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Making words dance Jo Lechay's blend is never bland by WALTER KRAJEWSKI
Well, Lechay has always been called the Dada black sheep of pure dance. But "Dada" is inaccurate. Yes, Lechay the dancer sings, acts, spiels out lengthy monologues, addresses the audience directly, even paints on stage. For example, when Ultra-Violet, the stripper of Absolute Zero's apocalyptic world, addresses the audience, she pleads for the preservation of the environment. Lechay's work always speaks from a moral centre. Much of Quebec dance, on the other hand, is quite mute. It's focussed on non-narrative formal movement and the occasional piece that is political speaks with the whisper of footfalls. In this landscape, Lechay comes across as the loud-mouth American emigré, piercing through the fourth wall of the stage and offering something akin to Living Theatre. In her latest presentation, Out of the Blue, co-created with writer-director and husband Eugene Lion, Lechay and Fortier pour out energy in dialogue, song and dance. The plot centres on Ninon de Lenclos, a 17th-century French courtesan, and her encounter with Carlos Ortega, a 17-year-old who falls in love with her, unaware that she is his mother. The presentation is filled with cross-talk and cross-dressing, for it is Fortier who plays mother Ninon and Lechay who portrays son Carlos. And there's more: Jo Lechay plays "Jo" on stage, discussing the story with Paul-André, who plays "Paul-André." They shift back and forth between 17th- and 20th-century characters, sometimes even striding the centuries when, for example, "Paul-André" addresses Carlos directly. While Lechay has experience swimming through such theatrical forms, Fortier is taking his first dive into singing and acting on stage. Nevertheless, both face the daunting task of convincing the audience of the reality of all four characters. For Lechay and Fortier, the dance interludes and movement vocabulary will be second nature. Their new challenge is to truly make the words dance. Out of the Blue plays at Théâtre la Chapelle to May 4. $16, students $12 |
Categorizing Jo Lechay must be a real bitch for the Canada Council and its slice-and-dice Kantian categories (no, you kant have money). As far as the Canada Council is concerned, theatre is theatre and dance is dance. This time it's a duo with Paul-André Fortier, a dance man, but she's got him talking and singing. In fact, it's a trio because Eugene Lion's script is the voice filling the stage. So is this dance or drama?