Congratulations to DanceWorks' Dora Nominated Artists!
TAPA announced the 2010 Dora Mavor Moore Award nominees recently and we take this opportunity to congratulate Tedd Robinson (Best Choreography) and Charles Quevillon (Outstanding Sound Design/Composition) for Sticks, performed by the exquisite Yvonne Ng as part of DanceWorks last season.
Press Release
DW 190 Sept. 22- 24, 2011
Michael Greyeyes - From Thine Eyes - Signal Theatre (Toronto)
Choreography: Michael Greyeyes
Direction: Yvette Nolan
A new dance work, from director and choreographer, Michael Greyeyes and his company, Signal Theatre, set in limbo between the land of the living and that of the dead, where six characters struggle to find meaning at the end of their lives, as they confront their deepest fears, most cherished memories and each other. This dance theatre project brings together two contemporary Aboriginal artists for the first time: Michael Greyeyes (Director) and Yvette Nolan (Writer). Together, they examine mortality, memory and forgiveness, lensed through indigenous dance expression, confronting head on the reality that only when the veil of our mortality is finally removed can we see ourselves and each other truthfully.
from thine eyes is a co-production with Signal Theatre, Native Earth Performing Arts, and co-presented with DanceWorks.
DW 191 Oct. 20 - 22, 2011
William Yong - Eight Ways From Mara - Zata Omm (Toronto)
Choreography: William Yong
Video Design: Elysha Poirier
Music Composition: Andrea Rocca
Performers: Heather Berry, Kate Franklin, Nicholas Melymuk, Erika-Leigh Stirton and William Yong.
Zata Omm's new full-length work Eight Ways From Mara is a multi-disciplined, imaginative and visually dense choreographic work that explores a modern interpretation of how people strive to find ways to avoid life's misery by capitulation or opposition to three elemental forces: confusion, temptation and distraction. The imagery and poetry from Buddhist philosophy and musings is distilled to achieve a work of great richness evoking a spirituality that guides and inspires.
After the successful debut of Frames in 2009, Zata Omm returns to DanceWorks Mainstage with a unique and powerful multi-media dance work thoughtfully conceived and choreographed by artistic director William Yong.
DW 192 Nov. 3-5, 2011
Peter Chin - Fluency - Tribal Crackling Wind (Toronto)
Choreography: Peter Chin
Videography: Jeremy Mimnagh
Music: Garnet Willis
Performers: Peter Chin, Alison Denham, Billy Marchenski, María Constanza Guzmán, Jeremy Mimnagh
Lighting and set design: David Duclos
Can one become Nicaraguan? The Jamaican-born and Toronto-based artist Peter Chin has answered that question with Fluency, a multidisciplinary work imbued with his trademark finesse and humour, a piece that he developed during a stay in Latin America. Over a two-year period, the choreographer, dancer, musician and four-time Dora Mavor Moore winner documented (with videographer Jeremy Mimnagh) his efforts to learn Spanish and attempts to integrate into a new culture, an undertaking that involved more than a few comical situations. It all led to this very playful piece for Chin and four performers, an atypical progress report that lies somewhere between dance, theatre, video and a talk show.
"…when it comes to avant-garde art, Peter Chin walks the walk - and it's a pretty memorable strut. The renaissance man of the dance world is devoted to innovation." (NOW, Toronto)
DW 193 Mar. 3, 2012 (ONE NIGHT ONLY!)
Sylvain Emard - Fragments - Volume I - Sylvain Emard Danse (Montreal)
choreography: Sylvain Emard
Dancers: Laurence Ramsay, Manuel Roque and Catherine Viau
Performer: Monique Miller
Music: Michel F. Côté, Jan Jelinek
Scénographie: Richard Lacroix
The first part of a diptych that places the dancer at the very heart of creation, Fragments - Volume I is a collage of miniatures - a veritable patchwork of insistent urgency. In three solos and a duo, Sylvain Émard has crafted roles that are adapted to dancers' most pressing needs, establishing four contrasting worlds where the depth and authenticity of gesture convey the complexity and vulnerability of the individual. Intense and often surprising, the veteran actress Monique Miller slips majestically into this new work where her minimalist movement is touchingly eloquent, offering a troubling counterpoint to the raw energy of the three exceptional dancers.
A Sylvain Émard Danse and Canada Dance Festival co-production, in collaboration with the Goethe-Institut.
DW 194 April 13-14, 2012
Yvon Soglo (Crazy Smooth) - IZM - Bboyizm (Ottawa)
Choreographer: Yvon Soglo (Crazy Smooth)
Dancers: Emanuel Septier (Bourik), Felipe Soto Palestro (Chilly), Melissa Flerangile (Melly Mel), Mathieu Dumoulin (Lost child), Jean-Luc Fournier (Dirty D), Rahime Gay-Labbe (N O S B), Mathieu Bilodeau (Strife), Marie-Pier Lopes (Zepol rock), Mathieu Ulrich (Soul Step), Yvon Soglo (Crazy Smooth).
Deeply rooted in authenticity, choreographer-dancer Crazy Smooth explores street dance tradition in a modern performance setting pushing current popular boundaries of the dance spectrum. Drawing on his technical background in two hip hop dance styles (rocking and b-boying), Crazy Smooth presents IZM, an investigation into the very nature of artistic expression, developing an interplay between the artist's intentions and the viewer's desires, challenging both dancers and the audience. IZM brings together 10 of Canada's most talented performers of the genre, in a piece that evokes the essential nature of pure street dance with all its intricacy and passion.
DW 195 May 3-5, 2012
BoucharDanse/Sylvie Bouchard AD - Histoire d'amour (Toronto)
Choreography: Susie Burpee, Denise Fujiwara, Louis-Martin Charest, and Sylvie Bouchard/Louis Laberge-Côté,
Performers: Brendan Wyatt, Sylvie Bouchard and Adam Paolozza Direction: Marie-Josée Chartier
Text: Adam Paolozza
Video Projection: Ayelen Liberona
Our undying search for love and understanding of its meaning is the basis for this full length trio that marries dance and theatre. Histoire d'amour invited choreographers to engage with historical narratives on idealized love to illustrate, through movement and images, expressions of affection in various times. These were then used as diving boards into poignant and comical journeys for three timeless lovers. Histoire d'amour examines the essence of this ethereal feeling we cannot live without.
Programs are subject to change.
Image: COBA, Collective Of Black Artists
TAPA announced the 2010 Dora Mavor Moore Award nominees recently and we take this opportunity to congratulate Tedd Robinson (Best Choreography) and Charles Quevillon (Outstanding Sound Design/Composition) for Sticks, performed by the exquisite Yvonne Ng as part of DanceWorks last season.
Press Release
Dance Curator Mimi Beck has announced the 2011- 12 DanceWorks Mainstage Series, as DanceWorks marks 35 years of presenting contemporary dance to Toronto audiences. Says Beck, "The Mainstage Series will feature four evening length world premieres by artist-led companies at the forefront of Toronto's contemporary dance scene: Michael Greyeyes / Signal; William Yong / Zata Omm; Peter Chin / Tribal Crackling Wind; and Sylvie Bouchard / BoucharDanse; along with two touring companies: Ottawa's Bboyizm led by choreographer-dancer Crazy Smooth; and Montreal's renowned Sylvain Emard Dance. I selected these six programs based on the strength, clarity and authenticity of their artistic propositions. The works consider central concepts of the human condition: mortality, spirituality, our urgent need for love and understanding, and a desire to unlock the true nature of artistic expression."
All performances are part of Harbourfront Centre's NextSteps Series.DW 190 Sept. 22- 24, 2011
Michael Greyeyes - From Thine Eyes - Signal Theatre (Toronto)
Choreography: Michael Greyeyes
Direction: Yvette Nolan
A new dance work, from director and choreographer, Michael Greyeyes and his company, Signal Theatre, set in limbo between the land of the living and that of the dead, where six characters struggle to find meaning at the end of their lives, as they confront their deepest fears, most cherished memories and each other. This dance theatre project brings together two contemporary Aboriginal artists for the first time: Michael Greyeyes (Director) and Yvette Nolan (Writer). Together, they examine mortality, memory and forgiveness, lensed through indigenous dance expression, confronting head on the reality that only when the veil of our mortality is finally removed can we see ourselves and each other truthfully.
from thine eyes is a co-production with Signal Theatre, Native Earth Performing Arts, and co-presented with DanceWorks.
DW 191 Oct. 20 - 22, 2011
William Yong - Eight Ways From Mara - Zata Omm (Toronto)
Choreography: William Yong
Video Design: Elysha Poirier
Music Composition: Andrea Rocca
Performers: Heather Berry, Kate Franklin, Nicholas Melymuk, Erika-Leigh Stirton and William Yong.
Zata Omm's new full-length work Eight Ways From Mara is a multi-disciplined, imaginative and visually dense choreographic work that explores a modern interpretation of how people strive to find ways to avoid life's misery by capitulation or opposition to three elemental forces: confusion, temptation and distraction. The imagery and poetry from Buddhist philosophy and musings is distilled to achieve a work of great richness evoking a spirituality that guides and inspires.
After the successful debut of Frames in 2009, Zata Omm returns to DanceWorks Mainstage with a unique and powerful multi-media dance work thoughtfully conceived and choreographed by artistic director William Yong.
DW 192 Nov. 3-5, 2011
Peter Chin - Fluency - Tribal Crackling Wind (Toronto)
Choreography: Peter Chin
Videography: Jeremy Mimnagh
Music: Garnet Willis
Performers: Peter Chin, Alison Denham, Billy Marchenski, María Constanza Guzmán, Jeremy Mimnagh
Lighting and set design: David Duclos
Can one become Nicaraguan? The Jamaican-born and Toronto-based artist Peter Chin has answered that question with Fluency, a multidisciplinary work imbued with his trademark finesse and humour, a piece that he developed during a stay in Latin America. Over a two-year period, the choreographer, dancer, musician and four-time Dora Mavor Moore winner documented (with videographer Jeremy Mimnagh) his efforts to learn Spanish and attempts to integrate into a new culture, an undertaking that involved more than a few comical situations. It all led to this very playful piece for Chin and four performers, an atypical progress report that lies somewhere between dance, theatre, video and a talk show.
"…when it comes to avant-garde art, Peter Chin walks the walk - and it's a pretty memorable strut. The renaissance man of the dance world is devoted to innovation." (NOW, Toronto)
DW 193 Mar. 3, 2012 (ONE NIGHT ONLY!)
Sylvain Emard - Fragments - Volume I - Sylvain Emard Danse (Montreal)
choreography: Sylvain Emard
Dancers: Laurence Ramsay, Manuel Roque and Catherine Viau
Performer: Monique Miller
Music: Michel F. Côté, Jan Jelinek
Scénographie: Richard Lacroix
The first part of a diptych that places the dancer at the very heart of creation, Fragments - Volume I is a collage of miniatures - a veritable patchwork of insistent urgency. In three solos and a duo, Sylvain Émard has crafted roles that are adapted to dancers' most pressing needs, establishing four contrasting worlds where the depth and authenticity of gesture convey the complexity and vulnerability of the individual. Intense and often surprising, the veteran actress Monique Miller slips majestically into this new work where her minimalist movement is touchingly eloquent, offering a troubling counterpoint to the raw energy of the three exceptional dancers.
A Sylvain Émard Danse and Canada Dance Festival co-production, in collaboration with the Goethe-Institut.
DW 194 April 13-14, 2012
Yvon Soglo (Crazy Smooth) - IZM - Bboyizm (Ottawa)
Choreographer: Yvon Soglo (Crazy Smooth)
Dancers: Emanuel Septier (Bourik), Felipe Soto Palestro (Chilly), Melissa Flerangile (Melly Mel), Mathieu Dumoulin (Lost child), Jean-Luc Fournier (Dirty D), Rahime Gay-Labbe (N O S B), Mathieu Bilodeau (Strife), Marie-Pier Lopes (Zepol rock), Mathieu Ulrich (Soul Step), Yvon Soglo (Crazy Smooth).
Deeply rooted in authenticity, choreographer-dancer Crazy Smooth explores street dance tradition in a modern performance setting pushing current popular boundaries of the dance spectrum. Drawing on his technical background in two hip hop dance styles (rocking and b-boying), Crazy Smooth presents IZM, an investigation into the very nature of artistic expression, developing an interplay between the artist's intentions and the viewer's desires, challenging both dancers and the audience. IZM brings together 10 of Canada's most talented performers of the genre, in a piece that evokes the essential nature of pure street dance with all its intricacy and passion.
DW 195 May 3-5, 2012
BoucharDanse/Sylvie Bouchard AD - Histoire d'amour (Toronto)
Choreography: Susie Burpee, Denise Fujiwara, Louis-Martin Charest, and Sylvie Bouchard/Louis Laberge-Côté,
Performers: Brendan Wyatt, Sylvie Bouchard and Adam Paolozza Direction: Marie-Josée Chartier
Text: Adam Paolozza
Video Projection: Ayelen Liberona
Our undying search for love and understanding of its meaning is the basis for this full length trio that marries dance and theatre. Histoire d'amour invited choreographers to engage with historical narratives on idealized love to illustrate, through movement and images, expressions of affection in various times. These were then used as diving boards into poignant and comical journeys for three timeless lovers. Histoire d'amour examines the essence of this ethereal feeling we cannot live without.
Programs are subject to change.
Image: COBA, Collective Of Black Artists
