La Belle Laide

Lady of the Lake&emdash;Warehouse

La Belle Laide is a dance show. It attempts to tell a story with no dialogue (or monologue or…trialogue?) and minimal lighting, set and props. The actors’ bodies and some music are basically the only means of communication between the audience and the performers.

Do they succeed? Do they ever. Janelle Hacault, Tanja Woloshen and Rodrigo Belifuss convey their emotions and intentions not only in the expressions they create, but also in the way they create them. Janelle is graceful and poised, Tanja is sensual and passionate, (and sometimes a bit scary), and Rodrigo moves between the two, being by turns tortured (not physically), distant, violent and malleable.

As I mentioned before, the lighting, props and set are minimal, but effective in helping the artists convey their message without getting in the way of the physicality of the piece. I would have liked to see more of Brett Owen, but I can see how that might get in the way of the narrative, so I guess even that isn’t a real complaint.

Eric Rae