Ghosts - Kokoro leaves you haunted

On top of the Sunrise Market in the midst of Chinatown, 12 Scottish ghosts stand, garbed in white linens and lace, adorned with red and black sashes. In the center stands the musical guard, frocked in kilts and armed with bagpipes and drums.

As the wail of the bagpipes start, the dancers are slowly set in motion. As the performance of Ghosts unfolds, each song brings a new dance, and the cyclical movements of the musicians emphasize the cycles of death to which we bear witness.

I have to admit, I adore the Kokoro Dance troupe. What I love most about them is how with each year they seem to get further away from the Butoh dance style - allowing more movements to happen more rapidly, rather than having very few movements happening at the speed of a flower opening (Butoh's traditional approach). But at the same time they stay true to the philosophy, which is creating the physical embodiment of the frailty of life and death.

While many of Kokoro's shows pull nature into the theme, this one could not have been more militaristic. Repetitive marching moves into suffering which then turns into death. After the piece, I found that it was not the death that haunted me but the suffering. Two of the dancers were directly in front of me when they let out a silent scream. Their bodies were engulfed with pain, their mouths gaping. It was a sight that almost brought tears to my eyes - how could someone capture so much pain in every muscle of their body, and not be feeling it?

While the dancing was beautifully unnerving, it was also interesting to look around at the audience. Because Ghosts was a free show in the DTES, there were a number of homeless people in the crowd. A transvestite prostitute clad in pink spandex let the rhythm of the bagpipes take her. Others just sat and watched silently. It was a moment where I saw arts funding going that extra step - to bring the stage to everyone.

_Ghosts is a Dancing on the Edge Festival Presentation and a 10 for 20 Dancing on the Edge Commission; July 3 - 5, 2008; Company: Kokoro Dance; Choreographers: Barbara Bourget & Jay Hirabayashi; Composer: Sylvia DeTar; Performers: Brandy Baybutt, Barbara Bourget, Carolyn Chan, Jay Hirabayashi, Holly Holt, Ellen Luchkow, Molly McDermott, Espirito Santo Mauricio, Kristine Richmond, Robert Seaton, Cara Siu, Amy Tao; Musicians: James Laughlin, Neil MacPherson, Will Nichols, Sylvia DeTar; Costumes: Laura Bartlett_