Boston Common - Niche Media - A side of Boston that's anything but common.
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Random Acts of Dancing A CELEBRATORY PERFORMANCE CALLS ON BOSTON TO DANCE, DANCE REVOLUTION. YOU MAY HAVE NOTICED more than a few pianos were randomly scattered throughout the streets of Boston last fall. There were exactly 75 of them to celebrate the launch of the performing arts nonprofit Celebrity Series' 75th anniversary. To close the season, Celebrity Series is putting people to "play" once again—this time for an epic dance performance. From May 16 to 18, Copley Square Park will serve as the epicenter of a dance party as more than 100 local performers gather to stage Le Grand Continental, the brainchild of Montreal-based choreographer Sylvain Émard. "It's like a big ball of joy, and it's very contagious," he says. What began as a one-time-only piece, created for Montreal's Festival TransAmériques in 2009, has exploded into a must-see experience staged across North America and Mexico. "It was such a crazy project," Émard says. "It never stops." Le Grand Continental is the result of the choreographer's lifelong fascination with the social dances he saw organized in churches, gymnasiums, and community centers growing up. In the 30-minute piece, Émard stages a giant line-dance set to a musical mash-up of R&B, techno, ballroom, punk, and go-go music. After a career that's seen him collaborate with the world's preeminent dance companies, he opted to work with amateur dancers for Le Grand Continental. "After many, many years work- ing in a professional dance field, you lose track of why you decided to be a dancer," he explains. "It was very refreshing to be among people who don't question it." After an open casting call in February, Boston's Grand group began a series of 20 manda- tory rehearsals in March, during which the choreographer and his team were as strict as they'd be with a professional company. "I'm really honest and frank, and I insist on that," Emard says. "It's a very demanding process, very challenging for everyone." The dancers represent all ages and body types, a variety that the choreographer relishes. "Dance can't lie," he says, describing the amateur dancers as "very, very generous. They put their heart out there. They've worked so hard and give everything they've got." And that gives us plenty to behold. May 16–18, Copley Square Park, 617-598-3219; celebrityseries.org/lgc More than 100 amateur dancers will give it their all in The Grand Continental in Copley Square Park this May. PHOTOGRAPHY BY MATTHEW MURPHY (PHANTOM); ROBERT ETCHEVERRY (DANCE) To that end, the creative team has opted for more realism compared to the highly stylized original. The Phantom sports stubble (a first for the musical), has a less imposing posture, and is seen more without his mask, reminding audiences that the figure beneath the cape is more disfigured man than beast. His surroundings have changed, too, with the Phantom's traditional black-box lair replaced with a more claustrophobic labyrinth. Actor Cooper Grodin, who plays the Phantom, explains, "We can piece together that this char- acter was a genius—an architect and a musician. I happen to like him and identify with him—other than that whole murder thing," he says with a laugh. In one of the more heated moments of the show, Christine escapes with her suitor Raoul to a late, rooftop rendezvous. In the standout number "All I Ask of You," she remains the woman still wounded by the relatively recent death of her father, and Raoul is her disarming protector. It "became a song about a man pulling her back from the brink and bringing her to a place where he can just calm her down," explains Connor. "In this new produc- tion, it is less of a sweeping romantic ballad. It is more intense and real." It's also one of the reasons the show stands the test of time, according to Connor. "As love stories go, Phantom doesn't follow the rule of thumb," he says. "Christine ends up with someone else who is more appropriate, but not necessarily the right one for her heart. It's heartbreaking." Grodin agrees that this adds to the musical's universal appeal: "Consciously and unconsciously we're all afraid that we're unloved. We want to love because we want to be loved." June 26–July 20, Boston Opera House, 539 Washington St., 617-259- 3400; broadwayinboston.com BC continued from page 60 Cooper Grodin and Julia Udine sing "Music of the Night." 62 BOSTONCOMMON-MAGAZINE.COM HOTTEST TICKET 060-062_BC_SC_HT_LteSpr14.indd 62 4/4/14 7:02 PM