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Welcome to our spring edition of the Hoofer’s Log. We’ve had a great season so far with a sold-out run of our dancer-choreographed show, root 7, last November at The GRAND, and the creation of our new production, Magnetic Consequences, which opened at The Banff Centre on March 24 and is currently on a 15-city cross-Canada tour before returning to Calgary for a 10-day run at the Max Bell Theatre starting May 30.
Magnetic Consequences takes DJD to: Banff AB (March 24), St. Albert AB (March 27 & 28), Vernon BC (March 30), New Westminister BC (April 1), Victoria BC (April 3 & 4), St. Catharines ON (April 12), Markham ON (April 13), Oakville ON (April 14), Brampton ON (April 15), L’assomption QUE (April 19), Beloeil QUE (April 21),Charlottetown PEI (April 24), St. John NB (April 28), Fredericton NB (May 2), and Halifax NS (May 4). Please tell your family and friends in those cities to check out DJD when they visit their community.
Years of planning go into a new DJD creation before it ever gets loaded into trucks and busses and taken on the road. How did Magnetic Consequences transform from idea to production? Vicki Adams Willis explains: “In 2001 we had the honour and pleasure of working with the inimitable Jackie Richardson. Jackie’s talents as a blues singer were the inspiration for the music of Longings... for the invisible, which we took on a western Canadian tour that season. We came away from the project with an irrepressible desire to work with Jackie again and decided to develop the theme of Act II of Longings into a full evening work. That began our exploration of romantic attraction which is at the heart of Magnetic Consequences. It also marked a journey back to Jackie’s early years as an R&B singer and this has resulted in a creation heavily flavoured with the R&B spirit - a spirit brilliantly realized by our wonderful band led by Kristian Alexandrov.”
Having decided on the theme of the show (romantic attraction) and the music primarily style (R&B and the Blues), the process of creating the show could really begin.
When creating full evening works, initially my job is to create a journey and determine what the individual elements of that journey will be,” explains Willis. “Because we work with live music, a huge part of the pre-rehearsal period is focused on the music which means either choosing already written music (and then determining in general terms how we want to treat the arrangements) or communicating with the composer about what I am hearing in my head.
“When I begin rehearsing with the dancers, I usually have a pretty strong idea of what some of the individual pieces are going to be about and what the various grooves for those pieces of music will be, but then we begin to play. The dancers improvise based on images or tasks that I throw at them. I video it all and then we develop the movement vocabulary for each piece based on those improvisations.
“Sometimes I have no idea where a piece is heading. I just have to get into the studio to work with the dancers, and nine times out of ten the direction then reveals itself. On the other hand, sometimes I go into the studio thinking I have a clear idea of the journey, but somewhere in the process an alternate route pops up and I shift gears on the spot. There is in fact a great deal of shifting of gears that occurs when we are creating a show.
“There is also a huge amount of ‘back and forthing’ that happens with the musicians. We usually jam a lot during the early rehearsals that lead to an initial rehearsal tape. Then, as the shape of the dances and the resulting required music forms become clearer, we get together with the musicians again for another run at it. From then on all band/dancer rehearsals are exercises in connecting to one another and fine-tuning the music/dance connection. The musicians are not working from note specific scores. Because we are a jazz company, we work with jazz musicians and that of course means improvisation is a huge element of the mix, so we are always seeking hot musicians who also have the ability to tune into the dancers and who improvise their solos based on what they are seeing as well as what they are hearing. This means that every performance is unique and fresh. It is one of the many joys as well as challenges of our work.”
Magnetic Consequences features live music under the direction of band leader Kristian Alexandrov. In addition to a number of pieces composed by Kristian specifically for this production, the show also features a variety of R&B and Blues songs performed by the band in collaboration with vocal powerhouse Jackie Richardson.
More About the Music
With its cultural origins in the 1940s in the US, R&B (Rhythm and Blues) was influenced by Jazz, Blues and Gospel, and was first performed by African American artists. R&B was a pre-curser to Rock & Roll, and by the 1970s R & B was being used as a blanket term to describe Soul & Funk. Today the lines are blurring between many forms of music and the term R&B today can be used to define music that combines elements of Soul, Funk, Pop and even Hip Hop.
Magnetic Consequences features music from some of the R&B greats such as legendary blues musicians Jeannie and Jimmy Cheatham (Basket Full of Blues). In a 2003 interview with writer Charlene Baldridge, Jeannie Cheatham had this to say about the Blues: “Our ancestors sang the blues, except the ones that belonged to the Baptist Church. The blues itself has been around since before the Civil War. Most people think of them as sad, but they can be sweet, happy and sour, too. Whatever emotion that can be conjured by a human being, the blues is that.”
A show steeped in R&B wouldn’t be complete without songs from the legendary singer / pianist / arranger / composer Nina Simone, also known as “The High Priestess of Soul.” An amazing performer, who has been described as the ultimate songstress and storyteller of our time, Simone’s rep included Jazz standards, gospel and spirituals, classical music, folk songs, blues, pop, musical theatre and opera, African chants as well as her own compositions. And what better person to interpret two of her original songs, Sugar in my Bowl and Do I Move You than the remarkable Jackie Richardson, a unique artist as able as Simone to cast a spell on her audience.
People young and old will be familiar with the multi-faceted larger-than-life talent Isaac Hayes, perhaps because of his accomplishments as a songwriter and solo artist who was at the peak of his popularity after his Oscar-winning Theme from Shaft in the early ‘70s or perhaps, for the younger crowd, because of his recurring role as Chef on South Park. Hayes delivered a record-setting seven #1 R&B albums and charted a phenomenal 20 albums on the R&B and Pop charts between 1969 and 1980. Not only has Hayes had a tremendous influence on music, he is also a philanthropist, author, radio personality, cook, and King! Hayes’ Do Your Thing adds to the rich music score of Magnetic Consequences.
Some of the works of another giant in the R&B world, Bill Withers, are featured in the production’s music, namely: Ain’t No Sunshine, For My Friends, Kissing My Love, Who Is He And What Is He To You, Use Me and Shake Em On Down. One of America’s premier singer/songwriters, Bill Withers has universal appeal with millions of fans worldwide.
In Act II, the well-known high-spirited song Shame, Shame, Shame by Sylvia Robinson will be performed by the full company. Described by some as the sole individual responsible for the birth of rap music, Sylvia Robinson was featured alongside her husband Joe Robinson in the book The Vibe-History of Hip Hop, published by Random House in 1999.
Also included on the song list are Shakey Ground by Jeffrey Brown, funk guitarist Eddie Hazel, and Alphonso Boyd, which has been recorded by a number of artists including The Temptations and Elton John; Compared to What by singer / songwriter / producer Gene McDaniels who scored six Top 40 hits during 1961 and 1962; Inseparable by well-known collaborators Chuck Jackson and Marvin Jerome Yancy; and I’m Talkin To You by Jim Payne and Lucky Peterson.
And, as mentioned earlier, there are a number of solo and ensemble pieces composed by our Music Director Kristian Alexandrov. An accomplished musician and composer, Kristian was born and raised in Bulgaria and had toured as a musician throughout Europe by the age of 16. Since moving to Canada in 1995, Kristian has become an in-demand composer, performer, arranger and producer and has collaborated with DJD on 12 productions.
What Can You Expect to See and Feel?
The “story” of Magnetic Consequences begins with an exploration of romantic attraction that draws people magnetically toward each other, some able to connect and others not. The evening weaves in and out of scenarios involving kisses being given and stolen, couples who click and clash, lovers who are frenzied and fickle, and many other consequences of attraction.
“I hope that the audience will come away with a real strong emotional and kinesthetic connection to the work,” says Vicki. “Our work has never been about uniform bodies ‘moving abstractly in space.’ It is about dynamic individuals expressing their individualism within the parameters of a specific style or groove. We like to celebrate humanity with all its warts and hope that in doing so we can make a vital connection with the audience.
“I’m sure that each and every audience member will have experienced at least one of the scenarios that we are dealing with. There will be lots there for people to relate to in a personal way – that’s the emotional connection I am talking about. The collaboration by our remarkably talented and creative dancers with the sensational Jackie Richardson and our band of accomplished musicians will create an evening where audience members will be hard pressed not to pulse, sway, pat or snap their way through parts of the evening. And that’s the kinesthetic reaction that I am talking about.”
Magnetic Consequences plays at the Max Bell Theatre, EPCOR CENTRE for the Performing Arts from May 30 – June 9. Tickets are now available. Early Bird deadline is April 30 – buy early and save!
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