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| Rachel Browne, 1992. Photo Credit: Randal Newman |
An Ottawa sneak peek for A Good Madness brings a sentimental note to the Canada Dance Festival line-up, for dance icon Rachel Browne passed away one night while attending the festival in 2012. She was 77.
Browne received the Order of Canada in 1997 for her significant contribution towards developing modern
dance in Canada. She founded the Winnipeg Contemporary Dancers in 1964, one of
Canada’s oldest professional modern dance companies and the School of
Contemporary Dancers in 1972, and her contribution to Canadian culture inspired
countless dancers through her work as dancer, choreographer, and teacher. As a
teacher, then, there’s a certain poetry to the fact that Browne passed away
while in town to see the next generation of dancers perform at the festival.
The documentary evokes her life and work through
performance. A Good Madness, as Sturk
says, “seeks a visceral and visual understanding of Rachel Browne, through her
body of dance work, and through the bodies and souls of the artists who have
danced with her…We see through the dance right into her. And we find a curious,
outstanding, private human worthy of the lens we turn toward her soul; an
inspiration to all of us to endure, to just do, to not put on airs, and to live
our life honestly.” The clips (embedding disable by request) certainly hint at pleasure in performance.
Further events will honour Browne’s contribution to the arts
in Winnipeg in September and October 2014. A
Good Madness also anticipates a run in the fall festival circuit, so Friday’s
sneak peek offers a chance to get a leg up on a hot topic in the Canadian
cultural scene.
A Good Madness: The
Dance of Rachel Browne screens
When: Friday June
13, 2014 at 3:00 PM. (Running time: 80 min.)
Where: National
Gallery of Canada, 380 Sussex Drive, Ottawa, ON
Tickets: $5
or free with Canada Dance Festival pass
Please visit the
Canada Dance Festival's website
for more details.
*Reviews are embargoed until the fall, so I won’t be able to
weigh in on my thoughts, but please feel free to join in the dance and post
your thoughts in the comments!
