Manga, the Japanese comic book style characterized by wide-eyed characters and action-packed, epic storylines, has now become an inspiration for dance.
French-born choreographer Serge Bennathan, formerly artistic director of Toronto's Dancemakers, has created a dance for two called Manga that opens in Vancouver Thursday.
Dancers Susie Burpee and Linnea Swan will try to capture the sense of story-telling and continuous movement found in manga in their 60-minute duet.
"For me, dance is like the trunk of the tree, and from this trunk, there are a lot of other things … because of the research that you do in dance, suddenly you become interested in something," Bennathan said in an interview with CBC News.
Manga is just one of many cultural influences that might inspire dance, he said.
"Like, I have a very long period of research, and during this period I write a lot, I paint, and all these layers suddenly open doors. We are all emigrants of other art forms, right?"
Manga is an exploration of the dancer and liberty, he said, adding that he had the two dancers in mind even as he choreographed the work.
The music is by Bertrand Chenier, who has previously composed for Bennathan's dancers.
Bennathan spent three years in Vancouver before going Toronto for a decade to lead Dancemakers.
His Vancouver connections have helped him return to the West Coast, bringing dancers and costume designers with him, he said.
Les Productions Figlio, a new company he founded, will present the work at the ScotiaBank Dance Centre in Vancouver this Thursday through Saturday and at Dance Works in Toronto Nov. 21-24.
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