Jarkko Lehmus Diary

Laa-la-laa-lalala-la-la-la-la-la-la...

Ladies and gentlemen of the audience! Welcome again to the wonderful world of weblog entertainment! Your host this evening will be the fabulous (drum roll) Dancing Crowbar! Tonight's show may or may not include topics such as The Forsythe Boogie, Turning a New Page, Cheap Cars and Fast Women, Backstore Bashing, The Silver Machine, A Funk Combo in a Grand Piano, and The National Lampoon's Summer Holiday in no particular order. So, my lovelies, without any further delay: Let's get it on!!!
(All the characters appearing are entirely fictional and any resemblance to any real life personalities are entirely coincidental. All rights reserved, wrongs denied and complaints ignored.)

Since the last entry I've been busy as a pygmy marmoset before the rain season busting my body into some funky tunes by Bach, Brian Eno and Aphex Twin and dragging, or running after, various ladies around the studio. Partnering is a funny thing you know. One goes to the gym to lift weights to get the necessary oomph to be able to give the girls the lift and support that they want, but when you get down and start boogieing with your chosen lady the brute force really goes out the window. You see, the iron doesn't flounder, nor does it jump. It's all fine and well to be able to make things happen, but the real skill is to be able to let things happen. The man creates a space for the woman to move into... I'll be dusting off my old tango shoes when I get back from the holidays.

Artefacts is looking mighty good but we'll definitely have our plates full after the holidays. There's still a few bits to learn and a lot of cleaning to do. Luckily we'll have lovely Jodie with us again. Growl... It's a full day job rehearsing something like Artefacts, but, just to ensure we're not having any free time problems, the creation of Ashley's new piece is in full swing as well. Some rocking beats from Brian Eno contrasted by John Adams' soothing tunes. I like it so far, but my perspective within the piece is too close to get a full picture, so you'll have to come and judge it for yourselves. It's the first modern work that he's creating for this company, all the other pieces were made on Royal Ballet, so the process is very interesting. Do different set of brushes alter the final painting?

Just to keep to prettier people busy there's also the Van Manen pieces going on. I'm not involved in them and pretty busy in other studios so I haven't seen much of them but the little bits of the music I've heard have been impressive. John Cage was a full blooded genius.

Dancing the whole day is pretty knackering so what better way to wind down than to drag my bones into the theatre to watch some more dance! Rambert, Bill T Jones and Norman Douglas' The Ensemblegroup have been in town and I couldn't keep myself away. Rambert is a beautiful company, but the repertory left me lukewarm. Raphael Bonachela's piece was cool and groovy but, like looking at a caleidoscope, it get's a bit much after a while and starts eating itself. The other high light of the evening for me the singer, her name escapes my spongy brain, in De Frutos' piece. Her stage presence knocked the little dancers sideways! The Ensemblegroup was from the other end of the food chain. I tip my hat to anyone running a project based dance company. Norman had bitten a big chunk when he was choosing the choreographers and his dancers did their best to chew. Christopher Hampson's stew stayed lumpy and Norman's own needed a healthy dose of violence to spice up the moves but Cathy Marston's and Toni Mira's offerings were mouthwateringly tasty and showed the company in a very good light. The real revelation for me was served by Bil T Jones/Arnie Zane Dance Company. You can read more about it on the scottish Ballet's Dancers on Dance-reviews. Bill T Jones' charisma and conviction, and the way his dancers brought his vision on the stage adding a big dose of their own spices, made a lasting impression.

Scottish Ballet's technical department has a history of organising larger than life parties in their workshop under the banner 'Backstore Bash'. The company's long serving music director Alan Barker's retirement was the reason behind the latest, my first, Backstore Bash. It was an altogether unforgettable evening of fun and games complete with This Is Your Life-style presentation of Mr Barker's various undertakings, a quiz show about Alan's life, balloon relay and plenty of birling with a ceilidh band set in the backdrop of big city street cafe and fuelled by good food and dodgy punch. I myself learned a valuable lesson: kilts and inflatable assault courses don't go well together.

I've probably covered half of the topics I set in the begining. Maybe I'll fill you in later but I'm going to love you and leave you for now. The sun is up over the forests of Finland, and it's going to stay that way for a couple of weeks, so it's time for me to go out and do all the things my mother told me not to.