Young dancers from A Time For Everything perform mature themes.
Theatre company reimagines a timeless text
“To every thing there is a season and a time to every purpose under the heaven:
A time to be born and a time to die; a time to plant and a time to pluck up that which is planted;
A time to kill and a time to heal; a time to break down and a time to build up;
A time to weep and a time to laugh; a time to mourn and a time to dance….”
—Ecclesiastes 3
This famous 2500-year-old passage has inspired its share of dance productions and Corps Bara Youth Dance Theatre has kept it in mind for the past five years. “The text is so deep and meaningful and there’s so much you can do” says artistic director Ainsley Sudds. Now with the right mix of dancers and choreographers it’s time.
Sudds distributed the text to four other choreographers (Deanna Witwer Chantal Gandar Amy Meyers-Obregon and Shelby Skidmore) allowing them to select one segment of the passage to alchemize into dance. Rather miraculously each choreographer zeroed in on different themes and the result is 10 original works that constitute A Time for Everything .
The themes include: a time for being born building up scattering and gathering stones tearing mourning and dancing laughing speaking embracing and refraining from embracing war and finally peace.
While the text is ancient the dancers are some of the youngest around aged 11 to 18. Still they were actively involved in the creative process of exploring these universal ideas.
“For example for the idea of embracing and refraining from embracing we asked the dancers to imagine times in their own lives when they’ve felt they needed to be embraced or when they haven’t needed it” Sudds explains.
Even more psychological work underpins the war segment which involves all 18 dancers and is the collaborative work of three of the choreographers. The dancers were asked to pick different issues around war and discuss which images stood out the most for them.
“One was 9/11” says Sudds “but some of the dancers were only in kindergarten when it happened so we showed them videos to give them a deeper understanding of the conflict.”
Others including Sudds have grandparents who were evacuated during the Second World War. Sudds says while people might not realize it “everyone has a connection to war.”
She admits that the war segment was challenging for the younger dancers. “They used to laugh it off but they got there too.”
Sudds credits the off-the-dance-floor discussions they had on the war theme. Now at the end of the journey for this production Sudds says the dancers are unbelievable for their age. “They’re very inspiring.”
Despite the modern infusion that appears in the war segment the text is timeless and adapted carefully into a well-balanced show. “This performance is like a series of waves washing over you some heavier some lighter. But overall we want audiences to leave with a sense of hope” says Sudds.
“Even in those dark times of pain or depression there’s always a way out — there’s always peace. We don’t want to leave audiences in that darkness.”
