Metamorphosis Dance in evolution

THERE was a time one would have never seen hip-hop dancing on a stage, far less incorporated in ballet, but now, such fusions are an everyday occurrence.

And just as dance has evolved over the years, so the Metamorphosis Dance Company, the dance company of the Caribbean School of Dancing, has evolved over its 30 years of existence.

In celebration of this, Metamorphosis is hosting the show Meta at 30, looking back on how it started and highlighting that evolution to the point of incorporating pieces of previous dances in the various performances.

Choreographer Ronald Taylor, who created one of the eight dances for the show, stressed that dance had to evolve or it would stay static and die.

For example, he said traditional African dancing still influenced popular culture today, including hip-hop and jazz dancing.

“It’s dependent on the choreographer, how he or she interprets that step. Because I say to my dancers in Canada, you cannot call yourself a ballet dancer or modern dancer or folk dancer any more.

“You cannot be so rigid any more. You have to be broad-minded and able to comprehend the style that the choreographer is coming forward with to convey whatever message. Hence Chroma, by Wayne McGregor.”

Chroma was contemporary ballet created by the British choreographer for the Royal Ballet which premiered in 2006. At the time it was considered “radical,” with its “off-kilter” dancing and minimal set.

Taylor, 63, said the evolution also depended on the time in which dance is done and where it is in society. For instance, in the 70s hip-hop and breakdancing were seen as lowbrow. Now the styles are taught in dance studios and included in other, more classic styles of dance.

“I think when inspiration is given, by whomever its given, it’s never given to one person. I don’t believe any inspiration is new, but it’s up to the individuals who receive those tangible experiences of innovation. It’s how its perceived and brought forward to an audience that makes it different.”

And Taylor would know, as he began dancing at the age of 17, received a bachelor of fine arts at the Juilliard School, New York, in 1989 and a master of arts in dance at York University, Toronto, Canada, in 1996.

He has performed in numerous local and international productions, been a director of several dance companies and shows, and won awards for his work. He is also the artistic director of the Toronto-based Ronald Taylor Dance, which was founded in 1993, and teaches dance at York University in the Fine Arts department.

He also has a distinct style of teaching or dance technique he called dingolay, which fused folk, modern and ballet dance styles.

Born in Fyzabad and based in Canada, Taylor has been a student, performer, teacher and choreographer with the Caribbean School and Metamorphosis. And he said when he visits TT, if someone asked him to teach a class, he always agrees.

“I know what it is I gained before I left these shores.

"It's the prolific way the styles of dance that you get in the Caribbean, the richness of the soil, affords us a place in the international scene. You still have to work for it, but the kind of training that you get through these various institutions is par excellence.

“Folk is still very much the foundation of quite a number of people. You cannot bash Best Village, because most of us came through Best Village and graduated to other things. For example at Juilliard School, we’ve had a legacy of Trinidad dancers go through that school.”

Meta at 30

Taylor explained the eight dances in the show included a classical ballet piece originally done by Metamorphosis co-founder Carol Yip Choy as well as hip-hop, contemporary/ classical Indian, modern and contemporary pieces.

His piece was called Take a Sleek One Thousand Steps Between the Raindrops and will be performed to music composed by Kareem Brown, conductor and director of the National Steel Symphony Orchestra of TT.

He told Newsday as a practising Buddhist he was chanting one day when the name came to him. He said the dance was loosely based on the Orisha deity Olokun, which one source described as the ruler of all earthly bodies of water.

“Even though it's a long title, it just stuck. I said, ‘Okay, I'm going with what the universe gave to me and I'm not going to throw it away.’”

The dance had four parts – moon water, river loop, nylon rain and ocean – which used very fluid movements. He said he asked the dancers to make themselves water as well as to think of their movements in and around water.

“How would you straddle water? How do you cross the street when there's a flood? When there's rain coming down profusely, how would you react to that? What it looks and feels like when the moon reflects on water, how the ocean reacts, particularly when the rain droplets fall on the surface.”

He thought it was a fitting piece to complement the other dances in the show, bringing a North-American perspective to his quality of movement, which he calls contemporary Caribbean and in which he fuses folk, modern and ballet.

He added that Meta at 30 had a dynamic programme as well as a display of costumes throughout the years in the foyer and a retrospective brochure will be available.

“We are doing our part, but there’s also a financial aspect to every production. So I really want to invite the public to come out and support these young people and say, ‘I see you. You matter. We all matter.’ Because when we go out there, we are representing TT.

“We need to go beyond the pride and put the financial resources into place, especially for dancers because the calypsonians, soca artists and both our symphonies have it. The dancers need to have it.”

Senior dancer with Metamorphosis Emilee Padmore, 19, will be participating in six of the eight dances.

She said it was very exciting for her to be part of the milestone show, but also surreal, because it would be her last year with the group. Also, she said all the dances were different in style and there was “a lot going on” so she knew the show would be enjoyable.

“It’s special to see where the company was and what it is now, the progression that it’s made. In our Meta at 30 we’re doing some re-enactment that happened ten and 20 years ago so I myself can see what the dances were like and how it could probably be better now, 30 years later.”

Meta at 30 will take place at the National Academy of Performing Arts, Frederick Street, Port of Spain on May 4 and 5.