Canadians are obsessed with the weather. Whether it’s 30 degrees of humid summer heat, the dampness of late fall, the freezing hell that is winter, or the glorious rebirth of spring, Canucks must constantly adapt to diverse meteorological conditions.
Australia, on the other hand, is often seen as Canada with lovely sunny beaches and constant blue skies. So what could a group of Australians possibly have to say about mother nature to the citizens of the Great White North?
Quite a bit in fact.
Australian dance troupe Lucy Guerin Inc. is currently on a five-city North America tour to perform their original show Weather. Their last tour stop will be in Ottawa, where they will be performing at the National Arts Centre from November 7-9.
The irony of having Australians dance about the natural elements before a group of Canadians is not lost on me.
“I find it funny that an Australian dance company is coming to Ottawa to perform a show called Weather,” I half-jokingly say to Australian dance choreographer Lucy Guerin in a phone interview. “After all, Australia is often described as Canada with better weather.”
“Yes, I have heard that description before,” she replies with a laugh.
Born in Adelaide, Australia, Guerin moved to New York City in 1989 where she danced for seven years. She returned to her homeland in 1996 and formed her own dance troupe Lucy Guerin Inc. in Melbourne in 2002.
Photo by Heidrun Löhr.
The objective of the company is to create and perform new contemporary dance pieces. In regard to Weather, it draws its inspiration from mother nature.
“(Weather is) something that society doesn’t control. There are so many variables, it’s so complex,” says Guerin. “That’s something that I love about it. We still can’t fully understand it, and it has a dominion over us.”
As part of her research for creating Weather, Guerin visited the Australian Bureau of Meteorology, as well as using such props as a snow machine in rehearsals. Originally the company flirted with the idea of using several elements in the show, but in the end decided to only incorporate plastic bags in the performance.
Through their extensive research and rehearsals, Guerin and her troupe learned how the weather, at least as seen through human eyes, can be the subject of both rational predictions and total chaos.
As every Canadian knows, it’s possible to predict weather patterns in the short term, e.g. one or two days in advance. Over the long term, however, it’s anyone’s guess what nature will throw our way. This combination of predictability and chaos is reflected in Weather, which combines scenes that appear heavily choreographed, with sections that come across as wild, free movements.
Another aspect of the performance is the use of plastic bags. At the start of the show, the bags are on the ceiling, vaguely appearing like clouds in the sky or even an incoming snow storm. As the show progress, the bags fall to the ground, forcing the dancers to interact with them.
The double entendre of using plastic is not lost on Guerin.
“It does have a double meaning,” she says. “You can visualize air with the plastic bags …. But most of us also have a negative image of supermarket bags, because they are the symbol of using resources up.”
Lucy Guerin Inc. performs Weather at the National Arts Centre from November 7-9. Regular tickets start at $30, while cheaper options are available for students. The show lasts approximately 65 minutes with no intermission.
