Altering the abstract
Jolene Bailie changes her MO for a more straight-forward dance show
Jared Story

Reality sometimes bites, but Jolene Bailie is happy to be dancing in it again.

For the 29-year-old dancer, whose past works have often been imaginary, fantastic and especially angst-driven, it was important to get back into the real world, which she’ll be doing with private i. Bailie’s latest solo show was created by Calgary’s Denise Clarke and is a theatrical dance investigation of the self.

“I really had a hard time having fun (in the past),” Bailie says. “I know that sounds bizarre, but this show is about a person living a great life, and she loves her life, even though there are ups and downs. So what? It’s life.

“To be that character and take that home, (as) opposed to my previous monstrous shows that invade every part of your life, it’s very refreshing to me.”

To craft the reality-based piece, Clarke ran Bailie through an intensely personal interview process. The purpose, however, was never to put the dancer’s life on display.

“She took that line of questioning and what she learned about me and used that as the basis for the writing, but it’s done in a way where it wouldn’t necessarily have to be about me,” Bailie says. “It creates this world, this character and an environment that worked. The odd line is directly what I said, but mainly she just used it as inspiration, as a foundation to create the character.”

Story aside, the actual dancing also has a firm grip in reality. She may be trained, but Bailie can get her groove on like anybody else.

“Often in modern works I have worked on in the past, the goal is to do something very abstract, something maybe not seen before, something completely different,” she explains. “This show plays off the dance clichés, so I do dance steps, which often I don’t do in my shows. It’s very much like I’m dancing. It’s clear what I’m doing is dancing around to the music.”

That music is the instrumental indie pop of Toronto’s The Hylozoists, so it’s evident Bailie is really putting the contemporary in contemporary dance, with private i promising to be very of the moment, a real look at a modern-day female.

“I’ve never had such current, real and human elements in my show,” Bailie says. “Usually the show is often abstract, maybe a little bizarre, but this show, well, even though there might be some bizarre elements in it, is about a real person. It’s very relatable to everyday life.”

You really don’t want to miss Bailie stepping out a bit — so be sure to be on time.

“No latecomers,” Bailie says. “That’s because of the set-up for the show going directly into the show. We have to start on time otherwise if we have to pause that beginning we’re screwed.

“Doors closed. Gone fishing. Too bad.”

That’s just the reality of the situation.