Blog

International collaborations, seniors programs, the biennial Dance In Vancouver, choreographic research: our staff share some personal highlights from the 2024-2025 season! 

It’s always exciting when artists are in the building during their production and creation process for an extended period of time. Sloth Canon brought together artists from Company 605 and Singapore-based The Human Expression (T.H.E.) Dance Company. While they were here, dancers had the opportunity to take class from T.H.E. company members leading up to the premiere. It was a really joyous time connecting with both our local and international dance community. 
Kaia, Member Services 

Once again, this season gave me so many inspiring and heartwarming moments! Building on the Power of Dance Seniors Creative Movement classes – offering additional classes and staying connected with our seniors program dancers and facilitators – was especially memorable for me. The joy they bring to The Dance Centre is priceless and I am just grateful to have been part of the program.  
Yurie, Outreach 

It was a joy to be able to share opportunities for our donors to experience, firsthand, how their donations support The Dance Centre: performances and vignettes during the September Appreciation Event; meet-the-artist receptions; dropping by the Power of Dance seniors class and witnessing the energy and camaraderie; an exclusive open rehearsal prior to the world premiere of Sloth Canon in May; the Choreographer’s Circle Fireside Chat which morphed into a Summer BBQ Chat with some of our programmed artists. I am truly grateful for their enthusiasm and support. 
Catherine, Development 

Gaurav Bhatti (presented as part of the Global Dance Connections series) was in the studio day after day, blasting away his music as he was practicing, practicing, practicing, for a week in preparation for his spectacular show. 

Great fashion sense coming and going, a glorious friendly smile and demeanour, and his hair was always perfect! And then the spins in his show! 
Christopher, Venue Administration 

Our 12 Minutes Max choreographic research program supported artists working in a great range of dance forms this season – contemporary, flamenco, Metis, Kathak, Bharata Natyam, and Azerbaijani! The facilitators, Ziyian Kwan and Tasha Faye Evans, do a wonderful job of making both artists and audiences feel welcomed and engaged.  Another highlight for me was International Dance Day at Robson Square, with a performance by some quite small students from a local school guided by the artists of soma anima arts – it was heartwarming and inspiring.
Heather, Marketing 

The 14th edition of our biennial Dance In Vancouver featured our first DIV Unstructured, a day of informal, uncurated events. It was a really great day of dance – it was wonderful to see the building and studios full of dance fans and visiting presenters from across Canada and around the world enjoying the showings – and participating in Mascalldance’s dance party in the Marcuse Studio, ending DIV 2024 on a high-energy note. 
Lindsay, Digital Marketing 

I have been inspired by our Associate Artists Ralph Escamillan and Justine A. Chambers – who have just completed the first year of their long-term engagement with The Dance Centre – and their ever thoughtful and authentic way of collaborating. So much of the quiet daily activation by an expansive range of communities, collaborators and artists exploring ideas and research is a core part of what brings us together and space alive. Not forgetting however the riotous energy and community celebration of the Ballroom events that Ralph has been hosting here! 
Raquel, Programming 

It’s always a challenge for me to highlight what in particular stands out, as the season is already a carefully curated sequence of events that we felt were important to support. What is always a point of such pride is the breadth of diverse voices and ideas that fuel conversations around dance, highlighting Vancouver’s and BC’s multitalented dance community, and its cross-disciplinary and cross-sectorial connectivity. It asserts the transformative impact dance has on our lives, on society, and across communities. This involves continued support for artists with mixed abilities, experimentation as well as more traditional forms, and lifting new, emergent voices as much as more established artistic endeavors.  

Our work is a rich, multilayered web of activities and this happens only because of the continued dialogue between our organization, our artist members, our dedicated donors, and audiences sourced from the many communities we engage with. This work – year in, year out – asserts that art matters, that dance matters and it gives me hope! 
Mirna, Executive Director 

___ 

A shout-out to all the wonderful artists and companies who participated in our 2024-2025 season: 

Artist-in-Residence: Claire French/Restless Productions; Gabrielle Martin, Jeremiah Hughes/Corporeal Imago;  Kay Huang/Crossmaneuver; Lee Su-Feh; Tasha Faye Evans Associate Artists: Justine A. Chambers; Ralph Escamillan Awards: Eric Cheung (Iris Garland Emerging Choreographer Award); Vanessa Goodman/Action at a Distance (Isadora Award)  DanceLab: Natalia Martineau Dance In Vancouver 2024: Adam Grant Warren, All Bodies Dance Project, Alyssa Favero, Anya Saugstad, Belle Spirale Dance, Calder White, Chimerik 似不像, Claire French/Restless Productions, Company 605, Daina Ashbee, Deanne Peters/Mutable Subject, Emmalena Fredriksson, FakeKnot, Idan Cohen/Ne.Sans Opera & Dance,  Inverso Productions/Lesley Telford,  Jeanette Kotowich, Jennifer Aoki,  Joshua Beamish/MOVE THE COMPANY, Juolin Lee, Justine A. Chambers, Kay Huang/Crossmaneuver, Lee Su-Feh, Mardon + Mitsuhashi, Marion Landers, MascallDance,  plastic orchid factory, Ryan Jackson and Kira Radosevic, Shion Skye Carter, Simran Sachar, soma anima arts, Starr Muanko/Raven Spirit Dance, Sujit Vaidya  Tasha Faye Evans, The Biting School, Vanessa Goodman/Action at Distance, Ziyian Kwan/Odd Meridian Arts; DIV programming partners: Boombox, Left of Main, Morrow, Progress Lab 1422, WhatLab/Co.ERASGA Discover Dance! series: Arts Umbrella Dance Company; Corporeal Imago; SHIAMAK Vancouver Global Dance Connections series: Anusha Fernando/Shakti Dance; Company 605 + The Human Expression Dance Company; Daina Ashbee; Gaurav Bhatti; Sophie Dow + Laura Reznek International Dance Day: Burnaby Central Secondary School with Sophia “Sosa” Laurio; Dance//Novella; Inverso Productions/Lesley Telford; Justine A. Chambers; Karen Jamieson Dance; Kay Huang/Crossmaneuver; soma anima arts; Vanessa Goodman/Action at a Distance  Open House: Adam Grant Warren; AfroBeats Van; Alex Litvinoff/Performance Clinic; Alina Sotskova/Voirelia Dance Hub; Anusha Fernando/Shakti Dance; Flamenco Rosario; Lili Flamenco/Liat Har Lev; Lourdes Ruiz/Mexican Dance Ensemble Vancouver; SJ Dance Productions; soma anima arts; Sophie Dow + Laura Reznek; VanVogue Jam Open Stage #5: Amok Project; Kara Wiebe (La Picante); Krystal Tsai; Punit Projects and Partnerships: Circuit-Est centre chorégraphique; Mandala Arts & Culture/Kiruthika Rathanaswami & Malavika Santhosh; Matriarchs Uprising Festival; NewWorks DanceRaven Spirit Dance Quebec-BC Residency Exchange Erika Mitsuhashi; Molly Siboulet-Ryan 12 Minutes Max: Aditi Chaudhury & Sudnya Mulye; André Bessette and Lyric Tsuji; Akshaya Surve; Asal Ahadi and Shalaleh Rismani; Dania Grant; Jhoely Triana Flamenco; Jullianna Oke; Krystal Tsai; Natalia Martineau

And thank you to our many generous donors who have made the above possible, along with our funders: Canada Council for the Arts, Canadian Heritage, the Province of British Columbia, the BC Arts Council, and the City of Vancouver.

_____________________________________________________________________

Photo credits top to bottom L to R: Sloth Canon/Dan Loan; Action at a Distance/Vanessa Goodman; Sloth Canon/TDC; Power of Dance Seniors/Chris Randle; Choreographer’s Circle/TDC; Gaurav Bhatti/TDC; 12 Minutes Max/TDC; MascallDance/TDC

Explore dance performances currently presented by The Dance Centre. Each season, you’ll find new dance shows. See what’s on today.