“It was close to 11pm when David Earle walked onto the Firehall stage. He was middle-aged, a little heavy, wearing a rumpled T-shirt and jeans. To a Ray Charles recording of the Beatles’ Yesterday, he danceda section from a larger work made in 1973, a solo filled withwhat I remember as loneliness and regret. I had never seen Earle, then artistic director of Toronto Dance Theatre, perform before. In fact, almost everyone was new to me because I had just returned to Vancouver from a decade living in England.
Out of the jumble of almost 100 works I watched that year – 1991, my first Edge – his solo remains with me. I was used to seeing fresh-faced youth bursting with energy on the dance stage, and it was a revelation to see this low-key, mature man – he would turn 53 the following week – illuminate something subtle about the human condition.”
– Kaija Pepper | Editor | Dance International Magazine
