Dusk is the beginning of darkness in the evening. It is the end of civil twilight.
This is the beginning stage of a longer work concerned with themes surrounding darkness, shadows, limited visibility, and the fall of night
Dancers: Tara Dyberg, Michelle Cheung, Caroline Farqhuar, Samantha Gray(Apprentice)
Performances: EDAM, Vancouver BC, December 2009
“Who so loves believes the impossible.” (Elizabeth Barrett Browning)
Joe Laughlin choreographs new work with Ballet British Columbia in collaboration with the Arts Umbrella Graduate Program in Surfacing.
November, 2009
(in)habitat explores how we define our sense of place in the world and the importance of home as sanctuary. How does our physical environment shape our behaviour and impact our relationships? Shelter is a basic human need; it’s also an expression of our hopes, our dreams and even our deepest fears.
Performances: Firehall Arts Centre, as part of the Dance in Vancouver Festival Oct 2009
Read what Georgia Straight, Vancouver had to say.
So you think you can dance?
So does Joe Ink!
Feb 16th, 7:00 pm
Roundhouse Community Centre
An Interactive Performance for all ages!
Shake a leg, get down and get funky with The Move It Show! – a magical interactive performance that connects audiences in a hands-on, full-body arts experience. The audience literally steps onto the stage in this live show and becomes featured as guest artists; to be whirled and twirled and inspired into movement by a marvelous program led by two of our most talented dancers. This energetic and humourous show promotes healthy self-image, cooperation and creativity. Every body is a dancer in The Move It Show!
The Move It Show! is partnered with the Roundhouse Arts Centre, the Looking Glass Foundation, Host a City Happening and Cultural Olympiad.
Tickets are FREE and we are hoping that all and everyone can come out for this. Get the whole family down. Its going to be a lot of fun. Please contact info@joeink.ca or 604-893-8807 for large groups or info. No reservations required, but we can save spots.
“Taut sexuality and aching sadness, with well placed aggression…complex duets and trios convey tortuous negotiations in the struggle for supremecy: these masters of intrigue [the dancers] didn’t withdraw without a fight…a stunning piece of work.”
-Louise Phillips, The Vancouver Courier
The ingenuity, invention and beauty of the Baroque era reflected the theatricality and spatialization of power. As the body carves itself into an edifice of fleeting perfection so too do great empires crumble. Only this time, it’s chamber ballet disrupted.
“Each performer was a twist on a fairy tale archetype: Snow White, Cinderella, and Sleeping Beauty. Together they teetered and pirouetted around in [their skyscraping heels]…a mix of June Cleaver housewife and Swan Lake Ballerina. Beneath the jokes were some smart statements on female stereotypes, plus a few choreographic sendups of fairy tale ballet; and hey, if that art form doesn’t have a foot fetish, I’m little Red Riding Hood.”
-Janet Smith, The Georgia Straight
Sleeping Booty finds three fairy tale ballerinas at the crossroads of girlish naiveté, Stepford wife-hood, and happily-ever-after. An irreverent tale a little more twisted than Disney or the Brothers Grimm might have us believe. Commissioned for the 20th anniversary of Dancing on the Edge.
Electro-Visual Hi-Tech Dance
“…an ever shifting Rorschach test; combined with Laughlin’s energy-abundant steps, they have an impact that’s as hallucinatory as it is hypnotic…the science behind Grace is truly at the forefront, both in terms of computer-generated effects and their use in dance…Grace fuses it wholly and seamlessly throughout…this is no conventional dance duet.”
- Gail Johnson, The Georgia Straight
“Faust and Frankenstein would love it!”
-Louise Phillips, The Vancouver Courier
In a distant galaxy, a newly minted human creation in search of a soul. A clash of technology and dance, when movement becomes sound becomes light becomes image becomes life.
Winner of 2006 Isadora Award for Excellence in Choreography.
. . . movement becomes sound becomes light becomes image becomes life . . .
In search of the Soul.
A Scientist.
A Laboratory.
A Life.
Cloistered in a distant galaxy, a cyber scientist clashes with her captive, a newly minted human subject.
(Media: links to high resolution photos)
Photos by Chris Randle
“Dance and technology combine in this otherworldly skewed conversation, with an impact as hallucinatory as it is hypnotic.”
“Faust and Frankenstein would love it!”
“Target audience: Adventurous dance fans and new media enthusiasts”
Co-created by Joe Laughlin and jamie griffiths
Performed by either Joe Laughlin (dancer) or Sarah Williams (dancer) and jamie griffiths (visualist)
Original Electronic Music Score: Leonard J. Paul
Lighting Design: James Proudfoot
Wearable Light Sculptures: Diana Burgoyne
The List (Allan Radcliffe) August 9 – 16, 2005
“4-stars – The visual impact of the show is breathtaking”
The Scotsman (Kelly Apter) – August 11, 2005
“Energetic, experimental and exciting”
The Sunday Herald - August 21. 2005
“Eye-popping digital constellations” . . . “Technology . . . is the real star here”
Three Weeks Daily – August 25, 2005
“This ‘new media duet’ is extremely impressive . . . more x-rated than x-files . . . ‘Grace’ is likely to make sparks fly for new media enthusiasts”
The Vancouver Sun – Oct 9th 2004
Deborah Meyers
“Grace is a technological game, but it’s also an other-worldly, at times disturbingly skewed conversation”
“… an embryonic ultrasound come to life… its complex, shifting visuals are frequently beautiful, all grainy black and white, grey-blue and violet.”
“… a graphic illustration of the power of the body as (a) medium…”
The Georgia Straight – September 30th 2004
Gail Johnson
“… this is no conventional dance duet.”
“(Joe) spins on hyper speed behind a black scrim, Griffiths – sharing the stage from her vantage point on a rolling computer lab – manipulates video images of her partner … an ever shifting Rorschach test; combined with Laughlin’s energy-abundant steps, they have an impact that’s as hallucinatory as it is hypnotic.”
“.. the science behind Grace is truly at the forefront, both in terms of computer-generated effects and their use in dance…. Grace fuses it wholly and seamlessly throughout”
“Target audience: adventurous dance fans and computer geeks.”
The Georgia Straight – October 14th 2004
Gail Johnson
“What is most striking is the duo’s seamless integration of high-tech graphics and contemporary dance.”
“the effects of this computerized wizardry are as entrancing as they are disturbing, and wildly diverse.”
“In another knockout scene, Laughlin shuffles back and forth against the screen, partnering with the frantic lines of a seismograph.”
“The Joe Ink Artistic Director maintains integrity in his choreography throughout.”
“Leonard J. Paul’s original atmospheric score is a lively mix of street and break dance, funk and classical ballet.”
The Gleaner – Oct 15th 2004
(Langara College) Marcia Downham
“Grace is a culturally divine performance using both dance & technology.”
“An inspiring form of artistic and poetic dance given a twist with new-age technology.”
“It’s OUT OF THIS WORLD!”
The Vancouver Courier – October 13th 2004
Louise Phillips
“Faust & Frankenstein would love it!”
“As the newly minted human, curious and filled with wonder, Laughlin dances while hypnotic colors pulse on screen and scrim like seismic needle tracks.”
“It doesn’t get more high-tech than this…”
The Peak (SFU) – October 11th 2004
Sarah Caulfield
“… a collaborative dance piece between organic movement and technological frolics – (and it) does well in its foray into the new world of interactive arts”
“GRACE revives the (this) exploration of moving images, bringing back the childlike curiousity that we have lost over the years.”
“… the images rarely overwhelmed his performance, adding more to it.”
“… a simple twirl set off … a hurricane.”
“Laughlin’s talents as both a dancer and choreographer are evident throughout, particularly when he expresses himself with his full self. Griffiths’ visuals provide a fascinating compliment to the performance. “
“GRACE allows us to see dance through the natural movement of the body, as well as presenting us with a new approach, finding ‘dance’ in other forms.”
The Westender – October 14th 2004
Leanne Campbell
“Joe Laughlin has always stood apart; his niche in the dance world is very much of his own creation, and the only constant in his work is his refusal to conform.”
“Grace is… an examination of life’s deepest questions through technology.”
‘Grace is the polar opposite of tutus and pointe shoes…”
The Vancouver Sun – October 6th 2004
Kevin Griffin
“The intimacy is startling.”
Xtra West – September 30th 2004
C.E. Gatchalian
“… two renowned queer artists take the attributes of their respective media to create an eccentric and mesmerizing new whole.”
“…Left was as wickedly sophisticated as you might expect from the veteran dancer and choreographer. Dressed in white ruffs, feet daintily crossed at the ankles, Laughlin contemplated a teacup. 
The cup became a symbol, an adversary, an oracle and a crown. Laughlin played fussy courtier, shy plotter, and finally, an instrument of destruction. Then he dived into the saucer with the air of a man who has come to terms with life.”
- The Courier
Joe Ink continued to surprise in this gently melancholic, evocative solo (or duet, whichever way you want to look at it) about a man and a teacup.
“What was gorgeous was the movement. At times the dance dripped with raw energy. Hints of ritualistic African gestures – dancers stepping with flexed feet or grinding their hips – gave the work’s modern vocabulary all the more zest.”
- Adrienne Sichel, The Johannesburg Star
An international collaboration with the South African dance company Moving Into Dance Mophatong. A mesmerizing work of great artistic, social and political significance, the piece was inspired by the dancers’ own stories and experiences.
“…mind-blowing…the dancers pushed themselves to the limit, and beyond…the work’s hard core moments made the quieter ones all the more poignant” – Gail Johnson, The Georgia Straight
Humorous and emotionally compelling, The Body Remembers is a highly kinetic look at the mechanics of moving and the material life of the human body.
Lines between audience and performers blur in this outrageous and interactive dance cabaret about the seven deadly sins, which features the audience in the middle of the action. Original score by Hard Rubber Orchestra’s John Korsrud.
“A set of metal scaffolding 30 feet high becomes the playground for dancers and musicians in this highly athletic adventure that redefines the body in space. It was a beautiful, powerful and sometimes nerve-wracking performance.” – Chris Dafoe, The Globe and Mail
Another work involving scaffolding, Swing Theory premiered in the great hall of the National Gallery of Canada. Four dancers negotiate the unyielding metal framework, accompanied by photographic images, an original score and a live jazz band.
“L’Etiquette is about baroque manners twisted, tickled, sent up, knocked down. A dinner party; fans flicked open in coded signs…and an irresistible verve are the ingredients.” – Clement Crisp, London Financial Times
An amused and amusing look at social conventions. L’Etiquette was created for the Banff Festival Ballet.
“The brilliance of the work is that all four dancers are actually women – a fact not apparent anywhere but in the fine print of the program notes.”- Michael Scott, The Vancouver Sun
Sparked by a 1940s snapshot of Joe Laughlin’s father and his three brothers, this piece looks at what it means to move like men. A social commentary on the Old Boys’ Club. Originally created for the KISS Project.
“…a visible metaphor for the perils and potentials of contemporary urban life…left [a] poignant and…optimistic impression” - Max Wyman,The Vancouver Sun
Three daring female dancers explore a steel structure of tubes, rods and clamps in this look at human fragility and industrialism. The beginning of Joe Ink’s self-defined “scaffolding period.”
“A poisonously funny and very clever satire on the cult of masculinity, among other things” – Louise Whitney, The Courier
Highly athletic, high-impact dance with a twist: the performers are dressed in hockey equipment.
“Astonishingly vulgar…for the masochistic and merely curious” – Shannon Rupp,The Georgia Straight
Gender lines are blurred in this socio-political commentary on being male AND
female.
“Joe Laughlin’s acrobatic fluidity is allowed full rein as he dazzlingly propels himself onto and off the floor” – Susan Inman, Dance in Canada
AIDS is everyone’s war.
Photography by jamie griffiths, Chris Randle, Suzy Bernstein, Joe Laughlin © Joe Ink
Website/animation by Adjo in Vancouver, BC
