Stepping Out Highbrow

I got tickets today to see a dance performance on Friday with Amber. The Toronto Dance Theatre is coming to town to perform Rivers, a piece set to the two-hour song cycle of the same name by Canadian minimalist composer Ann Southam.

I've loved this piece of music for a few years now, ever since I heard Laurie Brown play one of its movements on CBC's The Signal. The pianist performing that segment (whose fantastic recording I rushed out to buy and have treasured since) was Christina Petrowska Quilico. A widely acknowledged virtuoso, she was the first person to perform the cycle in its entirety. She's also the pianist who will be playing it live on Friday evening. So yes, I'm looking forward to this.

Here's a snippet of a past performance, sent to me by my friend and coworker Seth. It looks like the choreography will be a beautiful interpretation of the music's subtle, complex fluidity. Seth is the graphic designer for LiveArt, the local dance promoters who are bringing the TDT to Halifax for this three-night engagement. If he hadn't shown me the brochure he designed for them, I probably would have missed this rare opportunity. Thanks, Seth!