DanceWorks 2009/10 Mainstage Series
Dance Curator, Mimi Beck, today announced Mainstage Series artists for the 2009/10 series. DanceWorks, Toronto’s longest running contemporary dance series, will bring Canada’s choreographers from a diversity of backgrounds as part of Harbourfront Centre’s NextSteps Series.
Says Beck, “Events on the 09/10 DanceWorks Mainstage season offer a panorama of contemporary viewpoints, as local and touring dance artists collaborate with musicians, visual artists and gifted choreographers. DanceWorks welcomes three newcomers to the series and celebrates the insights of returning artists Denise Fujiwara and Susie Burpee on a shared bill, Wen Wei Wang with his company from Vancouver, and soloist Nova Bhattacharya. In their Mainstage debut are local dance phenoms Kate Franklin and Kate Holden of firstthingsfirst productionswith three world premieres; Vancouver’s Noam Gagnon, who takes a solo turn with his own choreography as well as commissions by Daniel Léveillé and Nigel Charnock, known for his edgy work with the UK’s DV8; and Montreal-based innovators Myriam Allard and singer Hedi "el moro" Graja, who soar with the soul of flamenco.
I invite you to experience the joy of discovery with this season’s magnificent roster of artists.”
DW 178 Wed. Sept 23 - Fri. Sept. 25, 2009 8 pm,
Thurs. Sept. 24, 12:30 pm
firstthingsfirst productions (Toronto) Namesake: three
@ Enwave Theatre
choreographers: Kate Alton, Marc Boivin, Emily Molnar
performers: Kate Alton, Kate Franklin, Kate Holden
Critically acclaimed in its 2007 inaugural year, firstthingsfirst productions returns to open open DanceWorks’ season with an evening of world premieres which firmly places the emphasis on “three”. Three outstanding Canadian choreographers from three different Canadian cities will set work on three talented performers. Toronto’s Kate Alton premieres a new duet for Franklin and Holden which explores bold, complex and passionate movement rooted in the choreographer’s efforts to use creation as a means for recovery from extreme heartbreak. Vancouver’s Emily Molnar, a veteran of William Forsythe’s Ballett Frankfurt, sets a duet on Franklin and Holden, drawing inspiration from the work of Gertrude Stein to create a conversation between two very individual characters. Completing the program, Montreal’s Marc Boivin creates Fictions for “the three Kates”, a work that promises to challenge and collide their different qualities.
DW 179 Fri. Nov. 6 – Sat. Nov. 7, 2009, 8 pm
Noam Gagnon (Vancouver) The Vision Impure
@ Enwave Theatre
choreographers: Noam Gagnon, Nigel Charnock, Daniel Léveillé
An evening of solos performed by the incomparable Noam Gagnon, The Vision Impure delves into themes of vision and perception, examining strength and speed with a tender ferocity. Included are solos created by Gagnon, UK dance maverick Nigel Charnock and a new work by Montreal’s Daniel Léveillé, slated to “lay bare the intricacies of human relationships and the dynamic tension that moves us.”
An Associate Dance Artist of Canada’s National Arts Centre, Gagnon is Co-Artistic Director and Choreographer of The Holy Body Tattoo
“Who else but Gagnon can toss and turn so beautifully or collapse so sweetly? His dance is full of pain, but also of perseverance and grace.”
The Globe and Mail, Oct. 2007
DW180 Thurs. Mar 4 to Sat. Mar 6, 2010, 8 pm
SHARED PROGRAM @ Enwave Theatre
Denise Fujiwara (Toronto) Lost & Found
Choreographer/performer: Denise Fujiwara
Visual Artist/ Designer: Janieta Eyre
Music: Phil Strong
Denise Fujiwara premieres a 30-minute solo informed by her years of Butoh practice, in a surreal, theatrical setting created by collaborator/visual artist Janieta Eyre.
Lost & Found is a co-production of The CanDance Network Creation Fund, Dance Works, Neighbourhood Dance Works, Live Art Dance Productions and Peterborough New Dance and supported by Dance Section of the Canada Council for the Arts.
“Denise Fujiwara is a Toronto dance legend whose career spans a quarter of a century. Elegant and stately on one hand, risky and experimental on the other, Fujiwara is always redefining herself”
Paula Citron,
The Globe and Mail, Toronto
Susie Burpee (Toronto) Fidelity’s Edge
Choreographer: Susie Burpee
Performers: Susie Burpee, Dan Wild
Music: Christine Fellows, John K. Samson
Lighting: Jean Philippe Trépanier
Set: Trevor Schwellnus
Multiple Dora Mavor Moore recipient Susie Burpee will present Fidelity’s Edge, an unflinching and gritty look at the coarse underbelly of an intimate relationship, danced uncompromisingly by Burpee and her long-time dance partner Dan Wild.
"...work that is the whole cloth, brilliantly conceived and flawlessly executed."
Paula Citron, Globe and Mail, May 1, 2009
DW 181 Fri. Apr 9 – Sat. Apr 10, 2010, 8 pm
Wen Wei Dance (Vancouver) Cock-Pit
@ Fleck Dance Theatre
choreographer: Wen Wei Wang
original score: Giorgio Magnanensi.
lighting design: James Proudfoot
A highly kinetic 70-minute quintet for four men and one woman inspired by Wen Wei Wang’s memories of his student days in China at a boarding school run by the People’s Liberation Army. Four-foot long pheasant feathers extend limbs in his revealing, ravishing and entertaining work that touches on adolescent sexual awakening.
A co-production with L’Agora de la danse and the National Arts Centre, made possible with the support of the Rio Tinto Alcan Performing Arts Award (Winner - Dance 2009)
“…Wen Wei Wang is a master of imagery. His use of symbolism in dance is superb. So not surprisingly, his new work, Cock-Pit is a visual triumph”.
Paula Citron, Globe and Mail 2009
DW182 Fri. Apr 23 to Sat. Apr 24, 2010, 8 pm
Compagnie La Otra Orilla (Montreal) El12
@ Enwave Theatre
choreographer/dancer: Myriam Allard
artistic director/singer: Hedi "el moro" Graja
lighting design: Pascal Turmel
costume design: Susana Vera
Infused with the spirit of Spain’s Andalusia, the highly innovative flamenco company, La Otra Orilla (The Other Shore) brings El12, a work that embodies the 12 beats essential to flamenco and explores the passage of time, fraught with novelty and repetition, waiting and loss… the time we think we hold but that slips away.
“We are left totally stunned, jolted by the magnetic energy that heats up the stage and theatre… We realize that these are magical moments, which won’t be repeated anytime soon. La Otra Orilla is a name to remember, and if the troupe comes to Montreal again, run to see them!”
(La Presse)
DW183 Thurs. May 13 – Sat. May 15, 2010, 8 pm
Ipsita Nova Dance Projects (Toronto) Isolated Incidents
@ Enwave Theatre
choreographer/performer: Nova Bhattacharya
original music: Ed Hanley
lighting design: Marc Parent
costume design: Caroline O’Brien
Smart, sexy and engaging, Isolated Incidents is a collection of solos tracing random incidents in one woman’s life. Celebrated as one of Canada’s favourite dance artists, Nova Bhattacharya breathes rich life into the spectrum between classical bharatanatyam and contemporary dance. Each solo brings a new glimpse into the transformative journey of this eloquent performer who has been described in turns as “sly and dreamily contemplative” (Now Magazine), “a contained goddess” (Globe & Mail) and “a mischievous visitor from another world” (Märkische Allemeine).
Bhattacharya's new work is an evening of graceful precision, haunting simplicity and a few surprises.
…one woman, several moments in time
Co-commissioned by the Canada Dance Festival 2010 and DanceWorks.
Image: COBA, Collective Of Black Artists
