Sasha Ivanochko’s Heaven was first performed 20 years ago. In celebration, she’s bringing it back to The Theatre Centre with a new cast. One of those performers is Jessie Garon, a dancer and choreographer who is not stranger to the Toronto dance scene. I got to talk to Jessie about what it’s like to bring this work to life and what audiences can expect from Heaven.

1. Could you please introduce yourself to our readers and tell us a bit about your role with Heaven?

My name is Jessie Garon, and I’m a dancer and choreographer. I grew up on the prairies in Alberta and started dancing as a toddler. I’ve now lived and worked in Toronto for over a decade. I’m one of the three dancers in Heaven, as well as one of the producers, and I’m dancing the role originally performed by choreographer Sasha Ivanochko.

A couple of years ago, my friend and fellow dance artist Jolyane Langlois realized it was the 20th anniversary of Heaven and called me with the idea to remount it. We had performed an excerpt of the work together when we were in college, so we approached Sasha about the idea. Jolyane now lives and works in Vienna, so I ended up taking over the project and working with Sasha to bring Heaven back. It quickly became apparent that this was a project the Toronto dance community was excited about, which made the decision to take it on feel very easy.

2. For those who might not be familiar, what is Heaven about?

For me, at its core, Heaven is about connection and isolation. From inside the work, we feel this deep desire to connect with the other bodies onstage—to dissolve into one another, to become one. It’s a fundamentally human desire.

At the same time, we’re constantly confronted with the limitations of our bodies. As I reach toward another dancer, even when I touch them, I’m always experiencing where my body ends and theirs begins. We can move toward each other, but we can never completely occupy the same space at the same time. I think Heaven lives in that tension between the desire for connection and the reality of separation.

3. What is it like being part of this 20th anniversary remount?

It’s a huge honour and a satisfying challenge. The process has been vulnerable, rigorous and detailed. Sasha leads with such generosity, and I couldn’t ask for better castmates than Scott and Sully. The work is a large mountain to climb, and I’m thrilled to be climbing it.

There’s also a palpable sense of excitement around the work. It’s very special to feel part of the rich lineage of contemporary dance in Canada and to be carrying something forward that has had such an impact on the Toronto dance community.

It’s a bit like putting on a costume and seeing the name of the previous dancer on the tag—the feeling of being part of a continuum. Except in this case, the only costume is our skin!

4. Do you have a favourite memory or moment from rehearsals so far?

I think the first time we got naked together as a cast. We were in a closed room with only a photographer, Sasha and our intimacy coordinator, Anisa Tejpar, present. All three of us dancers wore nothing but long robes.

Anisa had us walk around the space, breathing, seeing each other and slowly letting our robes open until they were off. We were all nervous and expecting to feel really shy, but once the robes were off, we were skipping around the room laughing.

There was this incredible feeling of trust, freedom and giddy, childlike joy. It was a beautiful moment of realizing that we could enter this vulnerable world together.

B. Has anyone from the first version shared anything notable or interesting about the initial run?

Louis Laberge-Côté, one of the original cast members, has come into rehearsal a few times to assist with the remount.

There’s one beautiful, iconic deep-second-position movement that happens during one of the duets. Louis told us about the first time he performed it nude. The other two cast members were sitting behind him and suddenly burst out laughing because it was such a shocking moment of exposure—they could see his whole body from behind, including his anus. From Louis’s perspective, he was so deeply inside the work that he didn’t even realize what was happening until he saw their faces. Then they were all laughing.

I love that story because it shows how the vulnerability the work demands can also create humour, joy and care between the performers.

5. What do you hope audiences take away from Heaven?

Heaven is a particularly intimate viewing experience that brings us back to our bodies at a time when so much of the world pulls us out. I’m most excited for audiences to reconnect with their own physical presence.

I would like to thank Jessie for taking the time to answer my questions. You can see Heaven at The Theatre Centre from September 29 to October 3. For more information and tickets, visit: https://theatrecentre.org/event/heaven-legacy-collective/

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