Review: JUNIOR 2024 (Harbourfront Centre)

Every May long weekend, the Harbourfront Centre hosts the annual Junior Festival, featuring a lineup of free or affordable performances of dance, theater, and circus, and activities for kids of all ages. This was my first time attending the festival and I had the pleasure of seeing three works: Make Me Dance by the Norwegian company Panta Rei Danseteater, Afrique en Cirque from the Guinean Cirque Kalabanté and BENCHED by Denmark’s Uppercut Dance Theater.

This festival isn’t about kiddie performances; think less Jojo Siwa from the 2010s and more contemporary dance works that are just as enjoyable for adults as for kids. The content is child-friendly, and some performances even invite children to participate. It is the environment that truly caters to kids—you could see these works on an adult night out, but the presence of little ones running around, chuckling, and trying out some moves makes it special.

Make Me Dance was the first on my list, the only ticketed event on my roster for the day. This live dance and DJ show, with choreography by Anne Holck Ekenes and Pia Holden, is performed by the Norwegian company Panta Rei Danseteater and co-produced by Brageteatret.

Make Me Dance was a truly special experience. You are welcomed into the Harbourfront Centre Theatre, stripped of its chairs. A wide-open floor with big long rectangular boxes for seats creates a performance in the round (really a square). One full side of the square is the DJ booth with the awesome Marcus Amadeus Quelhas. He creates music and bops along through the whole performance, using sounds like slapping his chest, or of the dancer’s and audience’s creations.

The performance shares the stories of its three dancers and their journeys into dance. The pure passion in these stories is heartwarming and relatable to all dancers and artists in the room. It reminded me of my dance origin story, similar to those performing. One of the dancers would learn every routine he could from TV and music videos, showing us a bit of a Backstreet Boys performance he had memorized. Another dancer's story involved watching Cats on stage and reading every word of the programme book until it fell apart. Personally, when I finally convinced my parents to sign me up for a dance class at the age of 11 or 12, that one-hour class each week became my obsession. After the final recital, I learned every dance on the recital DVD, putting each one on slow-mo and spending months mastering each one until I got another recital video a year later.

While the dancers tell their stories, they perform intensely physical contemporary movement phrases. They switch between socks, which allow them to flow and flip through the space effortlessly, and shoes, which bring more grounded, physical dynamics. The dancers' warm glow creates a welcoming space. There is audience participation, but there’s no pressure for the shyer individuals. The main takeaway from the performance is to be yourself and persevere for what you want (like a dance career). Ending with a big dance party, this heartwarming piece reminds you why you love the arts and the intense passion we have as kids.

Make Me Dance is playing again on Monday, May 20th at 2:15pm. Tickets range from $15 to $25. This performance is at the Harbourfront Centre Theatre (Indoor Venue) located at 231 Queens Quay West, Toronto, Ontario.

Next up was Afrique en Cirque, presented by the Canadian and Guinean Cirque Kalabanté and multidisciplinary artist Yamoussa Bangoura. This is not a circus with clowns and juggling; it features some of the most jaw-dropping acrobatics and tricks, along with different circus arts and human pyramids to the sounds of live Afro Jazz and West African drumming.

Based on the lineup timing, I was only able to see half of this performance, but what a performance it was! These circus performers pulled out all the tricks, from incredible acrobatics, a squeamish contortion/ bone breaking solo, a giant hula hoop solo and many many human pyramid tricks which I white knuckled through. This free event was jam packed with kids and parents all in awe of these incredible (and incredibly fit) performers.

Afrique en Cirque is playing again on Monday, May 20 at 1:30pm. It is free to watch and is playing on the outdoor concert stage (235 Queens Quay W. Toronto, ON).

Lastly, BENCHED by Denmark’s Uppercut Dance Theater features five dancers in suit jackets interacting with and dancing around solid black benches on an outdoor square stage. The dancers appeared to fly as they slid, glided, sat, laid, flipped over, and moved with the benches in various ways. They constantly interacted, leaning or sitting on each other. The benches started with their legs on the ground but were moved in every possible way, even vertically, creating beautiful tableaus with the dancers all with contemporary movement and a touch of breaking. Choreographed by Stephanie Thomasen, this performance captivated many kids, who giggled and were mesmerized by the dancers. I feel like they enjoyed it so much because it allowed them to get up close to the performers.

One note about this piece: while it appears to be in the round, it favors one direction much more (the most southern facing side). I recommend watching from that vantage point.

BENCHED is playing again Monday, May 20 at 3:15pm. It is free to watch and is playing on the South Lawn - a temporary venue located at the south end of our campus, west of the main building and north of the Concert Stage (235 Queens Quay West Toronto, ON)

The JUNIOR Festival, presented by the Harbourfront Centre, is on until Monday May 20th, 2024. It is a weekend of free and ticketed performances in theatre, dance, music and interactive activities for children ages 5–12. For more information check out HarbourfrontCentre.com.

Written by Deanne Kearney. www.deannekearney.com @deannekearney

Photo 1: JUNIOR festival. Photo by Brian Medina.
Photo 2: Make Me Dance by Panta Rei Danseteater. Photo by Tale Hendnes.
Photo 3: Afrique en Cirque by Cirque Kalabanté. Photo by Peter Graham.
Photo 4: Benched by Uppercut Dance Theater. Photo Courtesy of Artist.