I was very excited about going to see Brock Jellison’s new work 77 Minutes. It is part of the Vancouver International Dance Festival, I saw him perform a similar style of piece last year, and Brock is one of my favourite Vancouver tappers. When he was running classes at Harbour Dance, I tried to make every Sunday. It was a physical and mental workout for me. The steps were fast and the music was hard. But Brock can also be a sweet guy and he’s fun to dance with, “lively” doesn’t do justice to describe his personality.
My first surprise of the evening was opening the program to find out that Brock also composed the lyrics and score for the evening, along with Kristian Naso. Holy cow. Brock is always chirping away some song, but I never thought of him as a singer. I recognize that all of my friends are talented beyond belief but it is starting to be a little daunting. What am I doing?
The Globe and Mail does a good job describing the premise of the piece.
Quote: The story goes like this: After the Third World War has decimated humanity and self-expression has been outlawed by the powers that be, a band of maverick artists proposes to “dance like it’s their last night alive, because it is,” Jellison says. The authorities arrive on site 77 minutes after the first illegal display of moxie, ready to kill.
Brock describes it as a “dance-ical” and the show certainly was dance opera, dance rock show, dance musical. I still can’t believe that Brock sings most of the show.
Here are the highlights that I recall, and I’d certainly like to watch the show again:
1. Brock does a great job. I’m incredibly happy for him. It’s been many many months of work. And the show kicks ass. James and I agree that it is the best dance we’ve seen in Vancouver in a long time. I know many of the dancers also dance with The Source, which is fine dancing too. My only small critique, because I want to balance my gushing, is there are a couple of moments where I wondered if Brock’s voice could have been a little stronger, but those moments were few and far between, and the raspy, rocker sound in those moments really worked anyway. Overall, his singing was great–little bits of Weakerthans, Martin Sexton, the score from Rent … if I was more musical, I could draw better comparisons. My point is that it was a professional performance.
On to the choreography. There were big wow moments in the show, and magical, soft, oooo, moments too. Brock’s choreography in particular is hard-hitting and the style is instantly recognizable to me. There are signature steps where I think, yes, that’s true Brock Jellison. He has a distinct style, it is beyond Tap Dogs and I don’t want to compare it to anyone else. It’s Brock and it’s loud and rhythmic.
2. Deanna Teeple is the other vocalist and is utterly amazing. She belts it out, and the moments when the vocals are the most prominent part of the show, she stands as the star.
3. The band. Also very strong. A cool little bass riff in one of the early numbers. Awesome and eerie guitar in the siren/bomb scenes. The music fit with the show and pulled the audience along–not that we were kicking and screaming, but in the scenes where the dancers are being repressed and are kicking, the music is really screaming. There’s also one number with the whirling tubes that the Weakerthans use. That was one of my favourite pieces. It is mostly a grungy, body percussion piece, but that human music mixed with the instrument music is great.
4. There were lots of numbers that I loved. In particular the ones that were high energy and had all the cast on stage. But there were a couple duets and solo pieces that stood out as well. I don’t know all the dancers, but these are the songs I recall enjoying: Welcome to the Rest of Your Life, Mr. Devilman, Freedom Song, Goodnight my Love.
Mr. Devilman was a fantastic tap number with one guy and a group of girls. He was all pimped out and they do him in in the end. But the tap was fast and the dancers certainly caused a ruckus. Loved it.
Freedom Song, I remember thinking this song sounds really good.
Goodnight my Love was a beautiful duet. Very soft and magical.
I wish I knew the names of all the dancers and could call them out properly because there were some huge jumps and turns that the guys performed that were incredibly strong. The women were also really powerful. There was a baton section. Who knew baton would come in handy. It was one of my favourite parts of the show. This one girl in a circle of body percussion performers, twirling this baton. It was not cheerleader/sequined in any way. It was tough. Sasha and Melissa are two people who I’ve taken classes with, I love watching them dance. There was a cirque du soleil type of piece that displayed incredible strength. A bomb goes off and throws all the dancers to the ground and they are all piled up. Out of the rubble appears this tiny girl, lifted into the air. The balance was so controlled. For those who watch ice dance and pairs figure skating–there are those moves that defy gravity, where the female is balanced over head or her entire weight is supported on the guy’s lap. These were the moves. One of the best was a pause where the dancers looked like the letter “K”. The guy was holding the girl off the ground. Her top foot was hooked around his neck and the other was hip level. Both her arms were outstretched. (James and I are going to go home and practice–although I shouldn’t joke, the strength of both dancers was amazing. And there were these gymnastic moves–handstands and flips–that she did all on the palms of his hands. WTF.
Amazing amazing amazing.
You can see why I’m not a dance critic. Full gushing, and too many uses of the word “amazing”. Find another adjective!
Congratulations Brock. You rocked.