Female creators highlight fall dance offerings
Perspective informs upcoming original performances described as innovative and energetic
It’s always tough to narrow down a whole arts category to just a few picks, and obviously the vibrant and varied world of dance is no different. From classical to cultural, Vancouver dance is a deep pool full of talented performers and choreographers. Add into that the strong outside programming that comes to town and you have a dance landscape that will keep you satiated well through fall and early winter. With that bounty in mind, I decided to highlight some female-created shows.
Within that brief list are three very different offerings. That said, if your only exposure to live dance is an annual pilgrimage to a Nutcracker production why not treat these three as a kind of sampler of this pulse-raising art form and check them all out.
KATIE DUCK: CAGE
When: Sept. 28, 7 p.m. Where: Scotiabank Dance Centre, 677 Davie St.
Tickets and info: thedancecentre.ca It’s been 30 years since Katie Duck has danced in Vancouver, so to say her appearance is overdue is an understatement. A master talent that has been a pillar of improvisational dance for decades, Duck’s innovative work — combining dance, sound and text — has impacted generations of dancers around the globe. Duck is bringing the show CAGE to Vancouver.
Described as a feminist look at the human condition and trials of modern life, CAGE requires the collaboration of different talent in every location. Here in Vancouver, Duck will be joined by musicians Ben Brown, James Meger and Roxanne Nesbitt.
It should be noted that the performance includes mature content so no tiny dancers to this show please.
PROGRAM 1 BALLET B.C.
When: Nov. 1-3, 8 p.m. Where: Queen Elizabeth Theatre, 630 Hamilton St.
Tickets and info: vancouvercivictheatres.com
Innovative and energetic are words that can and should always be used to describe Emily Molnar’s tenure as artistic director of Ballet B.C. Since taking the job in 2009 the Order of Canada recipient has mounted 45 new works by Canadian and international choreographers, herself included.
Heading into her 10th season with the 18-dancer company, it is only fitting that one of Molnar’s own pieces titled New Work hits the Queen Elizabeth stage on Nov. 2.
“Inspired by the rhythm of the blues, this new work will explore an intimate and dynamic world that speaks to the visceral and rapturous,” said Molnar about the piece she sees as a stepping stone to more work. “I am excited by the research and new adventures that are coming out in this creation for myself as a choreographer and for us as a company.”
Molnar’s New Work is bookended in Program 1 by the world premiere on Nov. 1 of Petite Cérémonie, a Ballet B.C. commissioned work by Medhi Walerski and the Canadian premiere of William Forsythe’s Enemy in the Figure on Nov. 3.
PUBLIC AND PRIVATE
When: Nov. 13-24, 8 p.m. Where: Left of Main, 211 Keefer St.
Tickets and info: brownpapertickets.com
Dumb Instrument Dance company presents the ensemble piece Public and Private choreographed by Vancouver’s Ziylan Kwan.
For this piece Kwan and fellow performers move to the beat of Eileen Kage’s taiko drum. The work is described as a feminist inquiry into the private and the public with artists digging into the physical relationships that show vulnerability and strength.
“To move forward is predictable. I want to move sideways, upside down, to slide backwards into things that don’t yet exist,” is how Kwan described the inspiration for the piece in a statement. “I invite a team of remarkable artists into this work, so that we can mine our autonomy and, in so doing, invent a microcosm of community.”
One reason Public and Private makes this list is because this production marks the first time that Kwan has self-produced and self-promoted this work.
Joining Kwan and Kage in the performance are dancers Delia Brett, Hayley Gawthrop, Erika Mitsuhashi, and Deanna Peters.