Spirit of the East meets West

>> Mariko Tanabe’s Ecandillas del Alma Pura melds past and present traditions as part of UNESCO’s
Dialogue entre civilisations

by GENEVIEVE PAIEMENT

Devotees of the KISS theory (“Keep It Simple, Stupid”) might want to steer clear of multidisciplinary dance extravaganza Encandillas del Alma Pura. Translated from Spanish as “Sparks From the Pure Soul,” this spectacle keeps it very complicated indeed. It not only incorporates exactly 781 years of history (711–1492), but also four distinct cultures and religions (Jewish, Christian, Muslim and Gypsy), both traditional and contemporary music, song and dance, as well as fancy lighting design and some scratch video to boot. Its mastermind: Mariko Tanabe, Japanese-Canadian, New-York-trained, flamenco-loving, contemporary choreographer and dancer.

The project is part of UNESCO’s ambitious Dialogue entre civilisations event that ties in artistic ventures under four historical “Routes of Dialogue,” wherein various diverse cultures intermingled, either by force, accident, or necessity, thereby shaping the course of world history. Tanabe chose to explore the spiritual convergence of the three monotheistic religions in Andalusia, Spain, during the Middle Ages.

When Tanabe starts talking about Encandillas and Andalusian history, one can’t help but be touched by the sheer exhilaration in her voice.

“From 711 to 1492, the three religions coexisted—not always peacefully—but nevertheless they coexisted, and there were tremendous exchanges and evolutions in culture, philosophy and science, which actually went on to shape much of Western European culture,” Tanabe explains.

Coupled with her intense predilection for flamenco, Tanabe quickly fell under the spell of the project, devoting the past year to its development. “I feel that flamenco reflects this cultural development,” she offers. “The history of these cultures in Spain helped form flamenco. The Gypsies had their own culture, always on the outside of the mainstream and of course, they were a very important voice that reflected the mainstream cultures—you can hear it in their music and see it in their dance.”

It was the spiritual aspect of flamenco that led Tanabe to study the form throughout the ’80s in New York City. “They say that the flamenco singers always sought to find the commonality of human feelings and bring it forth to express it,” she explains. “It was the same spiritual side that attracted me to this project. The most beautiful dancing, for me, is where I can feel an expression of the human spirit—that’s what drew me in.”

A little help from her friends

With all the talk of spirituality and medieval history, the prospect of condensing this immense hunk of information into a two-hour show for a 2002 audience seems a formidable task. Not so, says Tanabe: the point wasn’t to retell history, but to use it as inspiration for creation. “I decided that artistically I had to make a choice on where I stand,” she relates. “My point is not so much to document, but to give a poetic interpretation of what spiritual convergence means.”

And this is where she enlisted the help of more than a few friends of the dancer, musician and general artsy persuasion. “I’ve engaged Marie Parisella, a professional flamenco dancer and Marcos Marin, one of the best flamenco singers and guitarists in town, who will sing a traditional flamenco song that is sung from the balconies of Seville during holy week.” Also on the trad side, the Montreal Andalusian Orchestra, masters of Andalusian music from the Middle Ages, will perform as well as having helped out in the arrangement of the music.
On the contemporary side, three members of the Shalabi Effect (Sam Shalabi, Alexandre St-Onge and Will Eizlini) will be in full effect with their contemporary compositions inspired by the more traditional sounds of Andalusia’s spiritual convergence. “The music is so rich, I think because these three traditions each had such a strong, vibrant and developed vocabulary that when they came together, there was such a wonderful flourishing,” Tanabe ventures. “The music is so familiar to our ears because it went on to influence the Western European composers of the 16th, 17th, 18th centuries, where you can feel traces of this convergence. There’s something at the core of it that we can recognize intuitively—it’s really beautiful.”

As for the choreography of Encandillas del Alma Pura, it reflects this same interrelation between new and old forms. “I tried to go to the source of movement,” Tanabe explains. “Using some flamenco dynamics, I also researched Middle-Eastern dancing, primarily Moroccan, like Berber dances. And, of course, I’m also using my own contemporary vocabulary, to show who we are, who my dancers are as people, as well as the richness of tradition.” Contemporary dancers Karsten Kroll, Magali Stoll, Maria Kefirova and Marc Boucher help her out.

But that’s not all! There are even more people involved in Encandillas and Tanabe can’t seem to gush enough about them. “I have such a great team of collaborators,” she enthuses. “Besides the dancers, the musicians and the flamenco artists, I have Martin Gagnon, who’s most known for his work with Robert Lepage, doing the lighting designs. And I have, François Blouin who’s doing some scratch video—he’s a trip! He’s working with the 13 hours of video that I shot on my three-week trip to Spain last October. I got footage of the mosques, the sea, the palaces, the cathedrals, the gardens, the fountains, some religious images like the Christian saints, menorahs and Arabic minarets. François is reworking the images to give them a timeless, dreamlike
quality.”

And although seven centuries and four cultures in two nights may seem a little skimpy for a show of such breadth, Tanabe has vague plans of bringing the show on the road, or at least down to NYC. “My big dream would be to bring it to New York, for personal reasons,” she says. “I love that city dearly and I was there on Sept. 11. When I heard the sirens and saw the attacks, I really thought New York was finished, so it’s so amazing to see it carrying on. This show is so vital because it deals with current world events that involve pretty much the same religions. The project is much bigger than I could ever have dreamed of. I feel like one could research this subject for five lifetimes, but we’re gonna do our best!”

More routes to come

If you missed the East-West Dialogue (last fall’s Moving Ideas—Contemporary Cultural Dialogue with India), the Carribean Slave Route (the Saidye’s Haitian Voudon series) and the Latin American Slave Route exploring Afro-Brazilian culture—do not fear: there are more roads to come. Representing Afro-Mexican culture, Tierra Negra is an exhibit of photographs by Maya Goded, on until Feb. 10 at Espacio Mexico (2055 Peel). Goded’s work explores Pacific Mexico’s African connections in the populations of Guerrero and Oaxaca.

Moving into February, Black History Month, we move into the North American Slave Route with Changement du courant/Sea Change, four nights of “multidisciplinary celebratory and provocative art” put on by the Black Theatre Workshop. The event happens every Saturday of the month and includes a screening of Michael Jarvis’ short film Angélique, performance poetry by Naila Belvett, storytelling by Chimwemwe Miller, and a dance choreography by Zab Maboungou performed by Youth Works. At the MAI, Feb. 2, 8 p.m.; at the Maison de la culture Côte-des-Neiges, Feb. 9., 8 p.m.; at the Mdlc NDG, Feb. 18, 2 p.m.; at the Mdlc Plateau Mont-Royal, Feb. 23, 8 p.m. Stay tuned for more! :

Ecendillas del Alma Pura runs Jan. 18–19, 8pm, at the Église du Gesù, 861-4873