Abstracts
Abstract
This article introduces forty letters that Toronto composer Ann Southam (1937-2010) wrote to Winnipeg-based choreographer Rachel Browne (1934-2012) between 1995 and 2003, and which Circuit is publishing on its website.
Although Browne’s letters to Southam are lost, the surviving half of the correspondence documents an artistically fruitful friendship between two major figures in Canadian music and dance. (Browne was a founding mother of contemporary dance in Canada, while Southam was a pioneer of electronic music and minimalism in Canada, as well as a prolific and gifted composer of music for dance.)
Feminism dominates the correspondence, in which we see both women striving to create woman-centred art and lives. The article also comments on their shared love of nature, and contextualizes how Browne used Southam’s music in dances she was creating during this period.
The article also sketches the two women’s contrasting origins—Browne’s childhood in Philadelphia, where her Russian Jewish parents passed their socialist ideals on to her; Southam’s upper class upbringing within a prominent Canadian newspaper dynasty.
Keywords:
- Ann Southam,
- Rachel Browne,
- Winnipeg’s Contemporary Dancers,
- contemporary dance in Canada,
- feminism,
- performing arts
Résumé
Cet article présente quarante lettres que la compositrice torontoise Ann Southam (1937-2010) a écrites à la chorégraphe de Winnipeg Rachel Browne (1934-2012) entre 1995 et 2003, et que Circuit publie sur son site Web.
Bien que les lettres de Browne à Southam soient perdues, la moitié de la correspondance qui reste témoigne d’une amitié artistiquement fructueuse entre deux figures majeures de la musique et de la danse au Canada. (Browne est l’une des mères fondatrices de la danse contemporaine au Canada, tandis que Southam est une pionnière de la musique électronique et du minimalisme au Canada, ainsi qu’une compositrice prolifique et talentueuse de musique pour la danse.)
Le féminisme domine la correspondance, dans laquelle on voit les deux femmes chercher à créer un art et une vie centrés sur la femme. L’article commente également leur amour commun de la nature et replace dans son contexte la façon dont Browne a utilisé la musique de Southam dans ses chorégraphies à cette époque.
L’article décrit également les origines contrastées des deux femmes : l’enfance de Browne à Philadelphie, où ses parents juifs russes lui ont transmis leurs idéaux socialistes ; l’éducation de Southam dans la classe aisée, au sein d’une importante dynastie médiatique canadienne.
Mots-clés :
- Ann Southam,
- Rachel Browne,
- Winnipeg’s Contemporary Dancers,
- danse contemporaine au Canada,
- féminisme,
- arts vivants
Appendices
Appendices
Bibliography
- Anderson, Carol (1999), Rachel Browne: Dancing Toward the Light, Winnipeg, J. Gordon Shillingford Publishing.
- Anderson, Carol (2000), “Winnipeg’s Contemporary Dancers,” in Susan MacPherson (ed.), Encyclopedia of Theatre Dance in Canada / Encyclopédie de la danse théâtrale au Canada, Toronto, Arts Inter-Media Canada/Dance Collection Danse, pp. 630-633.
- Bernstein, Tamara (1993), “Exploring Archetypal Themes: Choreographer Patricia Beatty Wants to Affect People’s Minds and Souls,” The Globe and Mail, Sept. 16, 1993, p. E5.
- Bernstein, Tamara (2010), “Minimalist Sound, Maximum Impact: Canadian Composer of New Music Was in Search of a Feminist Aesthetic: ‘Repetitive and Life-sustaining,’” The Globe and Mail, Dec. 20, 2010, p. S10.
- Good, Jacqui (2000), “Browne, Rachel,” in Susan MacPherson (ed.), Encyclopedia of Theatre Dance in Canada / Encyclopédie de la danse théâtrale au Canada, Toronto, Arts Inter-Media Canada / Dance Collection Danse, 2000, pp. 96-98.
- Kivi, K. Linda (1992), “Ann Southam,” in Canadian Women Making Music, Toronto, Green Dragon Press, pp. 115-118.
- Morey, Carl (2000), “Southam, Ann,” in Susan MacPherson (ed.), Encyclopedia of Theatre Dance in Canada / Encyclopédie de la danse théâtrale au Canada, Toronto, Arts Inter-Media Canada / Dance Collection Danse, p. 425.
