Sophie Dow + Laura Reznek
Agrimony
Friday September 20 | 8pm
Saturday September 21 | 2pm + 8pm

Agrimony walks the edge between spellbinding contemporary dance and an evocative concert. Co-created by the talented young choreographer Sophie Dow in collaboration with composer/multi-instrumentalist Laura Reznek, the work pays tribute to agrimonia eupatoria. In traditional plant medicine, this small yellow flower is a catalyst for honesty, dissolving masks of fear and pain to unveil our truest selves. The fluent choreography, expressively performed by Dow and three dancers, has an intimate connection to the score, which is played live on stage by Reznek and four musicians. Agrimony is an emotional, uplifting and radiant exploration of courage and authenticity.

Duration: 65 minutes
Artist talkback after each performance
Includes haze and smoke
Presented through the Artist-in-Residence program

Anusha Fernando/Shakti Dance
Sky Dancers
Friday-Saturday October 4-5 | 7pm
Sunday October 6 | 2pm

Sky Dancers emerged from a year-long gathering of six outstanding Bharata Natyam dance artists, who formed a unique collaborative space to explore the core elements of the form: stillness, presence, energy, musicality, ritual, and stories. Using the framework of the Dakini (Sky Dancer), a Buddhist symbol of the dynamic play of energy in the universe, the choreography expresses both the dancers’ personal voices and the rich traditions and meditative practices that have emerged from India. Conceived and directed by Anusha Fernando, Sky Dancers is performed by Arno Kamolika, Kiruthika Rathanaswami, Malavika Santhosh, Ashvini Sundaram and Sujit Vaidya, joined on stage by musicians and meditators/chanters.

Duration: 60 minutes.
Post-show artist talkback October 5

Daina Ashbee
We learned a lot at our own funeral
Thursday-Saturday February 6-8 | 8pm
 
Daina Ashbee’s radical works sit at the edge of dance and performance. Still only in her early thirties, she has garnered major awards and critical acclaim, and her bold, utterly unique creations are shown all over the world. We learned a lot at our own funeral is a compelling new solo which probes the notion of death. Enveloping the audience in a potent sense of ritual, it evokes a battle with the self: the dancer challenges gravity, resists the ground, overcomes precarious balances. Finally, only the echo of the body, of its strength and fragility, remains.

Duration: 65 minutes
Post-show artist talkback February 7

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Gaurav Bhatti
Bulleh Shah: Seeker of Light
Friday-Saturday March 28-29 | 8pm

Working at the intersection of the North Indian classical form of Kathak and contemporary dance, Gaurav Bhatti is known for virtuosic performances which encompass explosive energy, dramatic complexity, and eloquent emotion. His new solo is inspired by the life and poetry of the 18th-century Sufi mystic Bulleh Shah, who spoke out against powerful institutions, and advocated for tolerance at a time of violent religious strife. Integrating Kathak, Punjabi folk dances, and Western movement forms, Bhatti applies his distinctive contemporary sensibility to reassert Shah’s enduring message of universal love, and pays homage to the rich artistic heritage of the Punjab.

Duration: approx 55 minutes
Post-show artist talkback March 29
Presented with New Works

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Company 605 + The Human Expression
New Work
Thursday-Friday June 5-6 | 8pm
Saturday June 7 | 2pm + 8pm

From opposite ends of the Pacific Ocean, Vancouver’s Company 605 and Singapore’s The Human Expression (T.H.E) Dance Company join forces for a thrilling new international collaboration. Both companies have built reputations for a deep commitment to experimentation, and for their unerring ability to tap into the complexities of the human condition through visceral, rigorous and dynamic dance creations. This exciting new work – envisioned and choreographed by T.H.E’s Anthea Seah and Company 605’s Josh Martin, and performed by artists from both cities – frames a meeting of voices seeking out what it means to break and rebuild: a deconstruction and a piecing back together, the fragments and the whole, and the twisting and reshaping of evolving identities.

Duration: approx. 55 minutes
Post-show artist talkback June 6

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Photos: Sophie Dow/Vitantonio Spinelli, Anusha Fernando/Yasuhiro Okada; Daina Ashbee/Yvonne Chew; Gaurav Bhatti/Angela Grabowska; The Human Experience/Crispian Chan