ROCKING THE BOAT

CELEBRATING QUEER CONTENT IN CANADIAN CONCERT DANCE

DANNY

GROSSMAN

A native of San Francisco, Danny Grossman has been active in Toronto as a choreographer since 1975 and was the long-time director of the Danny Grossman Dance Company. Influenced by his upbringing in a politicized household, his repertoire of some 50 plus works is infused with themes that provide social commentary on issues re-lated to class, race and sexuality. His first work to overtly portray homosexuality came in the form of an autobiographical narrative dating from the late 1970s titled Portrait. Every few years since, he has revisited themes relating to sexual identity, sometimes light-hearted or by turns gritty. Beyond his declared queer-themed works, many different kinds of sexuality are woven through his repertoire, as he cleverly subverts the traditional portrayals of love and relationships.

Photo Credit (above): Danny Grossman by Cylla von Tiedemann

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  • Danny Grossman section - Live exhibition
  • Andrea Nann (L), Kate Holden (R) in the 2002 remount of “Ces Plaisirs” (1985) / Photo: David Hou
  • Cover of "Body Politic", No. 125, April 1986 / Provided courtesy of Danny Grossman
  • Danny Grossman as the “Voyeur” in his work, “Ces Plaisirs” (1985) / Photo: Cylla von Tiedemann
  • Danny Grossman / Photo: Cylla von Tiedemann

 

THIS IS HEAVEN TO ME

Set in the washroom of an art deco–era train station, Danny Grossman’s This is Heaven to Me is a tale of a working man – a janitor who escapes the drudgery of the job through erotic fantasy. The worker’s tools and clothes give way to a dress, stockings and boa and a fantasy encounter with his ideal man ensues. He gets more than he bargained for and although the experience is heightened by a chorus of nymph-like creatures, he is ultimately unfulfilled because there is no love.

 

This is Heaven to Me (2001)

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  • Choreography: Danny Grossman
  • Sound Score: Darren Copeland
  • Set and Costume design: Cheryl Lalonde
  • Lighting Design: Bonnie Beecher
  • Dancers: Gerald Michaud, Eddie Kastrau, Andrea Nann, Ray Hogg, Kate Holden, and Phillipe Dubuc
  • Video: Liam Romalis/Gerald Packer for Riddle Films

 

 

  • Reproduction of Danny Grossman’s choreographic drawings and notes for “This is Heaven To Me” (2001) / Provided courtesy of Danny Grossman
  • Reproduction of Danny Grossman’s choreographic drawings and notes for “This is Heaven To Me” (2001) / Provided courtesy of Danny Grossman
  • Reproduction of Danny Grossman’s choreographic drawings and notes for “This is Heaven To Me” (2001) / Provided courtesy of Danny Grossman
  • Water colour designs by Cheryl Lalonde for the protagonist’s costume in Danny Grossman’s “This is Heaven to Me” (2001) / Provided courtesy of Cheryl Lalonde
  • Partial set for Danny Grossman’s “This Is Heaven To Me” / Photo: Cylla von Tiedemann
  • Eddie Kastrau and Gerald Michaud in Danny Grossman’s “This Is Heaven To Me” (2001) / Photo: Cylla von Tiedemann

 

NOBODY'S BUSINESS

Nobody’s Business, driven by the music of jazz greats Jelly Roll Morton and Joe Turner, is a light-hearted look at sexual preferences and stereotypes. Conventional movement characteristics are swapped between genders, with a gay duet anchoring the piece. The content of the work is tame by today’s standards, but in 1980, when the piece was created, the subject matter was regarded as too taboo for the theatre crowd. Danny says, "Back then I would hear that certain presenters didn’t want us to bring 'that gay dance'. Over the years this happened less, but by then I had produced a few dark dances exploring sexuality perhaps prompting presenters to appreciate the accessibility of Nobody’s Business."

 

Nobody's Business (1981)
(no sound)

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  • Choreography: Danny Grossman
  • Music: Jelly Roll Morton and the Red Hot Peppers, Joe Turner
  • Costumes: Mary Kerr
  • Lighting Design: David Morrison
  • Dancers: Bohdan Romaniw, Stephen Osborne, Judith Miller, Trish Armstrong, Pamela Grundy, Eddie Kastrau, and Randy Glynn

Video excerpt of the group section is from the series The Dancemakers written, directed and produced by Moze Mossanen

 

 

  • Danny Grossman display case - Live exhibition
  • The book, “Secret Paris of the 30s”, by the photographer Brassaï, provided inspiration for Danny Grossman’s “Nobody’s Business”
  • Bohdan Romaniw and Judith Miller in Danny Grossman’s “Nobody’s Business” (1981) / Photo: Cylla von Tiedemann - Cylla von Tiedemann Portfolio, Dance Collection Danse
  • Dindi Lidge (L), Randy Glynn (R) c.1982 in the duet from “Nobody’s Business” (1981) / Provided courtesy of Randy Glynn
  • Shoes worn by Danny Grossman for the duet from “Nobody’s Business” (1981), design by Mary Kerr

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© DANCE COLLECTION DANSE 2016