Near & Far Projects’ “Phantasmagoria” wows with dance that defies description

Reviewing Phantasmagoria, a new choreographic work that debuted at this year’s Toronto Fringe Festival, is a tricky endeavour because the show is difficult to put into words. This is ironic, given that Phantasmagoria began as words: specifically, as choreographer Tavia Christina’s thesis at Metropolitan Toronto University. It was accepted as a solo work for the 2020 Toronto Fringe Festival – but the words were never translated into a live show because of  the pandemic shutdown). Since then and in time for the 2022 Toronto Fringe, Christina’s Near & Far Projects, in conjunction with associate producer Bri Clarke, have expanded Phantasmagoria to a 45-minute ensemble piece. 

It is outstanding.   

The concept or the experience of Phantasmagoria does defy words . . . but here’s a try. The movement-based show explores the process by which a person renounces themselves in pursuit of their beloved. The audience follows two partners (Eleanor van Veen and Evan Webb) whose initial blush of love has faded. Now, they confront the reality of a relationship that is tattered, each one struggling to remember who they were before feeling that intial flush of love. They are observed through the eyes of “The Void”– an amorphous collective (Frédérique Perron, Elvina Raharja, Eilish Shin-Culhane and Barbara Simms) whose sole motivation is to experience human feeling. Through dance, projections, and music, Phantasmagoria presents a dynamic vignette of what can be lost and gained in love. It also reminds us that the ability to feel is a strange yet universal experience.

The show is a dance performance, in the style of contemporary, floorwork, partnering, and improvisation. Christina’s choreography is modern and timeless, the body giving eloquent expression to the intangible feelings of tortured hearts. The choreography is intense, intricate, complex and unexpected. And it is interpreted with a sophisticated acumen and effortless fluidity by the ensemble of highly-skilled dancers. 

Beginning with evocative projections against the back wall of the stage, Phantasmagoria features the use of quick lighting changes, and evocative instrumental music by Brayden Krueger that forms a soundscape that is abrupt and often loud. The dancers’ formations and reformations are an arresting complement to Krueger’s propulsive score. In fact, the dancers are so magnetic that they draw and hold the eye from their first movement to their final hum. 

It’s also worth noting that, although Phantasmagoria is a dance work, it is widely accessible through the provision of pre-show audio notes and a Visual Story Guide created by the company and available on their Toronto Fringe webpage. The show does contain references to the narratives of mental illness and emotional abuse. And a final vocalization concludes the show, and audiences are at this point invited to hum or sing along with the performers. 

A friendly post-show Q&A follows the show. At this time, audiences can dialogue with the performers, producer and choreographer. It is well worth staying to delve more deeply into the show’s origin and developmental process, while gleaning the effect of this piece on diverse perspectives. According to the show’s notes, Phantasmagoria’s aim is to have audience members “introspect – to refer to their own experience as emotional beings, to allow themselves space to feel – as we move through this exploration of self-renouncement; as we explore what it is like when you lose yourself to love”. Based on the questions, comments and responses of the audience during the post-show Q&A that I attended, the show more than meets its aim. Some audience members expressed pleasant surprise or excitement; others expressed anxiety, coupled with a desire to view the show again to see what new feeling it might elicit. Still others expressed curiosity to understand the lovers’ emotions more deeply. 

One thing was abundantly clear: all were wowed by what they had just seen. If you’d like to be wowed, please note that Phantasmagoria has only 4 Toronto Fringe performances at the Al Green Theatre, with just two now remaining. They should not be missed.

Reserve tickets to Phantasmagoria here.

© Arpita Ghosal, SesayArts Magazine, 2022