Toronto Dance Theatre: where the past and future meet

Dance Magazine, March, 1996 by Paula Citron

Toronto Dance Theatre repertoire makes no concessions to such trendy theatricalisms as the spoken word, multimedia accoutrements, dancers in Doc Martens, or nudity. Rather, company pieces exhibit consummate choreographic craftsmanship and artistry, formality of structure, intellectually challenging content, demanding physicality, intensity of mood and emotion, humanistic values, and--most important of all--superbly trained dancers who move beautifully through space. Says company member Coralee McLaren, now into her eighth year, "We keep dancing through all the fads."

The very foundations of TDT can be traced to the New York City legends of modern dance who, along with being unique choreographic voices, were also great teachers and codifiers of training technique. In 1968 Torontonians Patricia Beatty and David Earle and New Yorker Peter Randazzo transplanted American modem dance north of the border by creating TDT. All had studied with Martha Graham and had been profoundly influenced by her teachings. Each had also performed with leading modern companies--Beatty with Pearl Lang, Earle with Jose Limon, and kandazzo with both Graham and Limon.

The collective choreography of the newly formed TDT was Graham-based, flavored with a touch of Limon and Cunningham, as was the teaching at the TDT school. Each of the founders, however, developed an individual style. Generally, Beatty leaned toward the mystical and symbolic, Earle the epic and lyrical, and Randazzo the surreal and abstract. When the three received the prestigious Toronto Arts Award for the Performing Arts in 1988, the jury cited the trio for having "changed the face of Canadian dance."

Present artistic director Christopher House, who took over from Earle in 1994, was nurtured in the TDT cradle. Born in St. John's, Newfoundland, he began studying political science at the University of Ottawa with an eye to a diplomatic career but discovered dance while taking an elective course. Completing his degree in 1976, House then enrolled in the dance department at Toronto's York University, graduating with a B.F.A. in 1979. While at York, he also took classes at TDT and appeared with the company during its tenth-anniversary season, officially joining the following year.

Despite the fact that he had been training for only four years, House was soon recognized as a superb dancer who also possessed an astonishing choreographic ability. His fledgling efforts first appeared in company choreographic workshops in 1978 and 1979, but it was his Toss Quintet in 1980, an exuberant outpouring of pure movement to a driving score by Steve Reich, that proudly announced that a new kid had arrived on the block. Toss Quintet was the first House work to be taken into the TDT repertoire, and after a performance where the audience had acclaimed the new kid's talent, Randazzo turned to his two cofounders and said, "I think we are four."

House became a regular contributor to the repertoire, and was appointed resident choreographer in 1981 and associate artistic director in 1992. For some ten years House's work has dominated the TDT repertoire, but he has also created pieces for Ballet British Columbia, Judith Marcuse Dance Company, National Ballet of Canada, Dancemakers, Peggy Baker Solo Dance, and Les Grands Ballets Canadiens. He has won every major choreographic award in the country and is considered one of the finest contemporary choreographers in Canada.

"It was obvious that Christopher was the heir apparent," says Beatty. "He was a prolific choreographer and a wonderful dancer who came of age in the company, and his becoming artistic director has been an organic process. The founders were ready for a change; our gypsy days were over, and we wanted to do projects for our own enrichment without being tied to the company. TDT has been redefined to mirror Christopher's vision, but because we were his influences, we share karma, and we're still making a contribution."

In fact, the founders' ties to the company are still strong. Earle has been named artist in residence and will continue to set new work on TDT. Both Beatty and Earle teach for the company and school, and both are having pieces from the early repertoire revived during the coming season. Only Randazzo, at this point, has not clearly defined what his future relationship with TDT will be, although in 1992 he created a haunting new work for the company, Summer Evening, the third of his pieces based on paintings by American artist Edward Hopper.

"I want to continue to develop a repertoire of original Canadian choreography," explains the forty-year-old House, "with `continue' being the key word. TDT is an important idea in dance, important enough to carry on past its founders because the company has always been about new work. The philosophy of creation is an affirmation of both tradition and growth. I can't help but be informed by the influences of the founders, yet my choreography is evolving all the time, and dancers need more than just Graham technique to perform my work."