Dance Victoria Footnotes 53 (Winter 2017)

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ISSUE 53 • WINTER 2017 • BalletBoyz® + Dance Days + The Mars Hotel + Cherish + more…

Dance at the Royal

BalletBoyz

®

Life: Rabbit + Fiction

January 20 + 21 • Fri + Sat • 7:30 pm Royal Theatre Running Time: 1 hour 18 minutes (incl. intermission) Presenting Sponsors

Dance Days: It’ll move you!

The Company in Jessica Lang’s Thousand Yard Stare. Photo © 2015 Todd Rosenberg Photography

Free classes all over town January 20 – 29, 2017

Ziyian Kwan & Noam Gagnon with Handmade Blade Jazz Trio The Mars Hotel January 27 + 28 • Fri + Sat • 7:30 pm Metro Studio Theatre (Quadra at Johnson) Running Time: 1 hour (approx.)

With support of

, Videos + s o phot fo more in eb w on the

2 Footnotes • Issue 53 • Winter 2017 • Dance Victoria’s 20th Anniversary Season

Dance Victoria Board: President

Mariann Burka

Vice President René Peloquin Treasurer

Regan McGrath

Secretary

Nikki Sieben

Directors

Susan Howard Kristen Kitchen Kari McLay Lynda Raino

Staff: Executive Producer

Stephen White

General Manager

Bernard Sauvé

Operations Manager

Shireen McNeilage

Marketing Manager

Tracy Smith

Production Manager

Holly Vivian

Graphic Design

Rayola Creative

Advertising Sales

Bonnie Light

Trips Coordinator

Bill Hamar

If you’d like to volunteer for Dance Victoria please call 250-595-1829 Studios and Office: 111 – 2750 Quadra Street Victoria, BC V8T 4E8 250-595-1829 DanceVictoria.com for trailers, tickets and more information Footnotes is written by Stephen White and Tracy Smith.

Dance Seen Dancing in the Dark

BY STEPHEN WHITE

“THIS IS STEPHEN WHITE FROM DANCE VICTORIA. Stephen programs dancey dance,” says a colleague, as she introduces me to two friendly dance agents from South Korea. It is the third day of ICE HOT Nordic Dance Platform in Copenhagen. I came to promote our Chrystal Dance Prize. I had very productive, exciting meetings with potential Finnish, Danish and Swedish partners to let them know about the opportunity to work with Canadian artists. I’ve pressed brochures into strangers’ hands and strategically placed them on tables at dance venues. There are 300+ dance programmers from 42 countries in attendance, but I feel like a minority in this crowd.

When I look across the lobby, I don’t see a lot of me around. The group seems to be mostly 30 something. The muted colours of their woven scarves, casually draped over their shoulders, reflect in their designer eyewear. An uber-precious conversation I overhear on a shuttle bus between a big-venue programmer from Singapore and his British equivalent makes me say, “This is a weird business we’re in” to my seatmate. And when I ask people how well contemporary dance is attended in their cities, they shrug and say “We’re working on it” or “It draws a young crowd.” One Finnish programmer declares, “Dance doesn’t bring a big crowd. Theatre is big in Finland. Bigger than hockey, and hockey is our national sport!”

The 60’s ushered in a style of conceptual dance that, more than 50 years later, still holds fast in the art houses of Europe. Non-dancey dance, if you will. Theatres are "These artists aren't platforms to shock. These artists aren’t pushing the pushing the envelope; envelope; they’re shredding it! The idea that dance might they're shredding it!" aspire to beauty, and that an audience might celebrate a dancer’s technique, is so passé it’s laughable. I find myself apologizing for the success of Dance Victoria’s programming while at one performance from Iceland. I sit for 50 minutes with my fingers in my ears because the music is so overwhelming loud, my body is vibrating. In another I watch two women, one clothed, one naked, drool as they crawl across the stage at a pace that makes Butoh dance look like the quick step.

But there is beauty too. It’s abundant in the dark wintry streets of Copenhagen. I grow fonder of this city every time I visit. And there was one bright light: a performer in a compelling solo that I hope to bring to Victoria. Fingers crossed that my (few remaining) dancey-dance colleagues in North America will help me get the piece across the pond. FN

Stephen White photo © Don Craig Photography

Now in its 20th Season, Dance Victoria, a non-profit charitable society, brings the World’s Best Dance to the Royal Theatre and supports the development of new dance for the international stage from its studios in Quadra Village.

DanceVictoria.com

DanceVictoria.com • 3

Pre-Show Chats Presented by

BalletBoyz® Join us in the lobby from 6:50-7:15 pm for a chat with Victoria-based writer, editor and long-time dance fan, Robin J. Miller. Robin loves to talk about dance without becoming pretentious and losing her connection to the audience. Plus she’s pretty funny. The discussion will include the evening’s works and audience members will have the opportunity to ask questions.

Night Moves Culture. Conversations. Cocktails.

Title Sponsor

Membership Sponsor

Although Night Moves memberships (for 30 – 45 year olds) are sold out, a limited number of single tickets to each of our remaining shows are still available. Your discounted ticket to a Dance Victoria presentation not only gets you into a show but also provides admission to an exclusive catered Night Moves after party that includes a DJ, specialty cocktails and the dancers you just saw performing on stage! DanceVictoria.com

Successful Fall Season More than 7,000 people came through the doors of the Royal for our two shows: Jessica Lang Dance and Royal Winnipeg Ballet’s Nutcracker. Dance Victoria has also welcomed a number of new sponsors this season who continue to help us make meaningful connections in our community.

Pay Your Age Sponsored by

Our popular Pay Your Age is open to anyone aged 12 to 29. A limited number of Pay Your Age tickets are available for each performance so act quickly. Pay Your Age tickets are subject to a $5 Royal and McPherson Box Office fee.

Yes! I want Dance Victoria to thrive!

Please send my receipt to:

Please accept my donation of:

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How to donate: Thank Mail: Return this form with a cheque to: you!

Dance Victoria Society 111 – 2750 Quadra Street, Victoria, BC V8T 4E8 Phone: 250-595-1829 with your credit card in hand Online: Donate over our secure page at DanceVictoria.com

o General Fund o International Presentation o Creation Fund

NAME/ORGANIZATION

4 Footnotes • Issue 53 • Winter 2017 • Dance Victoria’s 20th Anniversary Season

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Free classes Friday, January 20 through Sunday, January 29, 2017

FREE CLASSES Two left feet? Can’t feel the beat? No problem! Dance Days has beginner classes too. Try a new dance style, experience dance performances before anyone else, and engage in conversations at behind-the-scenes events. Be moved by local studios and dance artists. We hope that you try something completely new! Visit DanceVictoria.com for the most upto-minute schedule and pick up the Dance Days guide at any Serious Coffee location on south Vancouver Island.

DANCE DAYS KICK-OFF!

WATCH

Join us in the studio and get up close to the creative process • All demonstrations are FREE

Swing Class & Party Red Hot Swing Dance Victoria Studios • 2750 Quadra St. Friday, January 20 • 8:15pm – 12:30am No experience or partner necessary. Start with an introductory class and then dance the night away!

ENJOY THE SAVINGS Dancer Appreciation Day

Facebook Live - Victoria Academy of Ballet in Rehearsal www.facebook.com/VABALLET/ January 20 • 9:30am – 10:30am & 11:00am - 12:00pm Watch the rehearsal live with new works by Alysa Pires, KerryLynn Turner & re-staging of classical repertoire.

Afternoon w. Ballet Étoile: Excerpts from The Firebird

Toes ‘N’ Taps Dance Shoppe

Lighthouse Academy of Dance

1733 Cook St. Saturday, January 28 10:00am – 5:00pm

934 Goldstream Ave., Langford January 22, 2017 • 2:00pm - 3:30pm

Join us for our 7th annual event in celebration of Dance Days! Special in-store prices and prizes.

A demo performance & open rehearsal featuring excerpts from The Firebird.

Flamenco Class Viewing Alma de España

Mobilefriendly le schedu online

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Dance Victoria Studios • 2750 Quadra St. January 27 • 7:00pm - 8:00pm Observe a class of advanced flamenco dancers working with castanets & bata de cola (skirt with a long train).

Veselka Ukranian Dance Open House Veselka Ukranian Dance Studio 3277 Douglas St. January 29 • 2:00pm - 4:00pm Dance performances at 2:30pm & 3:15pm.

Dance demonstrations. Costumes for viewing & costume dress-up for children.

DanceVictoria.com • 5

It’ll move you!

We’ve chosen the tagline, It’ll move you, because the variety of classes and performances are guaranteed to move you – physically and emotionally. We’re excited about the 10-day event and look forward to seeing you moving all around town and in our studios!

Things change. Be sure to check dancevictoria.com/dancedays before you head out the door for a class or event.

ROUGH CUTS

Dance Victoria Studios 2750 Quadra St.

Tara Cheyenne. Photo © Jen McLellan. Silvia Gribauldi. Photo © Mirella de Bernardi. Alexis Fletcher. Photo © Sylvain Senez. Monique Salez Photo © Lia Crowe. Aryo Khakpour Photo © The Biting School

During Dance Days, Dance Victoria throws open the doors of its studios and invites you to experience the west coast’s most exciting and innovative dance artists up close and personal.

FREE and informal, performed under work lights and without costume or makeup, you’ll join a group of visiting dance presenters from across the country, and participate in a meaningful discussion with the artists.

Showings: Friday, January 27 and Saturday, January 28, 2017. Because of the limited capacity of these events, participants are asked to register in advance for each show. RSVP instructions are shown under the description of each work.

Alexis Fletcher

Vancouver

Tara Cheyenne

Vancouver

Silvia Gribaudi

Italy

Friday, January 27 • 1:00 - 2:00 pm

Friday, January 27 • 2:45 – 3:45 pm

I can’t remember the word for I can’t remember Dance Victoria and Intrepid Theatre have presented this Vancouver-based dance-theatre artist several times over the past decade. This is her newest work (in development). Tara is the 2014 winner of Dance Victoria’s Chrystal Dance Prize.

A Corpo Libero Italian dance-theatre artist in demand for her physically demanding, comic work at festivals across Europe. Gribaudi will premiere a new work with Cheyenne entitled Empty Swimming Pool at Vancouver’s Dance Centre in February 2017.

RSVP@dancevictoria.com “Tara” in subject line.

RSVP@dancevictoria.com “Corpo” in subject line.

Monique Salez

Arash and Aryo Khakpour

Victoria

Saturday, January 28 • 2:30 – 3:30 pm

Saturday, January 28 • 4:00 – 5:00 pm

Vancouver

Altar’d Fletcher is a Ballet BC dancer beginning to create new work. Altar’d premiered in Vancouver in the summer of 2016.

The Dream Cab Salez is a local flamenco fusion artist who is developing material that will be featured in a second Dream Cab to be staged at the Metro Studio Theatre in February 2017.

Saturday, January 28 • 5:30 – 6:30 pm

RSVP@dancevictoria.com “Altar’d” in subject line.

RSVP@dancevictoria.com “Dream” in subject line.

The Biting School Contemporary dance theatre by Vancouverbased, Iranian-Canadian brothers whose provocative work, The Righteous Floater, was presented at the Metro Studio during Dance Days 2014. Their new work in development is based on Jean Genet’s The Maids.

RSVP@dancevictoria.com “Biting” in subject line.

6 Footnotes • Issue 53 • Winter 2017 • Dance Victoria’s 20th Anniversary Season

The Mars Hotel with Ziyian Kwan, Noam Gagnon + the jazz trio Handmade Blade January 27 + 28 • 7:30 pm Metro Studio Theatre • 1411 Quadra St. (at Johnson) $25 (+ $3.50 box office service charge) Tickets: 250-386-6121 or DanceVictoria.com *This performance contains partial nudity.

Dance Victoria is fortunate to have the support of many people. Thank you. It means a lot to us and to the dance community in Victoria. The following have donated to our Fall Donor Campaign.

(Donors Oct 1 – Dec 31, 2016) PRESIDENT’S CIRCLE Elizabeth Borek Paula Carey & Nicholas Wemyss NK Lorna Harris Caroline Wolmuth PATRON Doreen Byrnell Jean Conway Brenda Eaton & Brent Beach Center Stage On Pointe movie Gordon D. Fulton Mark & Diana Gillis NK Marianne Hartwig Allana C. Lindgren & Ted L. McDorman Noreen Marshall & Mariann Burka NK Joan McNeely Robin J. Miller Michael F. Morres NK Brendan Ralfs Jan Skirrow Helen Smith & Jeff McEown Mike & Jan Stanger Patricia Taylor NK, SVIDA Jayne & Steve Weatherbe

SUPPORTER Anonymous Karen Ayers NK Samantha Dickie NK In Memory of Lola MacLaughlin Eleanor Gjelsten NK Violet Glossop NK Neal & Jacquie Henderson NK Philip & Jennifer Hill Harvey & Pamela Janszen Galina Laks Move This! Dance Studio NK Kathleen McCann Bill Graham & Helen McDonald Kari McLay & Bill Myles NK Dr Marion Porath Joan Ross NK Dale Shortliffe NK Victoria Academy of Ballet Scholarship Society NK Art Wright & Sylvia Bews-Wright NK MEMBER Anonymous x 4 Anonymous x 5 NK Andrea & Caitlyn Muriel Andrews NK Nicole Ardiel NK Joan E. Athey Douglas Baer Jean Bain Mavis Begg NK Christine & Michael Bloomfield NK Joan Davis Mavis DeGirolamo & William Corbin Deborah Denison & Richard Woods Arlene Dubinsky Phil & Diana Foster NK

VICTORIA BONUS: The band will play a full 20-minute set before the 40-minute dance performance of The Mars Hotel. “unapologetically promiscuous, polymorphous and perverse…. a slow accretion of episodes that are consistently off-kilter, that keep us off-balance and throw us off-course.” – Peter Dickinson, Performance, Place & Politics WITH THE SUPPORT OF

Viewmont Dental Centre NK Lorraine Garcia-Meredith & Jack Meredith Norah Garyali Gordon Gunn & Janete Vanderveen NK Shelly & John Hilditch Azmina Janmohamed NK Christine Kiss NK Louise Klaassen Amelita Kucher Ben & Carla Levinson Erik Lythgoe NK Robert & Lynda Malpass NK Rod & Marilyn McCrimmon NK Kirsten McGhee Lois McNabb Robert Moyes & Lynne Bain NK David & Mandy Niddrie NK Jean Orr NK Rene Peloquin Harbour City Kitchens NK Donna Rhodes April Robins Susan Ross NK Nikki Sieben Judy Stewart NK Veronica Stinson Sandra Stott Swartz family Iris Thomson-Glen NK Jane Tice Kathy Vinton Alice Whitehead Victoria Wray NK

FRIEND Anonymous Anonymous x 4 NK In Memory of Betty Wilkinson Marie M. Acheson NK Sharon Ali Dr. Gregory Andrachuk & Dr. Darlene Hammell NK In Memory of Laine Metz NK Helen Cayzer NK Renee Claveau NK Sallie Dabb Mary Catherine Doyle Glenna Drummond NK Wanda Erikson NK Adrian Gibbons NK Sean Guist Isabel Hansen NK Alan Hedley NK James & Lindiann Hopkins NK Sylvia & Beverly Jarvis NK James Keefe Mary Kimpton Beverly Knipstrom NK Kathy Lang NK Dianne Lawrance Keith & Jennifer MacLeod NK Arabella Martin NK Paul McLauchlan NK Amanda Mills Alexandra Shapka NK James Turk Amanda Vasilakopoulos NK Patricia Weldon NK Eddie Yang NK Ruth Zbinden NK SVIDA – South Vancouver Island Dance Archives NK – Nutcracker Kids

Ziyian Kwan and Noam Gagnon in The Mars Hotel. Photo © David Cooper.

In 2015, the accomplished dance artist, Ziyian Kwan, was commissioned to create a dance work using PW Brightman’s flash fiction, The Mars Hotel, as the inspiration. She pulled together Vancouver’s top musicians (cellist Peggy Lee, trumpeter JP Morgan and guitarist Aram Bjakiam) and her old friend Noam Gagnon.

Remarkably, despite long and distinguished international careers, Kwan and Gagnon had never danced together. The result is pure magic. A funny, touching and thoughtful portrayal of romantic love performed to an original score played live.

DanceVictoria.com • 7

Spring Raffle Proceeds from our raffle support many community projects that take place in our studios. Tickets are now on sale and will be available at all Dance Victoria presentations this season or you can call 250-595-1829 to order by phone. The amazing prizes include:

2017 Chrystal Dance Prize Winners In mid-December, the Dance Victoria Awards Committee convened to review project proposals submitted by independent dance artists.

Out of the strong submissions, the committee selected two projects to support.

Meredith Kalaman, a 2015 Chrystal Dance Prize (CDP) winner, received $16,000 to bring Femmes Fatales to the stage in Greater Vancouver and Berlin. She will be reunited with her team of two dancers and Berlin’s Gabi Beier in Spring 2017. The show will premiere at the Shadboldt Theatre in Burnaby and travel to the ada studio Berlin in August.

Vancouver dance artist, Arash Khakpour, will work on a new duet with Swedish dance artist Emmalena Fredrickson in Victoria, Vancouver and Sweden. CDP is awarding close to $20,000 for this project. Khakpour was featured with his brother Aryo in Righteous Floater during Dance Days 2015. The Khakpours will also perform at Dance Days’ Rough Cuts on Saturday, January 28, 2017.

• GRAND PRIZE: New York Dance Tour Spring 2018 5 nights in New York. Includes air, transfers, accommodation, daily breakfasts, events & tours. (Value: $2,900) • PACKAGE 1: One-year membership at Victoria Athletic Club (Value: $1,000) • PACKAGE 2: Vancouver Get Away 2017 A night in Vancouver. Return Helijet flights, one night at the Listel Hotel, dinner at Forage, tickets to Ballet BC in Nov 2017 (Value: $1,579) • PACKAGE 3: “Beautiful You” Lifestyle Package Shopping spree at Tulipe Noire Lifestyle Boutique, basket of luxurious Beautycounter products, a professional hair services package by premiere hair salon Carreiro the Studio (Value: $1,650) Tickets are $10 each or a book of five for $40. With fewer than 2,000 printed, your odds are great, plus you’ll enjoy knowing you’re supporting Victoria’s vibrant dance community. The raffle will be drawn at Dance Victoria Studios at 2:00 pm on April 20, 2017.

RAFFLE PARTNERS

Business Cards Rack Cards & Post Cards Newsletters & Calendars

Femmes Fatales. Photo © Chris Randle.

Brochures & Flyers

609 Dunedin St., Victoria BC V8T 2L7 250-590-2998 www.fastracprinting.com

Annual General Meeting Sunday, January 15, 2017 • 7:00 pm Dance Victoria Studios (Milne Studio) 2750 Quadra Street Join us as we celebrate a successful year and discuss our future plans. If you have donated $100 or more to the Society since July 1, 2015, you are a member in good standing. If you’re unsure of your status, call us at 250-595-1829 or email info@dancevictoria.com. Memberships will be available at the meeting. The meeting will be followed by a reception.

RSVP@dancevictoria.com

8 Footnotes • Issue 53 • Winter 2017 • Dance Victoria’s 20th Anniversary Season

Cherish: Ballroom Blitz and Bling Celebrate Dance Victoria’s 20th Anniversary A fundraising event for Dance Victoria Society Saturday, February 25 Cocktails: 7:00 pm • Show: 7:30 pm Dance Victoria Studios (2750 Quadra)

BalletBoyz® in Life. Photo © Hugo Glendinning. The Company in Alonzo King’s Sand. Photo © Chris Hardy. The Company in Les Grands Ballets Canadiens‘ Minus One. Photo © John Hall.

ONE NIGHT ONLY • Limited seating Phone 250-595-1829 or visit DanceVictoria.com Tickets: $75 • A charitable tax receipt will be provided for a portion of the ticket price.

Dance Victoria has teamed up with esteemed ballroom instructor, Wanda Kivitt, the Victoria Ballroom Dance Society and The Millies to create an exceptional, glamorous evening in celebration of Dance Victoria’s 20th Anniversary Season!

Quickstep over to Dance Victoria Studios for a celebratory cocktail to kick off the evening while enjoying the luscious redvelvet-layer-cake harmonies of The Millies. Shimmy and shuffle through an array of tempting silent auction items.

Sip and sample scrumptious delicacies from Charelli’s Cheese Shop and Delicatessen. And experience an evening of Ballroom Blitz and Bling with Victoria’s most talented ballroom and Latin dancers.

Charitable Registration Number: 87377 5522 RRR001

Dance Victoria Loses a Good Friend Dance Victoria lost a long time supporter and good friend, Betty Wilkinson, in November 2016. Just a few years ago, Wilkinson financed a renovation at our studios to house the growing South Vancouver Island Dance Archives. Her support for Dance Victoria stretched back to its beginnings. In 1995, Douglas Durand approached her and Vivian Love with his plan to start a dance series in Victoria. Both women lent their support and encouraged others at the Greater Victoria Danceworks Society to jump in as well.

Betty was also a long time friend to Stephen White as they both worked at Kaleidoscope Theatre in the mid 1980s.

White remembers Betty as always being impeccably turned, distinguished by her distinctive silver hair. She was enthusiastic about dance and theatre, chipping in as a volunteer organizer.

In the early 1950s, Betty and her husband Peter, emigrated from Britain to Toronto where they were shocked at the conditions on the streets. “It was a real provincial backwater,” Betty told White. Boardwalks instead of paved sidewalks, slush and muck as she described it, far from the cultured life of London. She saw a notice at a church that the newly formed National Ballet of Canada was looking for volunteers. Soon she was mending costumes, delivering flyers and typing reports.

Betty built an impressive resume at a large Calgary based oil firm before returning to the arts in Victoria. Her acumen, organizational skills and strong personality touched so many people. She will be missed.

Dance at the Royal Subscribers can buy additional tickets to Dance Victoria any time of the year and save 20%. DanceVictoria.com

BALLETBOYZ® January 20 + 21 • 7:30 pm Royal Theatre Life: Rabbit + Fiction

ALONZO KING LINES BALLET March 10 + 11 • 7:30 pm Royal Theatre Shostakovich + Sand

LES GRANDS BALLETS CANADIENS DE MONTRÉAL April 7 + 8 • 7:30 pm Royal Theatre Ohad Naharin’s Minus One