Dance Central The Dance Centre Scotiabank Dance Centre Level 6, 677 Davie Street Vancouver BC V6B 2G6 T 604.606.6400 info@thedancecentre.ca www.thedancecentre.ca Dance Central is published quarterly by The Dance Centre for its members and for the dance community. Opinions expressed are those of the authors and do not necessarily represent Dance Central or The Dance Centre. The editor reserves the right to edit for clarity or length, or to meet house requirements.
Editor, Art Director & Layout Shanny Rann
Copy Editor Nazanin Oghanian
Design Layout Becky Wu
Contributors to this issue:
Dance Foundation Board Members: Chair Linda Blankstein Secretary Anndraya T. Luui Treasurer Janice Wells Directors Samantha Luo, Mark Osburn, Sasha Morales,
Adam Grant Warren, romham pádraig gallacher, Harmanie Rose, Dr Danny Tan, Carolina Bergonzoni
Andrea Benzel
Photo credits
Mirna Zagar
Front cover: Dance In Vancouver 2021 Dumb Instrument Dance Dancer Justin Calvadores © David Cooper Back cover: Dance In Vancouver 2021 Mahaila Patterson-O’Brien Dancers Eowynn Enquist and Isak Enquist © Sepehr Samimi
Programming Coordinator
Dance Centre Staff: Executive Director
Raquel Alvaro
Associate Producer Linda Blankstein
Director of Marketing Heather Bray
Digital Marketing Coordinator Dance Centre Board Members: Chair Jason Wrobleski
Secretary
Lindsay Curtis
Membership/ Outreach Coordinator Nazanin Oghanian
Judith Garay
Lead Technician
Treasurer
Chengyan Boon
Annelie Vistica
Comptroller
Directors Julianne Chapple, Tin Gamboa, Arash Khakpour, Andrea Reid Rosario Ancer, Anndraya T. Luui, Linda Gordon
Elyn Dobbs
Venue and Operations Manager Simran Ghesani
Founded in 1986 as a leading dance resource centre for dance professionals and the public in British Columbia, The Dance Centre is a multifaceted organization. The Dance Centre presents an exciting season of shows and events, serves a broad membership of 300 professional dance companies and individual artists, and offers a range of activities unparalleled in Canadian dance. The Dance Centre is BC's primary resource centre for the dance profession and the public. The activities of The Dance Centre are made possible bynumerous individuals. Many thanks to our members, volunteers, community peers, board of directors and the public for your ongoing commitment to dance in BC. Your suggestions and feedback are always welcome. The operations of The Dance Centre are supported by the Canada Council for the Arts, the Province of British Columbia, the BC Arts Council, and the City of Vancouver through the Office of Cultural Affairs.
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we kept asking that question until Danielle had devised a bodily response to each of the 25 consonant phonemes. Danielle’s contribution, of course, brings up the question of the dancer/ choreographer relationship in terms of what I’ve called “the offer” and whose creative voice takes precedence in the room. Harmanie and romham will say more about that. Me? I went to my understanding of theatre direction: I’d never tell an actor how to read a line. The actor reads and then we shape the choice together. “What if. . .What happens when you. . .? How might these pieces fit?” What we landed on was a toolset for the translation of text to movement. We built a sharing on attempted communication and the differences in shape and quality between the words “anxious,” “anxiousness,” and “anxiety.” But we’re still working on the really compelling questions. When and why does the “source text” fall away and leave only the witnessed movement? If that’s ultimately what happens,
D a n c e C e n t r a l Fa l l 2 0 2 1
... in dance? What’s the essential unit there? The spine? No. The core? No. The eight-count? God, I hope not.
