The marriage of music and dance requires a careful collaboration, one that allows for both genres to complement each other.
Les Ballets Jazz Montréal’s “Dance Me” fuses the emotionally potent songs of Canadian singer-songwriter Leonard Cohen with the movement language of the contemporary company.
Presented by the La Jolla Music Society and staged Wednesday at the San Diego Civic Theatre, the show makes the case for a match made in heaven.
Though Cohen had approved of the project along with the inclusion of more than a dozen of his songs, he died at the age of 82, a year before the premiere.
Yet, his presence lives on in a production that has visited three continents, was the subject of a PBS program and includes more than a dozen dance works interpreted by three internationally renowned choreographers (Andonis Foniadakis, Annabelle Lopez Ochoa and Ihsan Rustem).
Each dancemaker offers a unique take on Cohen’s songs, but the fluid athleticism of the BJM company, which celebrated its 50th anniversary in 2022, makes the show a cohesive tribute.
Interpreting Cohen’s profound, complex themes with movement required a different set of skills and sensitivity. The dancers must engage, not just with tempo and melody, but with the brutally honest, emotional content in Cohen’s lyrics.
“It’s risky,” agreed Alexandra Damiani, a former BJM dancer who became the company’s artistic director in 2021.
“When it’s done well, it’s magic. The music of Leonard Cohen can stand on its own, but the dance is another way of listening and understanding. The language and the power of the movement enables the audience to hear the song differently. It offers an homage and a new way of experiencing it. I find that so enriching. I’m always touched by that.”
“Dance Me” was conceived by BJM’s former artistic director Louis Robitaille, and it was first performed in 2017 as part of Montreal’s 375th birthday celebration.
It remains an ambitious touring production, enhanced with ambient sound and video projections that evoke the seasonal cycles of life, while the choreography suggests the contrasting themes in Cohen’s lyrics.
Les Ballets Jazz de Montréal is known for athleticism that integrates classical and contemporary technique.
“It Seemed the Better Way,” recorded just before Cohen’s death, is a poignant duet choreographed by Lopez Ochoa that interprets a spiritual struggle with tight, lyrical partnering.
Choreographer Foniadakis uses rapid movement and powerful lifts for “Boogie Street,” so the dancers look like an undulating sculpture.
And the waltzing “Dance Me to the End of Love” is accompanied by the vocal track included in the 2009 “Live in London” recording.
In his sonorous, sandpaper voice, Cohen sang what could be interpreted as a ‘til-death-do-us-part love song, but the lyrics were inspired by death camp prisoners who were led to crematoriums accompanied by a string ensemble during the Holocaust.
Dance me to your beauty with a burning violin
Dance me through the panic ‘til I’m gathered safely in
Lift me like an olive branch and be my homeward dove
Dance me to the end of love
For dancer and BJM artistic coordinator Andrew Mikhaiel, “Dance Me to the End of Love” is one of the most demanding numbers in the show, a performance that requires “trust building.”
Choreographed by Rustem, the work includes the whole, 14-member company and as each dancer approaches Mikhaiel, they perform a quick, dynamic pas de deux.
“It’s a powerful section for me because I’m the one constant figure on stage and it’s like a conveyor belt of duets,” said Mikhaiel, who joined the company in 2017 and has performed in more than 200 “Dance Me” productions.
“I dance intimately with every single dancer in the company and those short bursts of connection are beautiful and seen in real time. It takes a lot out, both physically and emotionally because I’m constantly changing my energy. But it has really made me learn, not only about myself, but how I dance with others.”
Cohen wrote authentically from a place of longing, loss, passion and celebration, and his artistry connects to the common humanity of a global audience.
Inducted into both the Canadian Music Hall of Fame and the Rock & Roll Hall of Fame, Cohen’s songs have been interpreted by numerous recording artists.
There are more than 50 versions of “Hallelujah,” perhaps his best-known work, performed by everyone from Andrea Bocelli and Justin Timberlake to Rufus Wainwright.
And “Hallelujah” is included in this concert program, but it is sung rather than danced to.
“The company joins on stage and the idea was about thanking Cohen for his work,” Mikhaiel explained.
“It’s a song we all love and can relate to. We look out into the audience and sometimes, we can hear people singing along with the dancers. It’s a beautiful moment in the show.”
Luttrell is a freelance writer.