The Dance Centre presents
Jeanette Kotowich
Kisiskâciwan
September 30-October 1, 2022
Scotiabank Dance Centre
Kisiskâciwan
Kisiskâciwan is a creative return to the fast-flowing landscape of Saskatchewan, the robust and undulating land of my grandmothers’ mothers and great-great grandfathers. Through memories of my childhood summers, embraced by the Kah-tep-was valley (Cree for river that calls), the vast prairie and gently rolling landscape has echoed its lasting impression and whispered a language of inspiration.
Choreographer, performer, producer – Jeanette Kotowich
Performer, sound, fiddle, vocals – Kathleen Nisbet
Creative producer, outside eye – Deanna Peters/Mutable Subject
Lighting – James Proudfoot
Sound – Wayne Lavallee, Moe Clark, Brady Marks
Media – Brady Marks
Special thanks to – Graham Kotowich, Lisa Gelley, Raïna Von Waldenburg, Emily Solstice Tait, Stéphanie Cyr, Kelly McInnes, Jono Kim, Chengyan Boon, Julie Wiebe, Sharai Mustatia
Past mentors – Carlos Rivera, Michelle Olson, Charles Koroneho
Supporters – Boca de Lupo, The Dance Centre, Shadbolt Centre for the Arts, Raven Spirit Dance, Art Holm, Morrow, Tangente, Canada Council for the Arts
The Dance Centre acknowledges that it is located on the traditional, ancestral, and unceded territories of the the xʷməθkʷəy̓əm (Musqueam), Sḵwx̱wú7mesh (Squamish), and səlilwətaɬ (Tsleil-Waututh) Nations. It is an honour and a privilege for us to be guests in their lands. We are grateful.
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It has been a delight to follow Jeanette Kotowich’s evolution as an artist from dancer to choreographer, as she seeks to explore a set of diverse but linked concepts in life, in society, political and artistic. Throughout she does not shy from exposing both the vulnerable side and the strength that rises up from through these situations stemming from past wrongs but looking forward into the future through compassion, kindness, bravery and joy, and reinforcing the relationship to the natural and to the Spirit world. Her inspiration is sourced within a strong family structure and values, memory, affirming her identity and giving tribute to Ancestry.
Jeanette comes from a dancing family and one can see that in her work that is filled with movement, but also reflective of the many dance legacies, traditions and forms that she has throughout her childhood but also later in life and as an artist been exposed to.
The Dance Centre is proud to support artists like Jeanette, beautiful human beings who reflect upon the times we find ourselves in as individuals and as society, and the changes that have surfaced during the pandemic and we continue to find ways to resolve.
The joy to dance, and the cherishing of tradition, legacy and mindfulness along with care for the future of mankind are vivid in how Jeanette approaches her work. Yet, she also speaks of the pain, the hurt and the need to find resolve across generations and cultures to address these – not to forget, but to start learning how to heal, to heal.
The world of today too needs a lot of healing! I hope that tonight’s performance will bring us all a bit closer together, helping us bridge the divide that threatens humanity at the core, and that we will make space and embrace the spiritual replenishment that Jeanette seeks and speaks to through her artistic practice, and that she so generously shares with us.
Mirna Zagar
Executive Director, The Dance Centre
THE DANCE CENTRE
The Dance Centre was established in 1986 as a resource centre for dance professionals and the public in British Columbia, and offers a range of activities unparalleled in Canadian dance. The Dance Centre offers programs and resources supporting the professional development of artists, presents public performances and events, manages Scotiabank Dance Centre, one of Canada’s leading dance facilities, and works to promote BC dance.
Executive Director Mirna Zagar; Programming Coordinator Raquel Alvaro; Associate Producer Linda Blankstein; Member Services/Outreach Coordinator Nazanin Oghanian; Director of Marketing Heather Bray; Digital Marketing Coordinator Lindsay Curtis; Development Coordinator Anna Ruscitti; Venue and Operations Manager Simran Ghesani; Lead Technician Chengyan Boon; Comptroller Elyn Dobbs; Dance Central Editor Shanny Rann
Board of Directors Jason Wrobleski (Chair); Andrea Reid (Vice-Chair); Annelie Vistica (Treasurer); Tin Gamboa (Secretary); Judith Garay; Linda Gordon; Arash Khakpour; Rosario Kolstee; Anndraya Luui, Rachel Maddock; Katia Oteman
The Dance Centre is grateful for the generous support of The Choreographer’s Circle, Anndraya Luui and the BC Arts Renaissance Fund.
THE CORPORATE LEADER’S CIRCLE
Alexander Holburn Beaudin + Lang LLP – Ingrid M. Tsui, Partner; The Holiday Inn and Suites Vancouver Downtown – Angela van den Byllaard, Sales Manager; Jarislowsky, Fraser Limited – Beau Howes
THE CHOREOGRAPHER’S CIRCLE
Impresario: Charles and Eve Chang Foundation, Anndraya Luui; Choreographer: Anonymous, Anonymous, Beau Howes and Genieve Burley, Tony Giacinti (in memory of Lola MacLaughlin), Stephen Jarislowsky, Anne Hildebrandt; Artistic Director: Linda Blankstein, Marnie Carter, Yosef Wosk OBC, Moh Faris, David Matte; Principal Dancer: David Cousins, James Felter, Mike and Kathy Gallagher, Ken Gracie and Philip Waddell, McGrane – Pearson Endowment Fund, Jean Orr, Don and Jane Shumka, Janet and Ron Stern; Dance Artist: Anonymous ,Anonymous, Ken Alexander, Santa Aloi, Rosario Ancer, Mary and Herb Auerbach, Gary R. Bell, Andrew and Andrea Benzel, Noel Best and Barbara Shuman, Matthew Breech and Shino Watanabe, Richard Cavell and Peter Dickinson, Amanda Collinge, Norm and Dorothy Cross, Count and Countess Enrico and Aline Dobrzensky, Jason Dubois and Clayton Baraniuk, Nicola Follows, Judith Garay, Peter Harmon, Linda Johnston, Emily Klukas, Amy Millar, Kathy Scalzo, Kemo Schedlosky and Mark Gatha, Betty Scheltgen, Ingrid Tsui and Matthew Heemskerk, Annelie and Dan Vistica, Denis Walz, Michael Welters, Mirna Zagar; Max Wyman and Susan Mertens, Jason Wrobleski
THE ARTIST’S CIRCLE
Linda Aristizabal, Brent Belsher, Denis Blais and Paras Terezakis, Val Brandt, Deborah Dragon, Lorna Froidevaux, Lynn B. Johnston, Lorita Leung – The Lorita Leung Dance Association, Barry McKinnon, Dubravko Pajalic, Dr. Mary Robertson, Frank Salisbury, Selma Savage
The operations of The Dance Centre are supported by the Government of Canada, Canada Council for the Arts, the Government of British Columbia, the BC Arts Council, and the City of Vancouver.
Media sponsor: Stir Vancouver
The VDC Dance Centre Society is a registered charity no. BN 11925 8754 RR0001