Public Energy: Dancing in Nogojiwanong
Citizens of all ages are coming together this week for an outdoor community dance performance downtown.
More than 20 community members, from 3 to 70 years old, will perform alongside professional artists in Nogojiwanong Rite of Spring. The production re-envisions the original Rite of Spring, a 1913 ballet and orchestral concert, through a contemporary Indigenous lens. It’s part of Public Energy’s 201718 season.
Brian Solomon, artist-in-residence at Public Energy, has been working with community members to choreograph the piece over the last several weeks out of Artspace. He’s also been working with dance artists Mariana Meinke and Whitney Hewitt, along with other pro dancers, out of Trent University.
Solomon is of Anishinaabe and Irish descent. He was born and raised in Shebahonaning-Killarney, a community in northern Ontario. Solomon is a graduate of the School of Toronto Dance Theatre and has a masters degree in performance from the Laban Centre in the United Kingdom.
In 2013, Solomon worked with citizens in London, England for South London’s Rite of Spring.
A call went out to community members in Peterborough in mid-September to see who might be interested in taking part.
“It’s very unique to have a dance artist come and spend six weeks in the community developing a performance like this,” Victoria Mohr-Blakeney, Public Energy’s performance curator, stated in a media release.
Nogojiwanong Rite of Spring takes place Thursday and Friday at 6 p.m. and is free to attend.
It’s happening near an Anishnaabe burial site in the Brock Street Parking Lot.
By holding the performances at the site, Solomon hopes to raise awareness of its significance, while honouring it and creating an opportunity to build knowledge and understanding around its history.
Public Energy partnered with Chanie Wenjack School for Indigenous Studies at Trent for Nogojiwanong Rite of Spring.
He’ll be giving workshops for Trent University students in a number of Indigenous Studies courses.
During Solomon’s residency, throughout September and October, he’s been leading movement workshops for community organization such as Yes Shelter for Youth and Families, LOFT Downtown Youth Space and the Nogojiwanong Friendship Centre.
He’s also holding workshop for New Canadian Centre clients.
Nogojiwanong Rite of Spring is also part of [in]Sites Performance Series, a collaborative presentation by Public Energy, Artspace, the Art Gallery of Peterborough and the ReFrame Film Festival.