Sweet Ephemera

A queer and thought-provoking double bill featuring works by Calder White and Tavia Christina (Near & Far Projects)

June 24-26, 2025

Young People’s Theatre in Toronto

Meet the choreographers of Sweet Ephemera in the studio on June 25! Click here or scroll down to learn more about the Sweet Ephemera Workshops.

Photos: Francesca Chudnoff (L) and Tom Hsu (R).

Buy Tickets on Zeffy here!

This year, DanceWorks is piloting a Pay-What-You-Can ticket pricing model. Tickets for Sweet Ephemera range from $0-48. Please use the below reference points to select a ticket price option that aligns with your circumstance.

SUPPORTER - $48.00 incl. HST and fees - If you have access to a salary, savings, investments, assets, or familial wealth, selecting this rate will help subsidize the attendance of someone for whom cost is a barrier.
REGULAR - $36.00 incl. HST and fees - This rate reflects the regular cost for the event. Please select this rate if you have access to a regular income and are able to meet your basic needs around food, housing, and transportation.
SUBSIDIZED - $24.00 incl. HST and fees - Please select this rate if you are able to meet your basic needs but have gaps in your income and limited access to savings or familial support.
REDUCED - $10.00 incl. HST and fees - Please select this rate if you are able to meet your basic needs but don’t have access to a regular income, savings, or familial support.
ACCESS - $0.00 - The option to access this event at no cost ensures that members of our community for whom price is a barrier to participation are able to join us. Please email [email protected] to receive this option. A limited number of tickets are available.
This approach is greatly inspired by the Toronto Dance Community Love-In. Special thanks to Leelee Oluwastoyosi Eko Davis for sharing their knowledge!

Photo: Tom Hsu.

Dates and Times

June 24, 25, 26 at 7:30pm

Location

Young People’s Theatre (Studio Theatre)

165 Front Street East, Toronto, Ontario

Additional Details

Content Warnings: Violence, abuse, bodily fluids, intimacy, scents, loud sounds, bright lights, mature subject matter. Recommended for mature audiences 14+.

There will be a post-show reception on June 24 and a post-show Artist Talk/Q&A on June 25.

You can learn more about Venue Accessibility here.

only child by Calder White

A solo that is sometimes a duet and occasionally a trio, only child places courtship, reproduction, and romance on a pedestal and under a microscope. Fantasy becomes reality in a series of vignettes that draw from queer intimacy and kink practices, conjuring the simultaneous danger and care that exists in these marginal spaces.

Choreography and Performance by Calder White
Scenography and Rehearsal Direction by Steph Cyr
Creative Assistance and Lighting Design by Zaya Sawchyn
Props by Chris White
Costume Design by Maria Kofman
Music by Stefan Nazarevich and Khotin
Co-produced by the Dance Centre BC and Odd Meridian Arts, with paid creation residency, technical and production support, and marketing and front of house provided by Odd Meridian Arts.
This project has been supported by the Canada Council for the Arts.

Sometimes the Sex is so Good by Tavia Christina (Near & Far Projects)

How can we work through disaster together? Do we? Amid the ruins of our choices, we confront the ease of staying. Sometimes the Sex is so Good, challenges our sense of autonomy. Tavia Christina, Artistic Director of Near & Far Projects, has crafted a world that confronts our ongoing destruction and admits to an upheaval of civilization.

Directed and Choreographed by Tavia Christina
Performed by Eleanor van Veen and Katie Adams-Gossage
Dramaturgy by August Winter
Outside Mentorship by Heidi Strauss
Costume Design by Angela Cabrera
Projection Design by KLSR
Original Score by Luke Gruntz & Dæm
Original Lighting Design by Mathilda Kane, Adaptation by Emilie Trimbee
Prop Build by Jarrett Siddall
This project has been supported by the Canada Council for the Arts, Toronto Dance Theatre "Plug N' Play" Residency and Woodland Farm Residency.
Sometimes the Sex is so Good was developed in part through Arts Orillia's Dance&Design residency.

Sweet Ephemera Workshops

Wednesday, June 25, 2025

The Fifth Dance at 366 Adelaide St E Unit 120, Toronto, ON

Meet the choreographers of Sweet Ephemera in the studio to explore their choreographic inspirations and dance practices! Facilitated by Calder White and Tavia Christina, these workshop sessions are geared towards dancers (movement experience required). Attend one or both workshops! Participants who attend BOTH workshops ($20) will receive a complimentary ticket to any performance of Sweet Ephemera!

Floorworkshop by Calder White

10:15am-11:45am - $10 - Register here!

This workshop, led by Calder White, combines elements of contemporary and modern dance, breakdance/breaking, and various somatic practices to introduce and build upon floorwork fundamentals. Research how to fold and position your bodies to roll, slide, spill and sweep through space. Use developmental movement pathways to become more comfortable with gravity, all while embracing the bumps and clunks that occur along the way.

Sex, Death and Rock n' Roll by Tavia Christina

11:45am-1:15pm - $10 - Register here!

Explore the dichotomy between the end and erotica in a workshop with Tavia Christina. Ease through a series of discussions, meditations, gyrating motions and spells, with a focus on consent and care. Share space, thoughts, feelings, and make contact with one another. Together, discover a state where your spirits feel lifted.

Bring: water, layered comfortable clothes, a journal, and a pen/pencil.

Accessibility: Please let us know if you have any accessibility requirements, including food allergies or dietary restrictions. We will be eating together and do our best to accommodate your needs.

For general workshop inquiries, please email Catherine (DanceWorks' Education & Outreach Manager) at [email protected] .

Choreographers

Tavia Christina is a multi-hyphenate artist who embraces their ethereal nature as a driving force in artistic expression and research. Their work seamlessly blends genres across dance, theatre, and performance art. Their practice is rooted in somatic movement and spiritual endurance. With a background spanning Western contemporary dance, street dance, and classical ballet, Tavia also holds interests in various other art forms, including curation, music, acting, poetry, film, and death work. In their freelance career, they have been nominated for a Dora Mavor Moore award, and are interning as an artistic director at adelheid facilitated through The Metcalf Foundation.

Headshot by Colin Medley.

Calder White is a freelance dance artist based on the unceded and stolen lands of the Musqueam, Squamish, and Tsleil-Waututh nations (so-called “Vancouver, BC”). He is an alumnus of Tkaronto’s Canadian Contemporary Dance Theatre and holds a BFA in Dance from the Ohio State University. He has originated roles in work by Shay Kuebler, Joshua Beamish, Ziyian Kwan, Rachel Meyer, Wen Wei Wang, and Santee Smith. Calder’s choreographic interests lay in oversharing, recalling memory, and the effects of video documentation on self-image. His work has been shared with audiences across Canada and the US, receiving commissions from Ohio Dance Festival, The School of Dance Ottawa, Boombox Vancouver, Dancing on the Edge, and Danceworks Toronto. He is also a floorwork teacher, sharing his workshops with institutions across North America. He is the proud recipient of the 2022 Hnatyshyn Foundation’s Ukraine – Heritage, Spirit, and Future award for Exceptional Talent in Contemporary Dance.

Headshot by Kendra Epik.