The 14th biennial Dance In Vancouver celebrates the energy and innovation of BC’s contemporary dance scene: join us for five days of performances, studio showings and events.
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Initiated by The Dance Centre in 1997, DIV is also the leading opportunity for presenters and curators from around the world to experience the dynamic contemporary dance of the Canadian West Coast – nurturing the potential for tours, exchanges and partnerships for local artists.
This edition’s guest international curator is Anthea Lewis, founder of Blulilli Projects UK, in association with Dance Umbrella (UK) – London’s International Dance Festival, and FABRIC International.
The 14th biennial Dance In Vancouver celebrates the energy and innovation of our contemporary dance scene: join us for five days of performances, studio showings and events, showcasing some of British Columbia’s most exciting companies and artists.
WEDNESDAY NOVEMBER 20
8pm Performance: Company 605 lossy
Shifting between bursts of intense fragmented movement and moments of stillness, driven by a pulsating score, an ensemble of dancers capture the essence of our uncertain times.
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THURSDAY NOVEMBER 21
8pm Performance: DIV Double Bill: FakeKnot Croquis + Ziyian Kwan/Odd Meridian Arts Tendrils
In Ralph Escamillan (FakeKnot)’s innovative solo Croquis, the pencil is the body and the paper a modular canvas – dissecting the desire to imprint oneself into physical space.
Ziyian Kwan’s Tendrils is an homage to dance icon Tedd Robinson, and is the first in a series of odes to artists whose inspirational works are living toolkits for survival and hope.
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FRIDAY NOVEMBER 22
2pm Studio Showing + Conversation | Free admission, no registration required
Starr Muranko/Raven Spirit Dance: Tracing Bones and Tahanan/Home (two works in process/excerpt)
Tracing Bones is a duet about memory and presence. It reflects upon the question – what memories do we hold onto, what do we tuck away, what gets forgotten or transformed over time? Choreographed by Starr Muranko & Marisa Gold | performed by Marisa Gold and Ysadora Dias. Tahanan/Home is an excerpt from a larger series Eternal Gestures. Choreographed by Starr Muranko and performed by Alvin Tolentino.
Tasha Faye Evans: Seed (work in process)
Seed is a personal exploration of Sxwoxwiyam, the original stories written into these lands to remind us how to show up in the world. Moved by the shapes and teachings of the ancestor’s eye, this work is an exploration of the fundamental elements of Coast Salish art and design.
8pm Performance: Lee Su-Feh Touch Me Hold Me Let Me Go
In this multi-media lecture-performance, Lee Su-Feh talks about the algorithm, teaches it, performs it. Followed by a dance party with audio-visual duo See Monsters, aka Bracken Hanuse Corlett and Dean Hunt.
This performance takes place in the round and has limited capacity.
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SATURDAY NOVEMBER 23
12 noon-1pm Studio Showing | Free admission, no registration required
FakeKnot: MY HOUSE (work in progress)
Ralph Escamillan’s new performance work is based around the HOUSE that is represented through the familial physical bonds found in Ballroom. Escamillan, aka Posh Gvasalia Basquiat, uses the motif of trompe l’oeil to express the feeling of self-actualization that is manifested on the Ballroom floor. Bringing the BALL from runway to the stage, this piece features a team of Canadian Kiki legends, local commentators and DJs.
8pm Performance: Anya Saugstad Paper Mountains
Iris Garland Emerging Choreographer Award recipient Anya Saugstad’s new ensemble work inspired by the concept of fragmentation and disintegration.
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9.30pm Performance: Action at a Distance/Vanessa Goodman Soft Currents
A performance full of spontaneous eruptions and delights, alternating between collective unison and individual focus. This special DIV edition of Soft Currents will move through different spaces at Scotiabank Dance Centre, culminating in the theatre for a post-show social gathering with DJ Brady Marks.
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SUNDAY NOVEMBER 24
1pm-5pm DIV Unstructured
Dance In Vancouver 2024 comes to a close with an afternoon of informal artist-led offerings.
Free admission, no registration required except for Joshua Beamish/MOVETHECOMPANY (details below).
1-1.30pm Studio Showing INVERSO PRODUCTIONS/ Lesley Telford: Borrowed Time
The work explores strength and vulnerability through different phases of our lives, bringing together professional and community dancers from 26-76 years old. This excerpt features performers Ariana Barr, Marisa Gold and Barbara Karmazyn.
1.30-2pm Studio Showing INVERSO PRODUCTIONS/ Performance Research Project: Works in progress
The Performance Research Project (PRP) is a mentorship and development platform for early to mid-career dance professionals led by Lesley Telford. Twelve artists participating in the fall cohort will perform short works in progress by Arash Khakpour, Anya Saugstad and Lesley Telford.
Dancers: Sophie Dow, Ysadora Dias, Hana Rutka, Grace Willock, Quinn Muylaert, Bec Gombar, Polina Olshevska, Maia Morrison, Ellie Pentin, Samantha Krystal.
2-2.45pm Performance Joshua Beamish/MOVETHECOMPANY: SALT & Lost Touch
Joshua Beamish’s SALT examines a not-so-distant future paradox where humanity is starved for fresh water, while drowning in rising sea levels. Performed by seven dancers, the work explores the acceptance, melancholy and hope inherent in the desire to survive. The program also includes Beamish’s Lost Touch, a solo for Renée Sigouin (Kidd Pivot, Out Innerspace Dance Theatre).
Performers: SALT Ariana Barr, Marisa Christogeorge, Emma Galvin, Julian Hunt, Jordan Lang, Justin Rapaport, Calder White. Lost Touch: Renée Sigouin.
Tickets are on a sliding scale: $15/$25/$0 | Includes haze.
3-3.30pm Studio Showing Idan Cohen/Ne.Sans Opera & Dance: About Time
About Time is a creative response to Philip Glass’ solo piano études No. 2 and 20. The work poses poignant questions about how we consume information, and how that influences our perception of time.
Featuring dancers Will Jessup and Benjamin DeFaria, accompanied live by pianist Leslie Dala.
3.30-4pm Studio Showing Kay Huang/Crossmaneuver: Crossing + 安/Peace
A collaboration between Kay Huang and Brynne Harper, Crossing is centered on intergenerational conversations and different perspectives on challenges, conflicts and values. 安/Peace, Huang’s new work in progress, is a personal exploration centred on immigration, migration, social identity, and social justice.
4-5pm Sharing + Dance Party MascallDance: The A.I.R. Experiment
A sharing, an ongoing experiment, a laid-back social-dance party: five artists have each made and named a social dance informed by their cultural backgrounds and research into movement patterns. The artists will share their dances for and with you: come watch, chat, and join in!
Performers/choreographers/hosts: Mario Matias, Ysadora Dias, Marisa Gold, Tobias Macfarlane, Nick Miami Benz, with music from fiddler Kathleen Nisbet.
4.30-5pm Studio Showing soma anima arts (aka Kinesis Dance somatheatro): Bright Shadow
Choreographed by Artistic Director Rachel Helten, Bright Shadow is an interdisciplinary exploration of the tension between utopia and dystopia, expressed through contemporary dance, original music, text, sound clips, digital projections, and interactive technology.
Dancers/Artistic Collaborators: Rachel Helten, Ana Sosa, Allison Lang, Ileanna Sophia Cheladyn. Music: Benjamin Helten. Music and Poetry: Kofi Obiri-Yeboah; Programmer and Digital Artist: Ezequiel Peralta.
Photos: FakeKnot/David Cooper; Company 605/David Cooper; Anya Saugstad Paper Mountains/Bray Jorstad and Daria Mikhaylyuk; Lee Su-Feh/Yvonne Chew