Dance Days
It’ll move you!
January 13–22
Free classes all over town
Dance Days Feature Presentation
Out DanceInnerspace Theatre
Bygones
January 13 • 7:30 pm
McPherson Playhouse
Running Time: 1 hour 10 minutes (no intermission)
Dance at the Royal
BODYTRAFFIC
February 10 + 11 • 7:30 pm
Royal Theatre
Running Time: 1 hour 40 minutes (including intermission)
In the Studios
Kemi Craig, Lee Ingram, Luciana Freire D’Anunciação
& Kelly McInnes, Visible Bodies Collective, Noble Riot Dance Theatre, Constance C. Cooke
Footnotes
Photos (from top): BODYTRAFFIC by Tomasz Rossa; Dance Theatre of Harlem by Theik Smith; Malpaso Dance Company by Ivo Roberto Baelli; Ballet Edmonton by Nanc Price
Dance Days 2023
Invitation to our Community
Dance Victoria 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.
As a non-profit charitable society, Dance Victoria operates with the mission to promote the appreciation of dance by developing and presenting diverse local, Canadian, and international artists, and by engaging the community in the celebration of dance. DanceVictoria.com
Dance Victoria Board:
President: Colette Baty
Vice-President: Maggie Bartold
Treasurer: Julie Robinson
Secretary: Kayleigh Harrison
Directors: Stacey Horton, Joost Pelt, Carrie Smart
Staff:
Executive Director: Gillian Jones
General Manager: Bernard Sauvé
Operations Manager: Shireen McNeilage
Marketing Manager: Tracy Smith
Production Manager: Holly Vivian
Studio Bookings Manager: Kiera Shaw
Accounting: Wendy Mahon
Graphic Design: Rayola Creative
Advertising Sales: Bonnie Light Advertising
If you’d like to volunteer for Dance Victoria please visit DanceVictoria.com and complete the online volunteer form.
Studios and Office:
#111 – 2750 Quadra Street, Victoria, BC V8T 4E8 DanceVictoria.com for trailers, tickets and more information
Footnotes is written by Tracy Smith and Gillian Jones (unless otherwise noted)
The Dance Days festival is a Victoria tradition: our city’s chance to emerge after the winter holidays, to get moving and — perhaps most importantly — to re-connect and engage with community in the New Year. Dance Days takes place over 10 days (Jan. 13–22, 2023) and offers a diverse selection of FREE dance and fitness classes, in partnership with Victoria’s outstanding studios and instructors, bookended by opportunities to see cutting-edge, live dance performance by rising and established artists. I invite you to join us!
Dance Days launches with Out Innerspace Dance Theatre on Friday, Jan. 13 at the McPherson Playhouse. You may remember the innovative Vancouver company’s previous visits, with ME SO YOU SO ME (2012) and Major Motion Picture (2019) at the Metro Studio Theatre — the latter, performing to sold-out audiences. Their latest work, Bygones, was co-commissioned by Dance Victoria through the Chrystal Dance Fund. You won’t want to miss what the DV team has deemed the “hidden gem” of our 2022/23 season. Featuring stunning choreography and lighting, ghostly architecture, and a genre-defying use of puppetry and illusion, Bygones “celebrates how we are shaped by what we overcome, and how something challenging can lead to something beautiful.”
A vital part of Dance Days is the opportunity to see the creation process up close and personal, through Rough Cuts showings at the Dance Victoria Studios. This year’s worksin-progress feature some of our region’s most dynamic, up-and-coming artistic voices: Kemi Craig, Visible Bodies Collective and Luciana Freire D’Anunciação and Kelly McInnes Rough Cuts take place on the afternoon of Sunday, Jan. 22, with three showings interspersed with artist Q&As and concluding with a casual reception. You’ll find the full schedule on Dance Victoria’s Dance Days online calendar where you can RSVP to reserve a seat (seating is limited). Feel free to come and go throughout the day. In keeping with Dance Victoria’s goal to increase access to dance, Rough Cuts offer free admission, with a suggested donation of $10 for those who choose to contribute. The DV studios are wheelchair accessible for guests with disabilities and/or mobility challenges.
Lastly, I am thrilled that we can finally share our 2022/23 Chrystal Dance Prize –Projects winners! You will find more information about Julia Taffe / Aeriosa Dance Society, Shion Skye Carter and Amber Downie-Back and their international collaborators, within this Footnotes. All three artists/collectives are driving innovation, artistic excellence, and community connection in the field of dance. On behalf of this year’s CDP Awards Committee, we are incredibly proud and excited for the impact these artists are going to make.
I look forward to seeing you in the studios, the theatre, and out in the community this month!
Sincerely,
Gillian Jones, Executive Director
Out Innerspace Dance Theatre by David Raymond
BODYTRAFFIC in PACOPEPEPLUTO by Tomasz Rossa
Board Members Elected at AGM
Expressions of Interest
Open
Dance Victoria’s Board is continuously prospecting for new members throughout the year. Interested individuals can complete an expression of interest form at DanceVictoria.com
At its Annual General Meeting on November 13, 2022 (conducted on Zoom), Dance Victoria Society’s independent auditor, Kris Wirk of Dusanj and Wirk Professional Chartered Accountants, provided highlights of the audited financial statements. The slate of new and renewing Dance Victoria Board members was presented to the membership. This included new member Joost Pelt; the re-election of Colette Baty and Maggie Bartold for a second 2-year term; and the re-election of Stacy Horton; all of whom join continuing Directors Julie Robinson, Kayleigh Harrison, and Carrie Smart, in the middle of their first terms. Dance Victoria thanked retiring Board members Fran Grunberg, Rob Millar, and President Susan Howard. Howard thanked Fran for her wisdom and
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. 250-386-6121. Phone and walk-up orders only. Proof of age required.
guidance, and for her active support of the Governance & Planning committee. She also thanked outgoing Vice President Rob Millar, who has been integral to the good governance of Dance Victoria in his time on the board, and who has been an incredible support to Susan in her role as President. Finally, Susan gave a warm congratulations to Dance Victoria for the excellent work it continues to do, and expressed her deep appreciation for her time on the board, as well as her commitment to continue supporting Dance Victoria in the years to come. We are so appreciative of Susan’s counsel, dedication, and service over the past seven years. We look forward to her continued involvement in attending and supporting Dance Victoria performances into the future. FN
Night Moves
Sponsored by
Culture. Conversations. Cocktails. With our Night Moves program, patrons who are 30 to 45 years old enjoy discounted ticket pricing for Dance at the Royal presentations, special theatre seating, and exclusive invitations to social events throughout the year. The best deal is a Night Moves membership, but single Night Moves tickets are also available through the Royal/McPherson Box Offices. Proof of age photo ID required at purchase. Follow us on Facebook.com/nightmovesvictoria or Visit DanceVictoria.com/night-moves
BODYTRAFFIC by Rob Latour
Dance Days is back!
It’ll move you for 10 days in January!
Friday, January 13 to Sunday, January 22, 2023
Free classes around town
Rough Cuts at DV Studios
Dance Days is a unique, city-wide 10-day celebration of dance with workshops, performances, conversations and the chance to experience free dance classes. Local studios offer free adult dance classes in a variety of styles: afrobeat, seated dance, flamenco, ballet, efunk and
Successful Nutcracker
more. Look for the complete online calendar at DanceVictoria.com. Shake off the holiday eggnog and fruitcake and make your New Year’s resolution to try something new with Dance Days 2023! FN
Attendance at Royal Winnipeg Ballet’s Nutcracker surpassed any Nutcracker that Dance Victoria has ever presented. There were only a handful of seats available at most performances, with the Sunday matinee completely sold out. Approximately 6,500 patrons (including LOTS of children and kids at heart!) enjoyed five spectacular performances. With the support of the Times Colonist Christmas Fund and community supporters, approximately 250 Nutcracker tickets were distributed to Victoria Women’s Transition House, the Inter-Cultural Association of Greater Victoria, Family Services of Greater Victoria, the Victoria Native Friendship Centre and the Esquimalt Military Family Resource Centre. Dance Victoria’s arts access efforts will continue with the new Dance Is For Everyone program at Dance Theatre of Harlem in March. This initiative welcomes local families with financial barriers, including new Canadians and refugees, free-of-charge. Learn more at DanceVictoria.com
Out Innerspace Dance Theatre by Alistair Maitland
Out Innerspace Dance Theatre
Bygones // Dance Days Feature
Presentation
January 13 • Friday 7:30 pm
McPherson Playhouse
Tickets from $43 DanceVictoria.com or Box Office: 250-386-6121
Lead Sponsor
Pre-Show Chats FREE to All Ticket Holders Presented by
Join us for free pre-show chats at 6:50 p.m. prior to our shows. On January 13, we welcome Out Innerspace Dance Theatre company founder and dancer David Raymond to chat about the compelling contemporary dance theatre work, Bygones, and on February 10 and 11, we’ll welcome a member of BODYTRAFFIC to discuss their mixed repertoire program. Dr. Allana Lindgren, Dean of Fine Arts at the University of Victoria and dance historian, will facilitate the discussions.
Cinematic, eerie, dance theatre immerses you in a supernatural world that keeps you on the edge of your seat. The 70-minute work of contemporary dance theatre by Vancouver’s Out Innerspace Dance Theatre creates visual magic as objects, dancers, and scenes exist on the margins of form and formlessness. For Out Innerspace Dance Theatre co-founders Tiffany Tregarthen and David Raymond, dancing unlocks their creative intelligence.
"Moving is the best way for us to understand and discover a plasticity of spirit, intellect and instinct...to let ideas move and transform through and around us," explains Tregarthen.
With Bygones, they explore domestic objects as psychic tuning instruments. A teacup scoots around a table; dancers appear mid-air, falling; an umbrella stalks a dancer around the stage; another spins a chair on its side while in a trance-like state. Inanimate objects seem to have a will of their own.
“…some of the city’s most exciting, ambitious dance theatre work right now, and the trip they’re offering is a rush — even if you don’t trust your eyes.” –GEORGIA STRAIGHT
The company was delighted to collaborate with Lyle Reimer (a.k.a. Lyle XOX), a mixed media artist with a huge Instagram following.
"Lyle collaborated with us to make a character who embodies a creative force willing to give new life to things that have been left behind; a chimera, a scavenger; and a patron saint of picking up the pieces. It appears in the work as a sort of epiphany with a calling to repurpose what is unresolved or lost and set into motion the necessity for the performers to come together."
Note: Bygones contains strobe lighting, sudden sound effects, and haze. FN
Out Innerspace Dance Theatre by Alistair Maitland
Tiffany Tregarthen in mask by Lyle Reimer. Photo by Alistair Maitland
Photos (clockwise from top left): Mouth to Mouth courtesy of Luciana Freire D’Anunciação & Kelly McInnes; Kemi Craig by Cedar Coast Photography; Visible Bodies Collective in Bury The Hacket by Dean Kaylan
Rough Cuts during Dance Days
January 22, 2023
Mouth to Mouth
January 22, 2023
2:00–6:00 pm (with breaks) | 6:00–7:00 pm Casual reception
Dance Victoria Studios
250-595-1829 • Info
Creation Centre Sponsors
Luciana Freire D’Anunciação & Kelly McInnes
2:00–3:00 pm
A work-in-progress duet celebrating our animality, sensuality, biological cycles and interdependence with all living beings. Inspired by symbiosis, interspecies kinship and reciprocal ecology, the duo unfolds through ongoing encounters and evolutions; becoming other; becoming-with.
New Work
Visible Bodies Collective
3:30–4:30 pm
New works-in-progress by some of the hottest dance artists and choreographers on the west coast. All performances are followed by informal discussions where the artists answer your questions about the work that they’re creating. FREE and accessible to the public, with a suggested donation of $10.
Want to attend? To register, visit DanceVictoria.com and click the Dance Days Calendar for your chosen events.
Visible Bodies Collective, founded by Lindsay Delaronde (Kanienkehaka) and co-founders Cheryl Henhawke (Kanienkehaha, Seneca), Elowynn Rose (Metis), and Nicole Mandryk (Anishinaabe, Ukrainian), is an inter-cultural, inter-generational group of BIPOC artists and dancers, who come from many nations and places across Turtle Island. Their core value is creating safe spaces for Indigenous women to research, create, and perform. They will share a new work that weaves story and rhythm to heal past, present and future, and to orate their experiences.
Residency supported in part by the Contribute to the Land Fund through the Victoria Foundation.
Bearing Witness
Choreographer: Kemi Craig
5:00–6:00 pm
Bearing Witness uses choreography, improvisational dance, sensory responsive technology, and audience engagement to amplify the connection between spectatorship and performativity. During her Dance Victoria residency, Kemi Craig collaborated with multimedia artist/entrepreneur Justin Love to learn coding electronics which respond to movement and sound, and these technologies inform her work.
Kemi Craig in the space between during Rough Cuts 2022 by Tracy Smith
Photos (clockwise from top left): Julia Taffe by Sarah Race; Shion Skye Carter; and Amber Downie-Back
Announcing this Year’s Chrystal Dance Prize - Project Winners
In early December, the Dance Victoria Awards Committee met to review project proposals submitted by independent dance artists, companies and collectives, for the Chrystal Dance Prize – Projects. Out of many strong submissions, the committee selected three projects to support in 2023. The award supports exceptional dance research and/or creation between Western Canadian dance artists/ collectives and international collaborators — with a focus on elevating artists in our region to the next level of their practice through international exposure and mentorship. The committee continually assessed the submissions against the question: for which artist will the prize make the most impact?
Julia Taffe of Aeriosa Dance Society received $22,000 to support site-specific vertical dance performances and public engagement activities with Croatian choreographer Marija Scekic of Histeria Nova Artistic Organization. The projects will be performed in Croatia (Histeria Nova’s Biennale of New Movement) and Canada (Aeriosa’s Vancouver International Vertical Dance Summit ) from 2023 to 2025 with international dance artists from the UK, France, Greece, and Canada.
Shion Skye Carter received $15,000 towards the second creation phase of Threading Echoes, a performance embodying the Japanese craft of Shifu, cloth woven from washi paper. Community, belonging, and
connecting to ancestral knowledge are woven through gestural tableaus and shadows. Carter will collaborate with choreographer/performer Mayumi Lashbrook, and cochoreographer/dramaturg Ayumi Hamada in Ino, Japan. At the Kakishi-Seishi farm and artist residency, Carter and Lashbrook will learn the processes to grow the kozo plant, make it into washi paper, and to twist the paper into kami-ito (paper thread) which is woven into Shifu. The goal is to help carry the disappearing cultural heritage craft of Shifu away from extinction, to bring the art form forward for younger generations to experience in a contemporary context.
Amber Downie-Back, a resident dance artist at both Impulse Theatre and at Dance Victoria Studios, received $10,000 towards her project, on the nature of… This interdisciplinary work explores feelings of being adrift in your sense of self and memory, while incorporating interactive and digital elements with dance performance and sound, and explores the question: “When you remember the places you have been, how many yous are there?” Downie-Back will collaborate with Emilie van der Waals, a queer Utrecht, Netherlands-based artist of DutchIndonesian and Canadian descent, and sound designer Angus Gaffney, to push movement and sound in collaborative contexts with other media such as digital and video art. FN
Chrystal Dance Prize – Training Application Deadline: April 17, 2023
Applications for the Chrystal Dance Prize - Training are due April 17, 2023. This prize supports young westernCanadian dancers completing their training at an international dance institution. In 2023, Dance Victoria will award up to $6,000 for emerging artists. Applicants must be residents of western Canada and this prize only supports full-time studies (intensives and summer programs are not eligible).
Dance Victoria will also be awarding its annual Arabella and Robert Award for Dance. This award
supports dancers completing their training at an international dance institution and is open to dance students across Canada. The application form and deadlines are the same as the Chrystal Dance PrizeTraining. Applicants can be considered for both awards or for just one of the awards, depending on primary resident address. Application guidelines and the submission procedure are at DanceVictoria.com
Amber Downie-Back by Niks Vignal; Mayumi Lashbrook (collaborator with Shion Skye Carter); Julia Taffe
BODYTRAFFIC in The One to Stay With by Chris Kendig
Thank you to our Donors!
July 1–December 14, 2022
Dance Victoria is fortunate to have the support of many people. Thank you for helping us to bring the World’s Best Dance to Victoria, investing in commissions and residencies, or supporting one of our specific programs. The following are donors who contributed between July 1 and December 14, 2022.*
VISIONARY
Carol & Rob Gillespie
Sandra Lee, Mae & Yan Lee Foundation
Caroline Wolmuth
PRESIDENT’S CIRCLE
Anonymous
Paul & Sharon Bundon NK
Colette Baty & Allan Castle
Ian & Marjorie Clark
Douglas D. Durand
Laurie Guy-Sharp
Susan K.E. Howard & Gregory Krantz DE
Vivian Love AR
Robert Milne
Terry Moore & Dorothee Friese DFH
Bijan & Nasrin Neyestani Foundation
Maurice & Anne Petrie Yacowar
PATRON
Anonymous NK
Mavis Begg DE
Paula Carey & Nicholas Wemyss
Bill Graham & Helen McDonald
Kent H
Harbour City Kitchens NK
Lois McNabb DE
Robert Milllar
Sara Neely DE
Roy Nikaido NK
Joost Pelt & Marilyn Lewis-Pelt
Pauline Price
Brendan Ralfs
Christopher & Randene Tolhurst
SUPPORTER
Anonymous NK
Joan E Davis DE
Mark & Diana Gillis DE
Jennifer & Philip Hill
Marnie Hill
Brenda Jagdis AR
Charlene & Eric Kerr
Kari McLay & Bill Myles NK
Victoria & Geoff Munday DE
Joy Olesky
Jean Orr DE
Merv Porath
Boyd Porteous
Carrie Smart
Terry Vatrt DE
Victoria Wray NK
ASSOCIATE
Anonymous
Anonymous x 2 NK
Anonymous x 2 DE
Douglas Baer
Marianne Bromley
Michelle Cooper NK
Allan & Jan Dong
Jane Eibner
Irene Fizzell NK
Norah Garyali DE
Eleanor Gjelsten NK
Margaret Godfrey NK
Charles Joerin & H. Grant Sullivan
Mary Kimpton DE
Jennifer MacLeod DE
Bob & Lynda Malpass DE
Noreen Marshall & Mariann Burka NK
Christina McCarthy NK
Rod & Marilyn McCrimmon NK
Susan Moger DE
Robert Moyes & Lynne Bain DE
David & Mandy Niddrie NK
R. Joan Penny
Nancy Poole & Jan Trainor
Prov. Employees Community Services Fund
Julie Robinson DE
Karina Sangha
Meghan Sawyer
Adrienne Shaw NK
Jan & Diane Skirrow DE
Susan Snell NK
Judy Stewart DE
Chris Thompson NK
Iris Thomson-Glen NK
Stephanie Ustina NK
Theresa Wickes NK
Ross & Jane Woodland DE
FRIEND
Anonymous
Dr. Gregory Andrachuk & Dr. Darlene Hammell NK
Nicole Ardiel NK
Darren Ausmus
Jessica & Mélusine Baert
Ian Beare
Barbara Benton NK
Penny & Peter Brand NK
Heather Chestnutt
Elizabeth & George Cornett DE
Cam Culham
Richard Dingeldein & Ben Brannen
Karne & Bill Edwards
Adrian Gibbons NK
Gordon & Carolyn Greeniaus
Frances Grunberg
Lise Gyorkos
Stacey Horton
Sharon Hume
Gillian Jones
Sylvia Jarvis NK
Louise Klaassen NK
Dr. Whitney Laughlin DE
Arabella Martin NK
Joy Mauro
Kevin Mills NK
Carol Milo DE
Bridey M. Morgan
Mary Newman & Robert Smith
Maria Porter
William Rowe
Bernard Sauvé & Michael Scott Curnes
Justine Shore
Anne Silver
Senga Simpson
Helen Smith & Jeff McEown
Irma Soltonovich NK
Gail Squire DE
Patricia Taylor NK
Margaret Thornthwaite DE
Amanda Vasilakopoulos NK
Miriam Waldman
Branka & Geoff Wilmshurst
AR = South Vancouver Island Dance Archives
DE = Dance is For Everyone program
DFH = DFH Real Estate Referral Program
NK = Nutcracker Kids program
* The accuracy of this list is important to us; we welcome notification of unintended omissions or errors. Please contact Shireen McNeilage at shireen@dancevictoria.com with any questions.
Dance Theatre of Harlem in Balamouk. Christopher Duggan photo courtesy of Jacob’s Pillow Dance Festival.
Dance Theatre of Harlem’s Lindsey Donnell by Rachel Neville
Support Local Dance Artists Through Our Spring 50-50 Raffle
Proceeds from our raffle support the many artists whose projects are developed in Dance Victoria Studios and then performed across the country and around the world. Tickets will first be on sale at the Out Innerspace Dance Theatre performance at the McPherson Playhouse on January 13, 2023. They will be available at all of our performances at the Royal Theatre in the lobby. You can also purchase them online at DanceVictoria.com.
Tickets are $10 each or a book of five for $40. With fewer than 2,400 printed, your odds are great, plus you’ll be supporting Victoria’s vibrant dance community.
Draw: May 23, 2023, 2:00 pm at Dance Victoria Studios. Licence #138155
Sell your home. Support Dance Victoria.
Choose a DFH realtor below and mention Dance Victoria when you buy or sell your property. Ten percent of the realtor’s commission helps bring the World’s Best Dance to our community.
John Melvin
john@johnmelvinproperties.ca | 250-477-7291
Rosemary & Gary Victoria Homes Team homes@rosemaryandgary.ca | 250-477-7291
Katie Webb
katie@dfh.ca | 778-677-0982
Dorothee Friese
dorothee@shaw.ca | 250-477-7291
Terry Moore
tlmoore@shaw.ca | 250-477-7291
Best seats. Best prices. The World’s Best Dance.
Subscribers can buy additional tickets at DanceVictoria.com any time of the year and save up to 20%. Three-show subscriptions are also on sale until February 11, 2023. All performances except Bygones are at the Royal Theatre.
NEW! Visit DanceVictoria.com a week before our shows for a sneak peak of the program notes.
Dance at the Royal
Out Innerspace Dance Theatre
CONTEMPORARY DANCE THEATRE
January 13, 2023 • 7:30 PM – ONE NIGHT ONLY! Bygones
BODYTRAFFIC CONTEMPORARY
February 10 + 11, 2023 • 7:30 PM
A Million Voices Matthew Neenan
The One to Stay With Baye & Asa
SNAP Micaela Taylor
PACOPEPEPLUTO Alejandro Cerrudo
Dance Theatre of Harlem CONTEMPORARY BALLET
March 24 + 25, 2023 • 7:30 PM
Allegro Brillante George Balanchine
When Love Helen Pickett
Blake Works 4 William Forsythe
Higher Ground Robert Garland
Ballet Edmonton CONTEMPORARY BALLET
Co-produced with Victoria Symphony
April 23, 2023 • 2:30 PM
April 24, 2023 • 7:30 PM
Music in Motion
Malpaso Dance Company CONTEMPORARY
April 28 + 29, 2023 • 7:30 PM
Carrying Floor Abel Rojo woman with water Mats Ek
Indomitable Waltz Aszure Barton
Tabula Rasa Ohad Naharin
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