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CENTRE STAGE: Dancing on the Edge returns with a packed line-up of contemporary dance

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EIC
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Thus Spoke pushes the boundaries of dance.

As the longest running contemporary dance festival in Canada, Dancing on the Edge knows how to present a variety of local, national, and international dance artists with something for all tastes. From outdoor works, to mixed bills and premieres, July 7–16 will be an exciting time for the dance community.  

While there are always new works at Dancing on the Edge, some artists are festival regulars who return with new performances each year. Jennifer Mascall’s company MascallDance, who are performing The Outliner: an evening of solos in EDGE OFF One, have been a part of the festival almost every year since it began in 1988.

Donna Spencer, the festival producer, is thrilled to be presenting the 28th year of Dancing on the Edge. There are many shows that she is excited about, but one highlight is Frédérick Gravel and Étienne Lepage from Quebec. “They’re pushing the boundaries of dance and trying to challenge the form,” she said, explaining that the full-length show, Thus Spoke, involves the use of a lot of text.

Another notable work Spencer mentioned is Isaac y Diola by German Jauregui and Anita Diaz. In the mixed bill EDGE One they will be presenting an excerpt of the work. Other prominent choreographers featured in the festival include Joshua Beamish, Sylvie Desrosiers (Dorsale Dance), Serge Bennathan, and Wen Wei Wang.

Dancing on the Edge (DOTE) began commissioning new works for the festival three years ago, and this year they have commissioned works from Amber Funk Barton and Wen Wei Wang that will be shown as part of the mixed bill programs. Spencer explained that the festival wanted to support artists in the creation of new work, as it can be very difficult to find the resources to do so. The hope is that after the festival the artist can continue to develop the work and it will grow into something larger.

“A lot of the work does end up having a life after the festival,” said Spencer. A couple of the artists showed their works at the Canada Dance Festival in Ottawa before making their way west to DOTE. Some of the artists will be taking their shows across the water for Victoria’s Romp Festival and Nanaimo’s Infringing Dance Festival.

The festival also includes a couple of exciting site-specific outdoor works, which are free or by donation. The stunning acrobatics of the Aeriosa Dance Society will be on display in their work Pseudotsuga – Earth to Sky that will be performed high up in a grove of trees in Stanley Park. On July 15 and 16 in the SFU Woodward’s inner courtyard you will be able to see Naomi Brand’s All Bodies Dance Project perform En Route. Be sure to catch one of these free shows, or check out one of the many shows the festival has to offer. No matter your contemporary dance taste, there is something for everyone.

Pokémon Go has ruined my sex life

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EIC
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He leaned in for a kiss. I did the same. We embraced, and it was great — there’s something about geeky guys that really gets my blood pumping. Our hands began to roam when suddenly his pants vibrated. I grinned and pulled back, about to make a lewd comment about a toy. He, however, pulled out his phone with excitement. “There’s one here!” He dismissed the notification and opened an app on his phone and began to scan the room. “One what?” I asked

I embraced him from behind, kissing his neck, trying to get the mood back, and looked down at his screen. He was playing Pokémon Go and was about to catch a Zubat that seemed to have been roosting in my closet. I’m all for bringing games into the bedroom, but this is a bit silly. Honestly, Pokémon Go has really puffed my jigglies.

I know this is another question of technology seeping into real life, and this isn’t an article about how tech is bringing about the downfall of civilization. This is more a commentary on how there are other balls I could be playing with, but the trainer is too distracted.

I’m not a luddite, I love my tech — in fact, I have had to avoid Pokémon Go because I don’t want my life’s goal to be finding a Squirtle (my love life is already like that, anyway). Nor do I think that no one should play this game. It’s just a matter of timing. If I bring you to my hideout to show you my Helping Hand, the last thing I want is for you to be distracted.

I get that you gotta catch ‘em all. I get that it is fun. I get that you want to keep playing. All I am saying is if you put the phone down, you can catch my Slowpoke.

The Peak is hiring for the fall semester!

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EIC
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This what dreams are made of: The Peak is hiring for the fall semester. Applicants should send in a resume as well as a brief cover letter. Sample work relevant to the position(s) applied for is highly encouraged.

The Peak‘s hiring board is looking for the best and brightest SFU students to help report on stories that are of interest to the student body. If you are passionate about campus politics, student advocacy, arts and culture, local and regional sports, satire, leadership and management, photography, graphic design, and / or free pizza, this is the job for you.

Working for The Peak is an excellent way to gain hands-on experience in the field of journalism as well as skills in communications, public relations, illustration and design, critical thinking, leadership, photography, and more. You will meet like minds who work hard and play hard in a high-energy environment.

Applicants must be registered SFU students for the duration of the semester for which they are applying. Previous experience with our newspaper is preferred, but not required. Please address your applications to The Peak hiring board at [email protected], or drop them off at our offices in MBC 2900. Any questions about the process can also be sent to this address.

Applications close on Friday, July 29 at 11:59 p.m. Job descriptions for available positions can be found below:

Production and Design Editor

Copy Editor

Print News Editor

Web News Editor

Opinions Editor

Features Editor

Arts Editor

Sports Editor

Humour Editor

Photo Editor

Multimedia Editor

Website Manager

Layout Assistants (2)

Multimedia Assistant

Burlesque performers Shine in sensual show

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EIC
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Saving a theatre has never looked so sexy.

She’s loud, foul-mouthed, and is the owner of a theatre whose crazy cast of burlesque dancers she calls family. But that description doesn’t do justice to Shine Mionne, the titular character of a burlesque musical that, while explicit, actually has a whole lot of heart.

The play is set in a rundown burlesque hall called ‘The Aristocrat’ on the Lower East Side of Manhattan, a year or two after the 2008 market crash. In a desperate attempt to keep her place running, Shine (Cass King) takes out a loan from the bank that she is finding increasingly difficult to pay off, and is continually threatened with the inevitable gentrification of her theatre. When a smooth-talking businessman named Richard Suit (Theo Budd) offers to help her restore the place and run the show, Shine is forced to choose between saving the show from financial ruin or continuing to run it the way she always has.

The musical had a shaky start, as it was plagued with technical issues (which continued throughout the night), and a band whose accompaniment sometimes overpowered the performers onstage. As a result, its opening number, “This is How We Do It Downtown” was confusing and overwhelming at best. However, the plot quickly picked up pace and one couldn’t help but be charmed by the characters and the story. There was also a whole lot of nudity (with colourful tassels artfully placed in the right places) to keep us entertained in between.

“Shine is a story that acknowledges the existence of sex,” the show’s composer John Woods told The Peak. “It’s not gratuitous, it’s funny, hilarious, and speaks to sex.” There is no better description of the musical, as most of the characters aren’t shy about expressing their sexuality. The most hilarious number, “Blind,” performed by Frankie Avid and Allison Fligg, directly speaks to the power of horniness as they both proclaim that they want to “fuck [each other] blind.”  

A standout character was the gorgeously voluptuous Lulu (Danielle Lemon), the star of Shine’s show, who turns people on with her incredible voice and sexy confidence. Lemon’s solo number, “Large and In Charge,” brought her powerful vocals and seductive prowess together in the best way possible.

As for Shine, Woods described her by saying, “She is a character that you don’t really see in any sorts of media; she’s a woman who misbehaves, but is still a hero. Shine is hard-drinking, loud-mouthed, and still gets to save the day.”

King gave an amazing performance, showcasing crass humour mixed in with intense vulnerability, proving that a character can be sexy and relatably human.

In essence, Shine stands out by being sexy yet down to earth, the perfect blend of fun romp and sentimentality. Go see it if you want a good laugh and opportunities to say a couple of “awwws.”

Shine will be playing at the WISE Hall in Vancouver from July 6–16.

Tech takes the distance out of ‘long distance’ relationships

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EIC
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SIAT prof Carman Neustaedter found his inspiration for the tech out of a desire to connect with his mother in another city.

An SFU professor’s research will soon let you enjoy a bike ride with loved ones — even on opposite sides of the world.

Carman Neustaedter, an associate professor in the School of Interactive Arts and Technology, is reimagining the way we stay in touch. His research is being conducted through SFU’s Connections Lab (cLab), a research group focused on human-computer technology of which he is the director.

Beyond Skype and FaceTime, Neustaedter wants to enable people to share activities over long distances. This could include going on a hike, playing sports, or visiting a museum — all with the help of a sophisticated mobile video communication system.

Neustaedter’s study, Be With Me: An Immersive Experience for Long Distance Couples takes long distance dating to a new level, allowing for partners to “[share] their daily activities, experiences, and an understanding of each other’s physical space.” While the published study is focused more on romantic partnerships, Neustaedter says the technology is also applicable to families and friends hoping to connect over greater distances.

As a part of the study, two people went on bike rides in different areas. Users were equipped with gear to wear on their head that combined a smartphone decked out with a 360 degree camera and Google Cardboard so that each cyclist could see each other’s surroundings and expressions. They could switch between viewing their own surroundings and their partner’s.

When one cyclist stopped to admire the view, the other could see the same thing, as well as the smile on their friend’s face.

Neustaedter calls this a “parallel experience,” where both individuals are doing the same activity at the same time, but in different places. The same technology can be used to create a what he terms a “mixed experience,” where one individual communicates from home while the other does an activity.

This unique approach creates real time, two-way, interactive communication, combining the benefits of existing technologies like Skype and GoPro.

Neustaedter hopes his work will bring friends and family together in ways that overcome distance or mobility. “That’s what we’re really trying to do — to enable people to do things with their loved ones regardless of where they live in the world,” he said.

He predicts social and accessibility benefits for people like  distant family members, long-distance partners, and international students.

Neustaedter is one of over 50 SFU faculty members funded through the Natural Sciences and Engineering Research Council’s Discovery grants. The grants contribute $11 million for SFU research.

There’s still a lot of work to do before this technology becomes accessible to the public. In addition to cost and infrastructure, Neustaedter acknowledged both safety and privacy concerns that have stopped technologies like Google Glass from being widely used.

“You need to design it so that it takes away people’s anxieties and concerns about the social consequences about technology,” Neustaedter said.

Neustaedter’s work promises to bring people together in new and interactive ways, with the technology to make distance disappear.

Men’s advocacy group holds event to address male suicide

By
EIC
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The event was held in Harbour Centre earlier this month.

The SFU Advocacy for Men and Boys (SFUAMB) club decided to speak up about the ‘quiet crisis’ known as the gender discrepancy among those who commit suicide.

In an event held at Harbour Centre on July 3 entitled “The Suicide Sex,” the club brought in speaker Dr. Rob Whitley, the principal investigator of the Social Psychiatry Research and Interest Group at the Douglas Institute’s Research Centre and an assistant professor at the Department of Psychiatry at McGill.

According to the most recent Statistics Canada data from 2012, there are approximately 4,000 suicides a year in Canada, and approximately 75 per cent of those are committed by men.

Whitley began his presentation by tossing out a few of the platitudes surrounding the stigmas of male suicide — “men are stubborn; men are self-defeating; men don’t talk about their feelings” — before promptly dismissing them.

“If you came here to listen to me say that men have to be more like women, that’s not what I’m saying,” said Whitley.

He focused the majority of his talk on the causes for male suicide, including major life transitions that men can go through and how they may feel as though they have lost their purpose. He identified divorce, unemployment, retirement, and bereavement as some of these aforementioned life transitions.

Another major cause Whitley addressed is the socio-economic pressure men often face, acknowledging that status and material possessions put a lot of pressure on men.

“I would say that status is an issue in suicide for many men, and that we live in a society where status is defined unidimensionally,” he said. “Sadly, [this is] usually related to material things, cars, watches, clothes, job — and maybe I’m romanticizing things, but in times past, status was also derived from community involvement and just being a decent, upstanding person.”

He expressed that a lot of the newer jobs of today don’t have the same meaningful impact as those in the past, and touched on how this could affect men’s perceptions of the work that they do.

“Being a working man — a miner or a fisherman — was a very honourable trade. It was an important job. Mining gave you energy for the country, fishing gave you food for the country. We’ve decoupled the profession from the social importance. With respect to these people, we’ve got thousands of people working in marketing and public relations,;what do these jobs actually contribute towards society?”

Towards the end of his talk, Whitley discussed potential ways of addressing the suicide epidemic. He said that Canada needs an anti-suicide national strategy, which would help on the macro level for the country. On a more individual level, he stressed that there needs to be more availability in mental health resources for men, as well as more representation for men among health care professionals trained to deal with such issues.

He pointed to programs like  Men’s Sheds as a newer kind of resource that could be more beneficial for men. Men’s Sheds started in Australia, and is a place where men can get together and do activities like woodworking projects, bike repairs, and other social events organized specifically for men. Whitley added that some men may prefer that to counseling, as they might feel it helps them more to do than to talk.

He did stress that different people respond to different treatment, and the goal is just to have more resources for all men to allow them to choose the mental health care they receive.

Ultimately, Whitley suggested that though alternative resources should be made available, men dealing with suicidal thoughts should not hesitate to seek help from all available resources.

If you or someone you know is considering suicide, there are resources available to you.

SFU Health and Counselling Emergency Services

Burnaby: 778-321-4615

Surrey: 778-782-8022

Vancouver: 778-782-5200

BC and Canada-wide

Anywhere in BC: 1-800-SUICIDE

(1-800-784-2433)

Mental health support BC-wide: 310-6789

Vancouver: 604-872-3311

Howe Sound and Sunshine Coast: 1-866-661-3311

TTY for the hearing- and speech-impaired:

1-866-872-0113

Online chat for youth:

www.YouthInBC.com

Online chat for adults:

www.CrisisCentreChat.ca

Youth Space text chat for those under 30: 778-783-0177

Emergency line: 911

Album Reveiws

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Peak Web
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By: Courtney Miller and Nathan Ross

Nick Jonas – Last Year Was Complicated

It’s hard to believe that Last Year Was Complicated is Nick Jonas’ third solo album — I feel like I don’t hear much about the guy aside from “Jealous.” I don’t find a lot of originality in this album. It sounds like something from last year’s top 40. Not so complicated, Jonas.

“Champagne Problems” and “Don’t Make Me Choose” sound like they could be the Weeknd, with some slight octave shifting, and “Touch” is a Bruno Mars knock-off. Jonas does do some experimenting, like on “Voodoo” which is groovy and exotic. “Under You” might be my favourite off the record, but maybe that’s because of the Taylor Swift I can hear. “Unhinged” is a solid ballad, but it’s hard to tell with all that synthesizer.

It’s not a bad album. But it’s also nothing we haven’t heard before. – CM

Dierks Bentley – Black

Black is Dierks Bentley’s follow-up to the wildly successful and overall enjoyable Riser. Black is good, though not quite on the same level as its predecessor. However, it is a lot more cohesive on the whole. No track stands out, either in a good or a bad way. It’s a concept album that embodies the rollercoaster of what a relationship is. Overall, the songwriting is solid.

The lead single off the album, “Somewhere on a Beach” is not the best lyrically: “I’m getting sun, I’m getting some, and I ain’t slept in a week.” It’s almost tragically catchy.

The whole album has a feel of emotion, without seeming too personal. “Black” opens the album with a little sexiness, but the duet with Maren Morris, “I’ll Be the Moon” has pristine harmonies and deals with the dreaded love triangle. Meanwhile, “Different for Girls” goes through a heartbreak from the perspectives of both a guy and a girl. – CM

Hannah Georgas – For Evelyn

There’s a moment near the end of “Rideback” — the opener on Hannah Georgas’ new album, For Evelyn — where the soft saxophone line becomes a blaring moment of noise, which sounds great in context but is also incredibly unsettling. After singing “What if the best times are all up? / What if it’s just the ride back now?” it makes sense.

This album is about pushing forward amidst uncertainty and anxiety, and doing your best to find beauty and meaning in it. However, this album is Georgas saying that despite the best intentions, the unknown can still take over sometimes.

This theme is conveyed beautifully over Georgas’ matured synth-pop sound she’s developed since 2008. Standouts include the heartbreaking “Don’t Go” and the self-doubting “Waste.” The emotional impact is as poignant as how Georgas decides to personify it through her music, and this album perfectly takes up the space that otherwise can hang in the unwanted moments. – NR

Yes We Mystic will be your Forgiver

By
EIC
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The theme of betrayal and forgiveness courses through the band’s latest release.

After touring through Germany and the UK, Winnipeg band Yes We Mystic are excited to return home. “Touring Western Canada is our favorite because that’s what’s familiar to us. It’s where we started,” Adam Fuhr, lead vocalist and guitarist, said.

The band have made a dynamic statement with their latest effort, Forgiver. Prior to the album’s release, they ran an interesting campaign in 10 different cities. They put up posters asking people to text the answer to “What have you been unable to forgive?” to a number on the poster, along with their album heading scrawled across the poster.

It was brilliant brand marketing on their part, allowing them to connect with people on a broadly relatable subject and introducing the public to their folk-tinged indie style.

They certainly made Canada Day especially rad for Vancouverites who saw them live at the Biltmore Cabaret, bringing forth an exceptional live performance. I have never heard such a seamless transition from recorded to live sound.

The passionate and intense way each of the band members performed completely captivated the crowd, who were unable to keep from swaying to the music. The only way I can describe the energy of the band on the cavernous stage of the Biltmore Cabaret is that it was as though each member was literally throwing themselves into their instruments.

My favourite moment was when keyboardist Jodi Plenert played an intense verse on the cello, then actually threw aside her bow in order to play the notes on the keyboard just in time.

The album, which plays on the theme of betrayal and forgiveness, made for a beautiful, nostalgic, and orchestral set. Combined with a couple of rock covers, the concert met every expectation in the crowd.

Fuhr and Keegan Steele collaborate in creating the songs, typically with Fuhr composing the music and Steele writing the words. “For inspiration we draw from things we like just as most musicians do, but we also try to draw from things we don’t like,” Fuhr explained. “For example, we’ll try to take a sound that is off-putting or has become a cliché over the years and use what was once good about it to make something fresh and new.”

It is clear that Yes We Mystic have come a long way since their start and has a really great team of dedicated musicians. “Keegan and I were in another band in high school and it was a mess but lots of fun,” Fuhr said. “When the band broke up in a very dramatic and high school way, we decided we weren’t ready to quit music just yet.”

Mike and Dave Need Wedding Dates isn’t as dumb as it sounds

By
EIC
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Only a movie like this could make "lavender juice box" work as a new name for a vagina.

If you’ve seen a romantic comedy before, you know the plot of Mike and Dave Need Wedding Dates: boy meets girl in quirky circumstance, things go wrong, things get deep, things get worse, everyone has a coming-of-age moment, the leads save the day, and — if you’re lucky — it ends with a dance number. What makes this movie stand out is that it’s actually funny.

The film starts with the greatest visual representation of expectations versus reality that I’ve ever seen, kicking off the plot early and somewhat haphazardly. As the titular Mike (Adam Devine) and Dave (Zac Efron) search for the perfect girls to take to their sister’s wedding, we meet Alice (Anna Kendrick) and Tatiana (Aubrey Plaza), out of work waitresses who are not in the best place in their lives. When the girls see the viral news story about two brothers trying to find dates to take to Hawaii, they hatch a plan to meet and trick them into taking them on an all-expenses-paid vacation.

There were three things about this movie that surprised me, the first of which being that Aubrey Plaza wasn’t the best character in the movie. Going into the showing, I was convinced that if anyone could save a movie like this from being a total shit show, it was Plaza.

However, her character was poorly written, her acting felt forced, and her chemistry with the other characters was nonexistent. There are brief moments when Plaza’s true nature shines through — her best scenes by far come halfway through the movie — but they are few and far between. The biggest mistake this movie made was thinking Plaza could convincingly play a character that unironically says “gurl.”

The second surprise of the movie was how good Efron and Devine were together. These two aren’t the most likely pair, but their ability to play off one another is undeniable.

Efron does have his lacklustre moments — especially in early scenes with co-star Kendrick — but overall, his character is really entertaining. Devine is the star of the movie, bringing every bit of comedy chops he has. Though the two are better together, Devine doesn’t need any help getting laughs on his own.

However, the biggest surprise of Mike and Dave Need Wedding Dates was that it was actually pretty good.

Was it the most original movie out there? No. Mike and Dave will not be receiving any nominations come awards season, but it’s a fun way to spend a night out at the movies. You’ll laugh, you’ll feel — the line “I used to think I was destined for great things” hit a little too close to home — and you’ll learn an important lesson that you probably should have already known: don’t try to find a fucking wedding date on Craigslist.

CINEPHILIA: An off-the-leash look at man’s best friend

By
EIC
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While the human is away the cat will play, or just eat your roast chicken.

The Secret Life of Pets is easily distracted and prone to tangents, like a dog that suddenly chases after a ball.

Directed by Yarrow Cheney and Chris Renaud, The Secret Life of Pets imagines what your domesticated critters are doing while you’re away. The story centers on Max, an only pet whose owner rescues a stray dog, forcing the pampered terrier to share his space. When Max and his new roommate Duke get lost and picked up by an underground group of stray animals, they have to find their way back home before their owner returns from work.

What makes The Secret Life of Pets exceptional is also what makes it frustrating: it isn’t on a leash. Because there are no rules, there isn’t a rigid structure, and we leap between plot points with random occurrences rather than psychological motivations, which is in large part because most of the characters act purely on instinct.

When Max and Duke are threatened by a snake, a pile of bricks fall from the sky, then an entire wall. It’s something you might see in a Looney Tunes sketch, but within the confines of a feature-length film. The villain has motivations, but he quickly forgets them; there are character arcs, but they happen abruptly. The story is really just a framing device for a series of set pieces and funny situations. The Secret Life of Pets puts us in the manic headspace of an animal.

Thankfully, the film is committed to its comic ideas if not its thematic ones. Visually, we see things through a pet’s point of view: skyscrapers, cars, and people appear as though they’ve been squished to be tall and skinny, which is what you could imagine seeing if you lived your life two feet off the ground. Tonally, the perspective is disjointed and upbeat, and there is a sort of slapstick logic to a lot of what happens.

The jokes are simple in structure: do the opposite of what’s expected. A fluffy bunny is evil, an old dog with wheels for back legs is wicked fast, and a posh poodle in a luxury apartment rocks out to heavy metal when his owner is away.

Authored by the studio behind Despicable Me, The Secret Life of Pets is high-energy with a short attention span. It indulges in its creator’s best and worst impulses: skillful comic timing and lazy humour. This is a unique, flawed, enjoyable, and exhausting film. Although it’s devoid of meaning or feeling, there exists a bombastic, free-running spirit inside. The Energizer Bunny would be jealous.

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Simon Fraser University’s independent student newspaper since 1965.

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For promotional inquiries: [email protected]

© The Peak Publications Society

Simon Fraser University’s independent student newspaper since 1965.

For advertising inquiries: [email protected]
For promotional inquiries: [email protected]

© The Peak Publications Society