DanceWorks’ final mainstage show of the season is Gadfly’s UNBXBL II, choreographed by Apolonia Velasquez and Ofilio Sinbadinho. The program is a mixed bill featuring ANOMYKZ 2.0 and KLOROFYL 3.0, and two world premieres, FENOMENA and DESPITEBECAUSE. Here, we talk to Ofilio Sinbadinho to learn more about Gadfly’s creative process and upcoming show.
DANCEWORKS:
Can you describe Gadfly’s movement style?
OFILIO:
We try to put movement on stage that comes from the guts, movement that aims to move people, but not necessarily represent a style like contemporary dance, urban dance, or hip hop dance. We use creativity, technique, imagery, and character work to move people.
Our goal is to create work that will send people on a journey. We want audiences to have their own experiences. They will see messages, ideas, concepts, stories, and characters. Things may be familiar and there will be things that they won’t like. In 2018 people just consume and absorb, but we want you to work through things, receive, process, and think. Whether it is positive or negative, a quick thought, a series of tangents, we just want audiences to activate their creativity and imagination.
DANCEWORKS:
Take us through your choreographic process. What do you start with? Music? An idea? Movement?
OFILIO:
Every rehearsal and every process changes. The goal is to be as original as possible and be different from before. One day it may be music, one day a visual concept, sometimes movement created on the spot or created at an earlier time. Some rehearsals might have a mix of everything or just character work or dialogue. The best way to have a unique end result, is to start differently.
DANCEWORKS:
The upcoming production UNBXBL II includes reworks of ANOMYKZ and KLOROFYL. Can you talk about why you decided to return these works?
OFILIO:
We decided to revisit ANOMYKZ and KLOROFYL because things have changed. The works have the same foundation in how they were created, the same seeds, but they come from a personal place and have been updated to reflect our head space and style.
DANCEWORKS: Thank you, Ofilio.
UNBXBL II runs May 3-5, 2018 at the Harbourfront Centre Theatre. Tickets are available online, by phone at 416-973-4000, on in person at the Box Office.
This interview has been edited for publication purposes.
