One of my favourite expressions is “like herding cats”, a phrase originally coined in the IT industry during the late 80’s dot-com boom to describe a near-impossible task. I work in a group of engineers, and while we’re not software engineers, this phrase applies perfectly when trying to get consensus on the best technical solution to any given problem. I never would’ve thought a similar situation could exist in the caring, sharing love-in that is the arts community.

VIVID4 has a cast of twenty-seven dancers in total: seven senior dancers, six mid-level dancers and fourteen in the youth company. For rehearsal, all of these dancers aren’t required at the same time. Her employer, Ballet Jörgen Canada has graciously allowed Kathleen use of one of their studios for rehearsal during times when the studio is free.

So, trying to coordinate twenty-seven dancers, divided among three groups into one studio at certain times results in a logistical planning exercise only slightly less complicated than the tactical planning for the Allied invasion of Normandy on D-Day.

The cat herding aspect of this exercise comes into it because each one of these twenty-seven dancers has unique personal and professional schedules and agendas. Now, I’m an office jockey… I know that every single day for the rest of my life, I’m going in to work for 8:30 am, will be in the office for 8.5 hours and leave somewhere around 5:00 pm. Dancers, on the other hand, are more likely to be “creatively employed” and thus have lives that are much more random.

I think Kathleen updated the rehearsal schedule about twelve million times before finally getting consensus from all. During this time she was battling an eye infection, so I would often come downstairs to her office to find her squinting at an über-complicated Outlook calendar, her face inches from the screen. Her sigh of relief when all was finally said and done caused the curtains to flutter in her home office. “There,” she said, “thank god that’s finally done. Now I can start working on the piece”.

Start working on the piece?