Speaking of Dance – DanceHouse

Speaking of Dance Conversations: Ageism and Street Dance

admin — Wed, 12 Oct 2022 17:50:37 +0000

Speaking of Dance Conversations

Ageism and Street Dance

Presented in partnership with SFU Woodward’s Cultural Programs

March 15, 2023 | 3pm PST
Vancouver Playhouse (600 Hamilton Street)
Entrance at Salon C (through outdoor patio)

Speakers: Natasha Gorrie, Mark Siller, Natasha “Tash” Jean-Bart

Moderator: Bboyizm Artistic Director Crazy Smooth

Free to the public

Running time: 60 minutes

“Somewhere through the journey of being a street dancer you get defined by what you can do… If I’m known to be someone that has crazy speed, and does backflips, once I reach an age where I can’t do that, does that mean I’m no longer Crazy Smooth?”

DanceHouse and Bboyizm present Ageism and Street Dance, a roundtable discussion exploring the topic of aging in street dance with members of Bboyizm and the Vancouver street dance community. OG generation dancers will discuss the struggles behind the highly athletic style with mid-generation dancers at this free event moderated by Crazy Smooth.

Artist Bios

Crazy Smooth

Crazy Smooth

Crazy Smooth © Becki Peckam | Bold Creative

Dancing since 1997, Crazy Smooth is one of Canada’s top street dancers, performers, choreographers, instructors, judges, and community leaders. He is the founder and artistic director of Bboyizm, an award-winning street-dance company that has been instrumental in the preservation and proliferation of street dance in Canada and internationally.

Crazy Smooth was named the 2020 Clifford E Lee award recipient by the Banff Centre for the Arts for In My Body, at that time a work-in-progress. He continued creation on the piece as the 2019-2021 Long Term Artist in Residence at the Centre de Création O Vertigo in Montreal. The project received a CanDance Creation Fund grant and significant investment from the NAC National Creation Fund.

In 2004, Smooth founded Bboyizm and the company has successfully brought authentic street dance into the professional theatre setting. Three of his full-length creations— The Evolution of B-boying, IZM, and Music Creates Opportunity—have toured throughout Canada. The company has been nominated for a Dora award (2012) and won both the Atlantic Presenters Association Touring Performers of the Year Award (2013) and the Ontario Presenters Network Emerging Touring Artist of the Year (2012). Crazy Smooth has performed, taught, and judged competitions in cities and events throughout North America and Europe. He continually strives to be a positive example for the community and an ambassador of the street dance culture at large.

Natasha Gorrie

Natasha Gorrie

Natasha is a leader and a pioneer in the Vancouver street dance community, co-founding the all female hip-hop crew Diamonds in the Rough and creating the hip-hop training group Higher Ground. She is passionate in hosting and facilitating events, classes and workshops.

Tash

Tash

Natasha “Tash” Jean-Bart was born in 1971 in Montreal, and has been dancing professionally for 34 years. A member of the renowned Montreal Canadian breaking crew Flow Rock since 1998, her love and dedication to learning the street dance styles led her to search and learn from the creators and pioneers of the street dance culture internationally.

In 2005, Tash was nominated Head Judge of Hip Hop International (HHI) street dance competition, a position she held for six years. That same year she also landed the lead role of « Lady Madonna » in the acclaimed production of The Beatles “LOVE” by Cirque Du Soleil at the MGM Mirage in Las Vegas. In 2006, she was invited by the late Greg « Campbellock Jr » Pope and Frank « Sundance » Sams to contribute to the growth of the Elite Locking Camp. The camp’s organization was passed down to her in 2014 as she re-branded it « Las Vegas Locking Camp.»

In 2011, she co-founded the Wättssoul company with her husband and helped produce and sponsor multiple events over the past seven years. Tash is a connector and has created hundreds of opportunities for artists and companies alike. She now travels internationally to pass on the knowledge she has accumulated throughout the years to a new generation of dancers. Tash recently completed a three-month tour with the biggest European Street Dance competition as the Juste Debout 2018 Locking Judge. She is still studying and training with the pioneers and forever will be a student of this culture.

Mark Siller

Mark Siller

Mark has been involved in dance and creative movement for over 22 years. After being inspired by old Kung Fu flicks and seeing Freestyle Session he started breaking in high school.

Mark is a member of Filthee Feet Crew, he has competed internationally and stays active while helping build the local community. He’s thrown events, performed across BC schools, taught and created his own programming and is currently a board member for Breaking BC. Mark has also worked in the contemporary world as a founding member of Ouro Collective.

Top photo: Speaking of Dance © Heather McDermid

Speaking of Dance Talking Truths: Shaping Our Presence and Remembering Our Past

admin — Wed, 18 Aug 2021 19:12:47 +0000

Speaking of Dance
Talking Truths: Shaping Our Presence and Remembering Our Past

Presented by Matriarchs Uprising in partnership with DanceHouse and SFU Woodward’s Cultural Programs

February 14 | 12pm PST

Speakers: Maura Garcia, Sophie Dow, Christine Friday, Jeanette Kotowich

Facilitator: Olivia C. Davies

Free to the public

Running time: 60 minutes

Event recording available until March 24, 2022.

What does care look like when we create work that holds ancestral spirit? Four Indigenous women from across the country speak about the choreographic impulses that guide their creative process and the cultural heritage informing their practice. Hosted by Matriarchs Uprising festival director, Olivia C. Davies, and presented in partnership with DanceHouse, we are excited to offer this free, online event for all to experience. Audiences are invited to join this virtual circle live on zoom and be part of an intimate conversation presented as a way to learn, listen, and witness these dance artists speaking their truth.

About O.Dela Arts

O.Dela Arts supports the research, creation, production, and touring of creative activities, choreography, and installations and provides the platform for educational and community projects offered by Artistic Director, Olivia C. Davies. O.Dela Arts values generosity, integrity, and an openness to learn. The mandate of O.Dela Arts Society is to support Canadian Indigenous choreographer, Olivia C. Davies, (Anishinaabe) in the creation and production of choreography, community-engaged projects, creative collaboration projects and commissions. Since its inception in 2018, O.Dela Arts’ programming seeks to develop audiences for Contemporary Indigenous dance and multidisciplinary arts. The organization has built a solid foundation of peer exchange, professional development opportunities and performance series. In celebration of Indigenous women dancing stories of transformation and coinciding with National Indigenous Peoples’ Day, we curated the first Matriarchs Uprising Festival in June 2019 to showcase works by Indigenous choreographers from Australia, Canada, and the US. The events solidified our goals of becoming an organization that supports multiple voices and visions through our artistic curation.

About the format

In this virtual circle conversation setting, we invite listeners to sit in circle and hold space for women to speak our truth about the ways our creative acts connect us to our communities, help define our worldview, and communicate our dreams for the future. Talking Truths: Circle Conversation extends new ways of viewing Indigenous and Community art as an act of healing, political assertion, and cultural continuation. These events are curated by O.Dela Arts, Artistic Director, Olivia C. Davies to engage audiences in new learning about the nuances of Contemporary creative performance, storytelling, dance and song.

Artist Bios

Olivia C. Davies (facilitator)

Photo by Dayna Szyndrowski

Olivia C. Davies is a dance artist, choreographer, community-arts facilitator and emerging writer of Anishinaabe, French-Canadian, Finnish and Welsh heritage. Davies’ works often explore the emotional and political relationships between people and places. Her recent choreographic explorations are driven by a desire to explore neo-traditional aspects of her Indigeneity, story-weaving, and collaborative projects that bring about new awareness of the world around us.

Davies formally trained at York University and was an apprentice with Body Narratives Collective, Raven Spirit Dance and Starrwind Dance Projects and collaborated with Diane Roberts (Arrivals Legacy Project) in developing community-engagement facilitation skills. She is a founding member of the MataDanze Collective (2005), Circadia Indigena Aboriginal Arts Collective (2016), and Crow’s Nest Collective (2016). Davies was artist in residence at The Dance Centre for the 2018-2019 season where she curated the inaugural CoexisDance Western Edition and Matriarchs Uprising festival. The festival was co-presented in 2020 with Talking Stick Festival and continues to provide new context for Contemporary Indigenous dance with online presentations and showcases.

Davies’ choreography transmits narrative. She has collaborated with Canadian spoken word artists Julie Peters (I Want, 2018) and Melissa Frost (Gidaashi, 2019, Wishing Well, 2020), and with award-winning author Carmen Aguirre to adapt the short story Open Fire (2015). Davies combined forces with celebrated Coast Salish storyteller Rosemary Georgeson to create Crow’s Nest and Other Places She’s Gone (2017) exploring the shifting landscapes of refuge and dispossession experienced by Indigenous women. Directions (2018) activated the garden stage of a private residence in East Vancouver, while Kichissipi Love (2019) activated the banks of the Ottawa River; each work building on a solid foundation of site-specific performances that subvert the audience gaze to revel in the world of land-based dance and ritual.

Davies’ community-engagement practice includes facilitation of Home: Our Way dance and story-weaving workshops, Healthy Aging Through The Arts, and collective creation labs. Davies facilitates spaces for movers to find their unique expression of personal legacy. Her work has been presented across Canada since 2004. She has been supported by the Canada Council for the Arts, British Columbia Arts Council, and the First Peoples Cultural Council. To learn more about her company, collaborations and projects, please visit www.oliviacdavies.ca

Maura García

Photo by Jenny Wheat.

Maura García (non-enrolled Cherokee/Mattamuskeet) is a dancer, choreographer and erotic artist. Her vibrant creations channel the sensual rhythms of the natural world and inspire people to liberate themselves. She makes original work and collaborates with other creatives and clients to produce: new dance works, music videos, theatre productions, fashion shows, sex shows, live music shows, private performances and erotic print art. At the root, Maura’s luscious work is powered by a desire to bring ancestral wisdom to life, to respect the living earth and to bring happiness to people. To learn more please visit her website.

Sophie Dow

Photo by Graham Isador.

Winnipeg-born Sophie Dow is a multidisciplinary creative, inspired by dance, music, collaboration and Métis-Assiniboine + settler roots. An avid adventurer, Sophie has a passion for busking, yoga and traveling on top of holding a degree in Dance Performance and Choreography. With a unique list of credits deeply impacting personal process and vocabulary, Sophie has experienced the bounties of working with some of Turtle Island’s wonderful dance innovators, including Chimera Dance Theatre, Kaeja d’Dance & O.Dela Arts. In 2021/22, Sophie fulfills roles as: a creative director of FLIGHT: PEC’s Festival of Contemporary Dance, residency artist with NuSqool/KindePay, Dance West Network & Dance Victoria, musician with The Honeycomb Flyers and a licensed practitioner of Traditional Thai Massage.

Christine Friday

Christine Friday is based in her home territory Bear Island, Lake Temagami creating dreams into reality as a proficient resilient Indigenous storyteller. She began her career with In the Land of Spirits in 1992 and has maintained a professional dance career for 30 years. She is deeply connected to the cultural wellness of her Anishinaabe people, specifically Temagami First Nation Her company, Friday Creeations, a film and stage Production Company, has allowed her to transition her skills as a Dance artist and Director into filmmaking to broaden her audience while fulfilling her potential. Christine is the recipient of the 2018 K.M. Hunter Award for Dance through the Ontario Arts Council. She is currently in the development of activating Cultural Creation spaces in her community.

Jeanette Kotowich

Photo by Sharai Mustatia.

Jeanette Kotowich is a multi-disciplinary iskwêw, independent dance artist, creator, choreographer and professional Auntie of Nêhiyaw Métis and mixed settler ancestry. Originally from Treaty 4 territory Saskatchewan, she creates work that reflects Nêhiyaw/Métis cosmology within the context of contemporary dance, Indigenous performance, and Indigenous futurism. Fusing interdisciplinary collaboration, de-colonial practices and embodied research methodologies; Jeanette’s work references protocol, ritual, relationship to the natural/spirit world and Ancestral knowledge. Her practice is intergenerational and vocational; it’s a living and lived experience. Jeanette resides as a guest on the Ancestral and unceded Sḵwx̱wú7mesh (Squamish) əl̓ilw̓ətaʔɬ/ (Tsleil-Waututh) and Xʷməθkʷəy̓əm (Musqueam) territories, colonially known as Vancouver. To learn more please visit her website.

Top photo: Speaking of Dance © Heather McDermid.

Speaking of Dance: Women Weaving Stories of Transformation

admin — Thu, 18 Mar 2021 19:34:06 +0000

Speaking of Dance
Women Weaving Stories of Transformation

Presented by Matriarchs Uprising in partnership with DanceHouse and SFU Woodward’s Cultural Programs

April 23, 2021 | 11am PDT

Speakers: Maura Garcia (Maura Garcia Dance), Jessica McMann (Wild Mint Arts), Michelle Olson (Raven Spirit Dance), Santee Smith (Kaha:Wi Dance Theatre)

Co-facilitators: Olivia C. Davies (O.Dela Arts), Starr Muranko (Raven Spirit Dance)

Free to the public

Running time: 75 minutes

Matriarchs Uprising festival was launched in 2019 by O.Dela Arts as a way to center Indigenous women who are creating and producing contemporary dance. In this conversation hosted by Olivia C. Davies (O.Dela Arts) with Matriarchs Uprising artists Michelle Olson (Raven Spirit Dance), Maura Garcia (Maura Garcia Dance), Jessica McMann (Wild Mint Arts), Santee Smith (Kaha:Wi Dance Theatre), and Starr Muranko (Raven Spirit Dance) we consider how contemporary choreography by Indigenous women from across Turtle Island considers our collective responsibility to land, to self, and to one another. At its core, our contemporary Indigenous dances require that artists are accountable to their traditional values while asserting their place in the present as dreamers of potential futures that can be communicated through movement. Defining this reality through dance can reveal the ways our Indigenous worldview strikes a balance between old and new ways of being, thinking, and reacting to the world around us.

Audiences are invited to sit in circle with us and listen as we speak to each other, with open hearts, and open minds. To learn more about Matriarchs Uprising and this event, visit their Instagram, Facebook, and on Olivia C. Davies’ Talking Truths page.

About O.Dela Arts

About the format

In this circle conversation setting, we invite listeners to sit in circle and hold space for women to speak our truth about the ways our creative acts connect us to our communities, help define our worldview, and communicate our dreams for the future. Talking Truths: Circle Conversation extends new ways of viewing Indigenous and Community art as an act of healing, political assertion, and cultural continuation. These events are curated by O.Dela Arts, Artistic Director, Olivia C. Davies to engage audiences in new learning about the nuances of Contemporary creative performance, storytelling, dance and song.

Artist Bios

Olivia C. Davies (co-facilitator)

Davies’ choreography transmits narrative. She has collaborated with Canadian spoken word artists Julie Peters (I Want, 2018) and Melissa Frost (Gidaashi, 2019, Wishing Well, 2020), and with award-winning author Carmen Aguirre to adapt the short story Open Fire (2015). Davies combined forces with celebrated Coast Salish storyteller Rosemary Georgeson to create Crow’s Nest and Other Places She’s Gone (2017) exploring the shifting landscapes of refuge and dispossession experienced by Indigenous women. Directions (2018) activated the garden stage of a private residence in East Vancouver, while Kichissipi Love (2019) activated the banks of the Ottawa River; each work building on a solid foundation of site-specific performances that subvert the audience gaze to revel in the world of land-based dance and ritual.

Davies’ community-engagement practice includes facilitation of Home: Our Way dance and story-weaving workshops, Healthy Aging Through The Arts, and collective creation labs. Davies facilitates spaces for movers to find their unique expression of personal legacy. Her work has been presented across Canada since 2004. She has been supported by the Canada Council for the Arts, British Columbia Arts Council, and the First Peoples Cultural Council. To learn more about her company, collaborations and projects, please visit www.oliviacdavies.ca

Photo by Dayna Szyndrowski.

Starr Muranko (co-facilitator)

Starr Muranko is a dancer/choreographer & Artistic Associate with Raven Spirit Dance. Her work has been presented at the Dance Centre/Dance in Vancouver, Dancing on the Edge, Talking Stick Festival, Crimson Coast Dance and the Weesageechak Festival. She is a proud member of the Dancers of Damelahamid touring across Canada and internationally to New Zealand, Peru and Ecuador.

She holds a BFA in Dance (SFU’s School for Contemporary Arts) and has presented her research at the World Indigenous People’s Conference in Education (WIPCE), Dance Alliance of the Americas and has served as a past board member of the Dance Centre and CADA/WEST.

As a dance educator she has taught dance through the Native Education College, Roundhouse Community Arts Centre, ArtsStarts and the Vancouver Aboriginal Friendship Centre, as well as in the communities of Moose Factory and Attawapiskat in Northern Ontario. Starr and her family on her Mother’s side are from the Moose Cree First Nation and she celebrates her mixed ancestry of Cree, French and German in all of her work.

Photo by Melanie Orr.

Maura Garcia

Maura García (non-enrolled Cherokee/Mattamuskeet) is a dancer, choreographer and the artistic director of Maura Garcia Dance. Both as a soloist and with ensembles, she has performed throughout North America, notably at:

La MaMa Experimental Theatre Club (NY, USA)
Dance Centre (BC, Canada)
Woodland Cultural Centre (ON, Canada)
Crystal Bridges Museum of American Art (AR, USA)

In addition to dance for the stage and screen, Maura choreographs for the outdoors and in response to specific places. She is particularly interested in creating stunning performance that is accessible, sustainable and has a low carbon foot print.

About Maura Garcia Dance:
Maura Garcia Dance inspires audiences to liberate themselves through vibrant performances that uplift Indigenous cultural values and harness the sensual rhythms of the natural world. From stages to music videos to the outdoors, Maura Garcia Dance creations reflect the power of stories to form and change our realities

www.mauragarciadance.org
linktr.ee/mauragarciadance
www.youtube.com/user/mauragarciadance
@maura_garcia_dance

Jessica McMann

Jessica McMann is a Cree (Cowessess, SK) musician, contemporary dancer and choreographer. She is also a classically trained flutist, with a Bachelor of Music from the University of Calgary. She has successfully defended her thesis for her MFA – Contemporary Arts at Simon Fraser University in 2019. Her recent compositions and soundscapes explore Indigenous identity and history. She is also co-founder and co-director Wild Mint Arts, an Indigenous arts company. Her first album “Incandescent Tales” will be released in early 2021.

She has been dancing fancy shawl, jingle and hoop dance for 17 years, and has had the opportunity to present contemporary and traditional work at festivals across western Canada, and tour northern Europe. Currently her personal experience, Two-Spirit identity, Cree and Blackfoot language, and the strength of Indigenous women guide her current contemporary dance work. She works regularly with Elijah Wells, a Blackfoot animator to bring the stories of Transgender, Two-Spirit and Queer persons alive.

Her recent Musician artist-in-residence at the Banff Center for the Arts resulted in an Indigenous classical CD recording with Beverley McKiver in the fall of 2019. Jessica’s work has been shown by Made in BC (2018, 2019, 2020) and at Fairy Tales Film Festival (2012, 2020), Matriarch Uprising (2019), Vancouver International Children’s’ Festival (2018), Vancouver International Jazz Festival (2018), AlterNative: IndigiQueer (2017), IndigeDIV (2017, 2019), Talking Stick Festival (Vancouver 2012, 2013, 2020) Kootenay Cultural Festival (2012, 2015, 2016) , ASTAM; Cree Festival (2012), Coastal First Nations Dance Festival (2011,2012, 2014, 2017, 2018) Vancouver Queer Film Festival (2011), Q the Arts Festival (2011), and 7a*11d (2010). “Too Good; That MAY Be”, an immersive soundscape movement performance was shown at the Urban Shaman Gallery in Winnipeg as part of “The 60’s Scoop; A place between” in 2017. She has also toured in Sweden, Netherlands, and Belgium. She has created soundtracks for the ITWE Collective, performed with the Ambrose University Chamber Orchestra and the Foothills Philharmonic Orchestra, and was a guest musician for Arcade Fire at the Junos and regularly with Laura Vinson and the Free Spirit. Her collaborative visual arts work with Elijah Wells are in the permanent collections at the Pitt Rivers museum in Oxford, UK. She also is a dance artist in Calgary schools.

www.jessicamcmann.com

Michelle Olson

Michelle Olson is a member of the Tr’ondëk Hwëch’in First Nation and the Artistic Director of Raven Spirit Dance. She studied dance and performance at the University of New Mexico, the Aboriginal Arts Program at the Banff Centre and was an Ensemble Member of Full Circle First Nations Performance. Michelle works in areas of dance, theatre and opera as a choreographer, performer and movement coach and her work has been seen on stages across Canada. Selected choreography/theatre credits include Gathering Light (Raven Spirit Dance), Salmon Girl (TYA – Raven Spirit Dance), Map of the Land, Map of the Stars (Gwaandak Theatre), Frost Trees Exploding Moon (Raven Spirit Dance), Mozart’s Magic Flute (Vancouver Opera), The Ecstasy of Rita Joe (Western Canada Theatre/National Arts Centre), Death of a Chief (Native Earth Performing Arts/National Arts Centre) and Evening in Paris (Raven Spirit Dance). She was the recipient of the inaugural Vancouver International Dance Festival Choreographic Award. She graduated as a Certified Movement Analyst from Laban/Bartenieff and Somatic Studies Canada and is currently teaching at Langara’s Studio 58 and the UBC Theatre Department. She penned her first short play “Becoming” for Embodying Power and Place, a project spearheaded by New Harlem Productions and Nightwood Theatre.

Santee Smith

Santee Smith (Tekaronhiáhkhwa/Picking Up The Sky) is a multidisciplinary artist from the Kahnyen’kehàka Nation, Turtle Clan, Six Nations of the Grand River. Transformation, energetic exchange and creating mind-heart connections through performance is her lifelong work. Santee trained at Canada’s National Ballet School; holds Physical Education and Psychology degrees from McMaster University and a M.A. in Dance from York University. Premiering her first production Kaha:wi – a family creation story in 2004, one year later she founded Kaha:wi Dance Theatre which has grown into an internationally renowned company. Santee approaches her life and work in a sacred manner and the importance of sharing our gifts with others. Through her Onkwehonwe’neha creative process, Santee’s work speaks to identity and humanity, role and responsibility of artists in community. She is a sought-after teacher and speaker on the performing arts, Indigenous performance and culture. Smith is the 19th Chancellor of McMaster University.

www.kahawidance.org
@kahawidance
@santeesmith

Speaking of Dance – Future Memory: Session 2

admin — Mon, 28 Sep 2020 06:57:17 +0000

Speaking of Dance – Future Memory: Session 2

Co-Presented with SFU Woodward’s Cultural Programs

February 26, 2021 | 11am PST

Artists: Louise Lecavalier (Louise Lecavalier/Fou Glorieux), Stephen Page (Bangarra Dance Theatre) and Rodrigo Pederneiras (Grupo Corpo)
Free to the public
Running time: 60 minutes

DanceHouse’s new online series Speaking of Dance focuses the spotlight on the exceptional artists who have previously presented work on the DanceHouse stage. We will ask each of our alumni artists the same questions, centred around upcoming creative practice and projects, as well as their individual perspectives and histories. Utilizing the theme of future works is intended both as a protest against the uncertainty of our times, as well as a call to creativity and the importance of hope.

This series will feature eight artists from across the continents sharing 10-minute video presentations about their inspirations and plans for the future.

These events are intended to offer an interactive and live quality. Get ready to engage in meaningful conversations and dialogue via a live chat during the video-streaming. Moderators will select questions from the online chat sessions, allowing for the speakers to personally respond to questions.

Artist Bios

Louise Lecavalier – Choreographer

Dancer and choreographer Louise Lecavalier worked with Édouard Lock and La La La Human Steps from 1981 to 1999, a period of exceptional intensity punctuated by works that have since become mythical along with scintillating collaborations (David Bowie, Frank Zappa…). Her extreme dance, filled with a fiery energy, caught the imagination of a whole generation. Since founding her own company, Fou Glorieux, in 2006, her movement research has been emblematic of her whole career, emphasizing the surpassing of limits and risk-taking, a search for the absolute in which she seeks to bring out the “more-than-human in the human.” In 2012, she created So Blue, her first full-length choreography, followed by Battleground in 2016. Both works have toured extensively, nationally and internationally. In February 2020, her new solo work, Stations, premiered in Germany, and will tour for the next two years. Louise has received many prestigious awards during her career.

Stephen Page – Director and Choreographer

Stephen is a descendant of the Nunukul people and the Munaldjali clan of the Yugambeh Nation from South East Queensland. In 1991, Stephen was appointed Artistic Director of Bangarra and has developed a signature body of works that have become milestones in Australian performing arts.

Stephen continues to reinvent Indigenous storytelling within Bangarra and through collaborations with other performing arts companies. He directed the Indigenous sections for the 2000 Sydney Olympic Games Opening and Closing Ceremonies and created a new dance work as part of the Gold Coast 2018 Commonwealth Games Opening Ceremony. Stephen has choreographed over 25 works for Bangarra. His most recent works include the Helpmann Award winning work Bennelong in 2017 and the work Dark Emu in 2018, choreographed together with former Bangarra dancers Daniel Riley and Yolande Brown, and which went on to become the most successful production in the history of Bangarra.

Stephen’s first full-length film SPEAR premiered at the Toronto International Film Festival before screening at various arts festivals around Australia in early 2016. He has also directed the chapter Sand in the feature film The Turning (2013) and choreographed the feature films Bran Nue Dae (2009) and The Sapphires (2011).

In 2015, Stephen was awarded an Honorary Doctorate of Creative Arts by the University of Technology Sydney. In 2016, he received both the NAIDOC Lifetime Achievement Award and JC Williamson Award. In 2017, Stephen was honoured with the Australia Council Dance Award for significant contributions to the cultural and artistic fabric of the nation, and was appointed an Officer of the Order of Australia (AO).

Rodrigo Pederneiras – Choreographer

Rodrigo Pederneiras has been Grupo Corpo’s choreographer since 1978, and his work is recognized nationally and internationally. He has choreographed for the most important Brazilian companies. Outside Brazil he has choreographed for companies that include Deutsche Oper Berlin (Germany), Gulbenkian (Portugal), Les Ballets Jazz de Montréal (Canada), Stadttheater Saint Gallen (Switzerland), José Limón Dance Company (USA) and Opéra du Rhin (France). But creating for Grupo Corpo remains his primary focus. “Grupo Corpo today has its own language, which is something hard to achieve and does not mean that things become easier. On the contrary, I may make a mistake one thousand times while creating, until I find that which I want. This is not possible with other dance companies. There are pressures for time.” Creation, almost by definition, means anguish. Grupo Corpo’s dancers learn what the body of ours is, as imagined by Rodrigo during the creation phase. They are like tuned up instruments ready to be played. If Grupo Corpo has a language of its own, it is Rodrigo’s language: it has his unmistakable accent, which is understood by everybody—because it is our body that he induces to dance.

Special thanks to the Consulate General of Brazil in Vancouver and the Australian Consulate in Vancouver in support of this activity.

Watch the recording of Future Memory: Session One, from November 26, 2020.

Photos: Top – Speaking of Dance 2018 © Heather McDermid. Portraits – Louise Lecavalier © Massimo Chiaradia; Stephen Page © Tobias Rowles; Rodrigo Pederneiras © Jose Luiz Pederneiras.

Speaking of Dance – Future Memory: Session 1

admin — Sun, 27 Sep 2020 16:27:37 +0000

Speaking of Dance – Future Memory: Session 1

Co-Presented with SFU Woodward’s Cultural Programs

November 26 | 11am PST

Artists: Jacob Boehme (Insite Arts), Sonia Destri Lie (Companhia Urbana de Dança), Vanessa Goodman (Action at a Distance) and Hervé Koubi (Compagnie Hervé KOUBI)
Free to the public
Run time: 60 minutes

This series will feature eight artists from across the continents sharing 10-minute video presentations about their inspirations and plans for the future.

Speaker Bios

Jacob Boehme

Jacob Boehme is an artist, artistic director and curator of dance, theatre and ceremony for the stage, screen and festivals, from the Narangga and Kaurna Peoples of South Australia. He is the writer and performer of the critically acclaimed and award-winning solo work Blood on the Dance Floor, presented by Dancehouse during its 2019 Canadian tour. Jacob is the founding creative director of Yirramboi First Nations Festival and is the current Artistic Director of Wild Dog, connecting dingo songlines across Australia and the Artistic Director of Seasoned, a new festival in development celebrating Indigenous Elders in the Arts.

Vanessa Goodman

Vanessa Goodman respectfully acknowledges that she lives and works on the ancestral and unceded territories of the Coast Salish peoples including the Sḵwx̱wú7mesh, Stó:lō, Səl̓ílwətaʔ and xʷməθkʷəy̓əm Nations. She holds a BFA from SFU and is the artistic director of Action at a Distance Dance Society. Vanessa is attracted to art that has a weight and meaning beyond the purely aesthetic and uses her choreography as an opportunity to explore the human condition. She has received several honours including The Iris Garland Emerging Choreographer Award (2013); The Yulanda M. Faris Scholarship (2017/18); The Chrystal Dance Prize (2019); The Schultz Endowment from Banff Centre for Arts and Creativity (2019); and the “Space to Fail” program (2019/20).

Vanessa’s work has been presented in locally by DanceHouse, SFU Woodwards, The Belkin Gallery, The Firehall Arts Centre, The Dance Centre, The Chutzpah! Festival and The Shadbolt Centre for the Arts. Presentations further afield include the Fluid Festival (Calgary), Fodar (Annapolis Royal), The Dance Made in Canada Festival (Toronto), On the Boards (Seattle), Risk/Reward Festival (Portland), Estrogenius Festival (New York), L1 Festival (Budapest), The National Centre for Dance (Bucharest) and The Bienal Internacional de Dança Do Ceará (Brazil).

Vanessa has been artist-in-residence at Cultivamos Cultura/Bio-Friction (Portugal), Dance Victoria, Harbourfront Centre and The Banff Centre for Arts and Creativity, where she was also on faculty. Most recently she was in invited to create, perform and facilitate at Trinity Laban (London, UK). Upcoming projects include collaborations with composers Loscil and Caroline Shaw. www.actionatadistance.ca

Hervé Koubi

Of Algerian roots, Hervé Koubi grew up in the South of France where he studied both biology and dance at the University of Aix-en-Provence before graduating as a Pharmaceutical Doctor in 2002. After deciding to concentrate on a dancing career and graduating from the world-renowned Rosella Hightower School of Dance in Cannes, Koubi gained professional experience as a dancer with the National choreographic centers of Nantes and Caen and with Thierry Smits – Compagnie Thor in Brussels and has created numerous works since then. He is Associate Choreographer at the Pole National Supérieur de Danse since 2014 and at the Conservatoire de Danse de Brive-la-Gaillarde since 2015.

Sonia Destri Lie

Sonia Destri Lie (Artistic Director/Choreographer) is the artistic director and choreographer of Companhia Urbana de Dança. Having received degrees in both Psychology and Ballet, Destri has a unique perspective on human expression and human form. After completing her studies, she travelled throughout Brazil and Europe, working in dance, theatre, film, and musicals. It was then that she discovered hip-hop and b-boy dance. She defined her unique and refreshing interpretation of these styles by infusing them with the rich cultural influences of Brazil and the favelas from within. Her works creatively embrace elements of hip-hop, b-boy, and contemporary dance, as well as Brazilian social dances. Destri’s choreography has been cited for making a significant contribution to the field of dance. She has created an entirely new genre that results in a greater appreciation for existing dance styles and the significance of sociocultural influences

Photo by Ivan Cavalcanti.

Special thanks to the Consulate General of France in Vancouver, the Consulate General of Brazil in Vancouver, and the Australian Consulate in Vancouver in support of this activity.

Speaking of Dance Conversations

admin — Tue, 05 Mar 2019 20:59:32 +0000

The Objectifying Gaze in the Arts

Tuesday, March 5, 2019; 6PM
Djavad Mowafaghian World Art Centre, SFU Woodward’s – Goldcorp Centre for the Arts (149 W. Hastings)

Moderator: Dorothy Woodend, Culture Editor – The Tyee. Guests Maureen Medved, Associate Professor in the Creative Writing Program – UBC, Barbara Bourget, Artistic Director Kokoro Dance and Co-Producer, Vancouver International Dance Festival.

Co-presented by DanceHouse and SFU Woodward’s Cultural Programs, Speaking of Dance Conversations is a series of free public dialogues and roundtable conversations about the world of dance, contextualizing it within culture and society. Presented by noted writers, choreographers and creative thinkers, Speaking of Dance is a platform for everyone to share and develop their observation and interpretation of dance.

Community Engagement Partner

Speaking of Dance

admin — Tue, 05 Feb 2019 20:51:23 +0000

Post-identity Utopia

Tuesday, February 5, 2019; 6PM
Djavad Mowafaghian World Art Centre, SFU Woodward’s – Goldcorp Centre for the Arts (149 W. Hastings).

Moderator: Harlan Pruden, Cree scholar and community organizer. Guests: Jacob Boehme, Margo Kane.

Community Engagement Partner

Speaking of Dance Conversations

admin — Tue, 27 Nov 2018 16:15:18 +0000

Arts Criticism in the Digital Age

Tuesday, November 27 2018; 6PM
Djavad Mowafaghian World Art Centre, SFU Woodward’s – Goldcorp Centre for the Arts (149 W. Hastings).

Moderator: Crystal Pite, Artistic Director – Kidd Pivot. Guests: Pia Lo, Dance Journalist and blogger at Globe Dancer; Colin Thomas, Theatre Critic; Dorothy Woodend, Culture Editor for The Tyee.

Co-presented by DanceHouse and SFU Woodward’s Cultural Programs, Speaking of Dance Conversations is a series of free public dialogues and roundtable conversations about the world of dance, contextualizing it within culture and society. Presented by noted writers, choreographers and creative thinkers, Speaking of Dance is a platform for everyone to share and develop their observation and interpretation of dance.

Community Engagement Partner

Speaking of Dance Conversations

admin — Tue, 10 Apr 2018 16:38:26 +0000

Tap Dance and Jazz Music: the Evolution of an Art Form

Tuesday, April 10, 2018; 7pm
Djavad Mowafaghian World Art Centre, SFU Goldcorp Centre for the Arts
149 W. Hastings Street

Moderated by Sas Selfjord, Vancouver Tap Dance Society, in conversation with Jim Hibbard, Dayna Szyndrowski and Cory Weeds.

Co-presented with SFU Woodward’s Cultural Programs.

Speaking of Dance Conversations

admin — Tue, 20 Feb 2018 17:02:00 +0000

Vancouver and Toronto’s Cultural Scenes in the 70s: A Comparison

Tuesday, February 20, 2018; 7pm
Djavad Mowafaghian World Art Centre, SFU Goldcorp Centre for the Arts
149 W. Hastings Street

Moderated by Pia Lo (Dance journalist and blogger at Globe Dancer), in conversation with Megan Andrews (Visiting Scholar at the Institute for Performance Studies, School for Contemporary Arts at SFU), Kate Bird (Author of Vancouver in the Seventies: Photos From a Decade That Changed the City) and Cheryl Prophet (Senior Lecturer, Dance at the School for Contemporary Arts at SFU).

Co-presented with SFU Woodward’s Cultural Programs.

Speaking of Dance – DanceHouse

Speaking of Dance Conversations: Ageism and Street Dance

Speaking of Dance Conversations

Ageism and Street Dance

March 15, 2023 | 3pm PST Vancouver Playhouse (600 Hamilton Street) Entrance at Salon C (through outdoor patio)

Artist Bios

Speaking of Dance Talking Truths: Shaping Our Presence and Remembering Our Past

Speaking of Dance Talking Truths: Shaping Our Presence and Remembering Our Past

February 14 | 12pm PST

Artist Bios

Speaking of Dance: Women Weaving Stories of Transformation

Speaking of Dance Women Weaving Stories of Transformation

April 23, 2021 | 11am PDT

Artist Bios

Speaking of Dance – Future Memory: Session 2

Speaking of Dance – Future Memory: Session 2

February 26, 2021 | 11am PST

Artist Bios

Louise Lecavalier – Choreographer

Stephen Page – Director and Choreographer

Rodrigo Pederneiras – Choreographer

Speaking of Dance – Future Memory: Session 1

Speaking of Dance – Future Memory: Session 1

November 26 | 11am PST

Speaker Bios

Speaking of Dance Conversations

The Objectifying Gaze in the Arts

Tuesday, March 5, 2019; 6PM Djavad Mowafaghian World Art Centre, SFU Woodward’s – Goldcorp Centre for the Arts (149 W. Hastings)

Speaking of Dance

Post-identity Utopia

Tuesday, February 5, 2019; 6PM Djavad Mowafaghian World Art Centre, SFU Woodward’s – Goldcorp Centre for the Arts (149 W. Hastings).

Speaking of Dance Conversations

Arts Criticism in the Digital Age

Tuesday, November 27 2018; 6PM Djavad Mowafaghian World Art Centre, SFU Woodward’s – Goldcorp Centre for the Arts (149 W. Hastings).

Speaking of Dance Conversations

Tap Dance and Jazz Music: the Evolution of an Art Form

Tuesday, April 10, 2018; 7pm Djavad Mowafaghian World Art Centre, SFU Goldcorp Centre for the Arts 149 W. Hastings Street

Speaking of Dance Conversations

Vancouver and Toronto’s Cultural Scenes in the 70s: A Comparison

Tuesday, February 20, 2018; 7pm Djavad Mowafaghian World Art Centre, SFU Goldcorp Centre for the Arts 149 W. Hastings Street

March 15, 2023 | 3pm PST
Vancouver Playhouse (600 Hamilton Street)
Entrance at Salon C (through outdoor patio)

Speaking of Dance
Talking Truths: Shaping Our Presence and Remembering Our Past

Speaking of Dance
Women Weaving Stories of Transformation

Tuesday, March 5, 2019; 6PM
Djavad Mowafaghian World Art Centre, SFU Woodward’s – Goldcorp Centre for the Arts (149 W. Hastings)

Tuesday, February 5, 2019; 6PM
Djavad Mowafaghian World Art Centre, SFU Woodward’s – Goldcorp Centre for the Arts (149 W. Hastings).

Tuesday, November 27 2018; 6PM
Djavad Mowafaghian World Art Centre, SFU Woodward’s – Goldcorp Centre for the Arts (149 W. Hastings).

Tuesday, April 10, 2018; 7pm
Djavad Mowafaghian World Art Centre, SFU Goldcorp Centre for the Arts
149 W. Hastings Street

Tuesday, February 20, 2018; 7pm
Djavad Mowafaghian World Art Centre, SFU Goldcorp Centre for the Arts
149 W. Hastings Street