FLAMENCO LEGENDS HIGHLIGHT DANCE LINEUP
From interdisciplinary work to the magic of tap, no shortage of great events this season
Leading the way in this fall’s vibrant dance scene is the jampacked Dance in Vancouver (DIV) festival.
This 12th biennial event, which runs from Nov. 20 to 24, is truly ground zero for contemporary dance in Vancouver.
The 2019 Dance in Vancouver festival features performances by companies including the response, MOVETHECOMPANY, OURO Collective, Raven Spirit Dance and Vision Impure.
Also preparing for a new season is Ballet B.C. This year will be the last for longtime artistic director Emily Molnar. At the end of 2020 Molnar will take on the role of artistic director of Nederlands Dans Theater.
In the meantime Ballet B.C.’S Program 1 will hit the Queen Elizabeth Theatre stage Oct. 31 and Nov. 1 and 2.
The program will includes Aszure Barton’s BUSK and Johan Inger’s B.R.I.S.A.
If flamenco is your thing — and it is for a lot of Vancouverites as flamenco companies have thrived here — then put Nov. 2 on your calendar as some of flamenco’s most sought after talents join forces for Flamenco Legends: The Paco de Lucía Project at the Chan Shun Concert Hall.
Here are three more dance shows that will fit nicely into a well-rounded arts plan:
SPOOKY ACTION
When: Ends today
Where: Firehall Arts Centre, 280 East Cordova
Tickets and Info: $30, firehallartscentre.ca
This show is described as an “interdisciplinary dance project inspired by particle entanglement.”
Sorry, what?
Actually to be more precise the title is inspired by Albert Einstein’s view of quantum entanglement. The clever fellow described the ability of separated objects to share a condition or state “spooky action at a distance.”
To address that state this work pulls together visual art, contemporary dance, and poetic storytelling into a movement based discussion.
Spooky Action is a collaboration between poet/performer Barbara Adler and the dance company Inverso, led by choreographer Lesley Telford.
So in review, the simple formula is: particle entanglement + visual art + storytelling = equals cool interdisciplinary dance show.
SPIRIT FROM BANGARRA DANCE THEATRE
When: Oct. 25-26, 8 p.m.
Where: Vancouver Playhouse, 600 Hamilton St.
Tickets and info: $35-$82.62, dancehouse.ca
When Australia’s Bangarra Dance Theatre makes its Vancouver debut it will bring a foundational work that draws on the continent’s 65,000 years of culture. A little bit of stroll down memory lane, if you will.
A cast of 30 strong bring to life the company’s cultural heritage of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people. Using the Aboriginal song-line concept — read The Songlines of Bruce Chatwin if you are curious about this fascinating topic — Spirit dances through the connection of people with the land they need and love.
Expect an evening of storytelling, performance and lush musical scores.
Each night before the show there is the Speaking of Dance pre-show talk. Starr Muranko from Raven Spirit Dance will talk with Bangarra’s artistic director Stephen Page.
PASSAGES OF RHYTHMS: TDC PRESENTS DISCOVER DANCE FEATURING VANCOUVER TAP DANCE SOCIETY
When: Nov. 14, noon and 6:30 p.m.
Where: Scotiabank Dance Centre, 677 Davie St.
Tickets and info: $22, thedancecentre.ca
The Dance Centre is once again putting on its Discover Dance series. Locking out the series with two shows on Nov. 14 is the Vancouver Tap Dance Academy. For the past 20 years the academy has been teaching people to kick up their heels and their toes.
Hosted by Vancouver Tap Dance Society’s artistic director Andrew Nemr, the event is set to show off its top dancers in this percussive extravaganza of flash and flare. Performers will take audience members on a foot stomping journey through the history of tap up to its current place in the world of dance.
Expect a lot of great rhythm and mad skills as the dancers “lay down some iron.”
It may sound like a cliché but tap dancing really is one of those things that becomes much more vibrant when seen in person.