The Quebec based CAS Public returned to the Théâtre Raymond Kabbaz with Hélène Blackburn’s “Not Quite Midnight”, what Blackburn called an “expressionist” look at the folk myth “Cinderella”. “Not Quite Midnight” does not come close to matching the brilliance of Blackburn’s work titled “9”, seen at the same venue last year. What remained superb about this company, however, were its cast of dancers.
A video of a small blond girl wearing a pink party dress and white sneakers whose soles lit up at night as she ran down a deserted street was projected occasionally throughout the evening. This adorable child, small doll houses of varying shapes, three young actors and several remote-controlled blue birds spoke to Cinderella’s famed innocence and goodness. The abuse of rapid-fire repetitive movement, blasts of steam center stage, and reoccurring light pools/specials soon fatigued my ability to follow any story line. It took almost the entire hour for me to sort out exactly which of the two women were the true Cinderella. I finally settled upon the extraordinary Daphnée Laurendeau as Cinderella, who never wore a glass or silver slipper, but who at the end of the ball stood alone.
CAS Public – “Not Quite Midnight” – Photo by Claudia Chan Tak
The movement vocabulary for this work looked as if Blackburn had chosen favorite moments from her work “9″ and repeated them ad nauseam with costume and hair changes. What makes the movement appear unique is the speed at which Blackburn insist the dancers perform it. I longed for a quiet, clear moment. Near the end I did spot a slow leg extend by Laurendeau that stood out like a splash of red upon an otherwise gray painting. This speed was impressive for the first ten minutes of “Not Quite Midnight” but in the end it was simply exhausting.
What did not work as well as last year was Blackburn’s use of the children. They were adorable and entertaining, but why were they there? These three beautiful and fearless children had a great time and if one separated what they did from the main idea of the work, then it was fun to watch how they responded to quiet verbal coaching by the performers.
CAS Public – “Not Quite Midnight” – Photo by Claudia Chan Tak
The dancers performed in soft shoes, character shoes, bare feet, and Laurendeau and Carson McDougall in and out of pointe shoes which facilitated the execution of the speedy partnered pirouettes. The cast were masters at fast body isolations, repetitive arm and hand gestures, and one never witnessed a mistake if there were any. Their technical execution was astonishing.
The technical crew deserves kudos for keeping up with the Lighting Design by Emilie B-Beaulieu and Blackburn. Dancers and the children dashed from one floor special to the next for more times than I cared to keep track of or to answer the question “why?”.
CAS Public – “Not Quite Midnight” – Photo by Claudia Chan Tak
The performers were well worth attending this performance, as was the music score by Martin Tétreault, a compilation of classical, jazz, and electronic music with a dash of the inevitable clock ticking down to end the Fairy Godmother’s spell at the stroke of midnight. I truly loved Blackburn’s “9″ and went to the theater excited to see this work. “Not Quite Midnight” looked like stolen moments from last year’s performance.
The truly brilliant cast included Alexander Ellison, Cai Glover, Robert Guy, Daphnée Laurendeau, Carson McDougall, and Danny Morissette. The children’s names were not listed.
Written by Jeff Slayton for LA Dance Chronicle, November 11, 2019.
To visit the CAS Public website, click here.
To visit the Théâtre Raymond Kabbaz website, click here.
