Presented by Neighbourhood Dance Works

An Evening of Kathak

Kathak dance is a complex art form originating from North India. This program highlights its rhythmic complexity, dynamic movements and footwork.

Navarasas - choreography and performance by Bageshree Vaze An exploration of the nine emotions in the human experience - love, wonder, fear, bravery, anger, disgust, compassion, laughter and peace - depicted through the signature elements of Abhinaya (facial expression) and Mudra (hand gestures) language in Indian classical dance.

Tarana - choreography by Bageshree Vaze with performances by Gouri Kundu and Raghav Monga A fantasy of rhythmic composition interweaved with movement language.

Paratopia Reloaded (excerpt) - choreography by Bageshree Vaze with performances by Bageshree Vaze and Daniel Gomez An interaction of Kathak and Hip Hop movement language, reflecting an alternate Canadian dance history.

Dhamaar - choreography and performance by Bageshree Vaze with live music accompaniment by Vineet Vyas, Pankaj Mishra, Bill Brennan A live interaction and exploration of rhythmic compositions and movement language in a 14-beat rhythmic cycle,. This will be followed by Gat Nikaas, the courtesan's dance, a signature element of the Lucknow tradition of Kathak.

All Ages / Live Music

Presented by Neighbourhood Dance Works

Kisiskâciwan

by Jeanette Kotowich

A creative return to the fast-flowing landscape of Saskatchewan, the robust and undulating land of Jeanette’s great-grandmothers and great-great-grandfathers, Kisiskâciwan is a journey to one’s self. It speaks through dance to a Métis cultural narrative of identity and home.

"Through memories of my childhood summer, embraced by the Kah-tep-was (Nêhiyaw for river that calls) valley, the vast prairie and gently rolling landscape has echoed its lasting impression and whispered a language of inspiration. Kah-tep-was is a two-kilometre wide, 180-metre deep valley is a sacred place that calls generations of peoples for gathering, hunting, and spiritual replenishment.

All Ages / Visceral Sound

Presented by Neighbourhood Dance Works

Ephemeral Artifacts

by Anandam

Ephemeral Artifacts: Travis Knights is a non-linear journey through the evolution of jazz and tap. It celebrates the body as a space of transmission and dance as a defiant act of creating knowledge. Featuring subversive tap dance superstar Travis Knights, this work integrates dance, music, video and storytelling. It unravels the body as a site of consequence and celebrates dance as a form of resistance.

Ephemeral Artifacts is an iterative repertoire production of ANANDAM’s choreographed by Brandy Leary. Created in 2017 it exists in different iterations, each with a diverse cast of artists. Since 2017 the work has been shown in gallery, theatre and public space contexts. Ephemeral Artifacts: Travis Knights features magnetic tap artist Travis Knights. This unique collaboration between Leary and Knights offers a multidisciplinary journey that unsettles standard traditions of choreography, improvisation and collective creation.

All Ages / tap dance, live music, multimedia, theatre / critical analysis of race and colonization's multiple impacts on Black Bodies

Presented by Neighbourhood Dance Works

An Evening of Atlantic Dance

with Mocean Dance, Jalianne Li, Liliona Quarmyne

Utawtiwow Kijinaq - Our Mother's Road

Co-Choreographed by Mocean Co-Artistic Director Sara Coffin, and Eskasoni First Nation dance artist Sarah Prosper, this cross-cultural and cross-generational duet explores the spiritual and emotional qualities of water. Two perspectives meet as the performers process their histories and relationships with water, and with each other, moving towards connection and balance. Inspired by the life-giving sacredness of mother earth and the four sacred waters: Fresh, Rain, Body and Sea; water is our honoured protector guiding us down the flowing paths of Our Mother's Road - Utawtiwow Kijinaq.

100x1x2

At once rooted in reality and living in an absurd, surreal universe, 100x1x2 is a solo dance performance by Jalianne Li that marvels at humanity’s uncanny ability to adapt. Faced with new difficulties and limitations such as the restriction of space, social unrest and isolation during the pandemic, 100x1x2 asks the question: how can we overcome what life throws at us? The show offers a response, through Li’s point of view. She finds resilience in the creation of art and draws from its well of inspiration. The act of creation becomes her voice, her way of communicating and making sense of the world, and a means of survival.

Resonances of a Warrior Boy

Resonances of a Warrior Boy by Liliona Quarmyne is a contemporary African solo that is born out of an exploration of ancestral memory. It examines how the ancestral story that is stored/deposited/discovered in my body interacts with my own story here, in this time, on this land. The ancestor at the core of the piece is my great-grandfather on my father’s side - my Ghanaian side. He was captured at 16 in the north of what is now Ghana (then the Gold Coast), was enslaved in the internal slave trade in various parts of the colony, somehow made his way to the south and, by the time he died, was a renowned warrior, chief, and landowner. He is the Warrior Boy in the piece, although my Ghanaian grandfather and grandmother’s stories also appear and resonate.

Ages 14+ / Mixed program with a variety of content, some family friendly, some more mature

Presented by Neighbourhood Dance Works

WABI-SABI

by Kokoro Dance

The choreography in WABI-SABI consists of a structured score within which Barbara and Jay have the freedom to improvise. Each performance is unique. The music, by Joseph Hirabayashi, lighting by Gerald King, costumes by Tsuneko Kokubo, and projected photography by Jay Hirabayashi, were conceived independently from the choreography. Each collaborator intuitively understands Kokoro Dance’s aesthetic choices through decades of working together on Kokoro’s creative projects.

Ages 16+ / Partial nudity, non-sexual content

Presented by Neighbourhood Dance Works

Sex Dalmatian

by Rock Bottom Movement

The tragic tale of Sex Dalmatian, the ferocious business mogul and anthropomorphic talking dog we love to hate. Through dance theatre glam drama, we romp through the twisted hellscape of the wellness industry, the heartbreak industry and the insides of our own brains. Leash up to experience the many sides of Sex Dalmatian, her too eager assistant, Amalia and her psychosexually charged arch nemesis Mr. Meeks as they shove heavy feelings into bizarre containers while shining a humorous light on some of the darker corners of the collective consciousness.

Ages 18+ / foul language, sexual content