growth coming out of the pandemic. We are of course rewarded with beautiful formations and lines throughout the show. The middle moved a bit slowly for our tastes, as the silent contemplations and slower choreography took some time. However when the dancers picked up speed they created beautiful momentum that reached out and grabbed us across the stage. If you are looking for dance that will shake you up, “Ever So Slightly” is the show for you.
“Ever So Slightly” is playing at the Vancouver Playhouse tonight. Get your tickets here!
– Prachi Kamble