Dance Central November / December 2013 Issue

November/December 2013

Dance Central A Dance Centre Publication

Content A Casing for The Mind Justine A. Chambers Page 1

A Note from the Executive Director Mirna Zagar Page 4

Dance In Vancouver 2013: Schedule of Events

Page 8

Thinking Bodies: A conversation with Holly Bright Page 12

Welcome to the November/ December 2013 issue of Dance Central.

A Casing for the Mind A conversation with Justine A. Chambers Justine Chambers describes herself as a "contemporary dance

Welcome to the November/December issue of Dance Central. We feature an interview with Vancouver-based choreographer Justine A. Chambers, who talks about her recent involvement in the second co-authored project 8 DAYS, and TASK FORCE which will be presented at Dance In Vancouver (Our cover shows Task Force: Family Dinner#6, with guests Emilio Rojas, Gabriel Dharmoo,

artist with a long-term preoccupation with architecture and unspectacular movement (gesture and quotidian movements.)

Space considerations, both existing or fabricated, often act as the catalyst for the content of my work. With a focus on phenomenology and psycho-geography, the movement I generate is contextualized by our ‘human-ness’, but I look to subvert the inherent and latent narratives embedded in the body to reorganize and potentially obliterate the narrative.""

and Renée Sigouin.)

The 'Thinking Bodies' series of performer portraits continues with a conversation with Nanaimo-based dance artist Holly Bright, whose Crimson Coast Dance company is about to present a new work by The 605 Collective titled NEW ANIMAL at the Port Theatre in Nanaimo. We are also including a schedule of events for the upcoming 2013 Dance In Vancouver biennal.

As always, we thank all the artists who have agreed to contribute and we welcome new writing and project ideas at any time, in order to continue to make Dance Central a more vital link to the community.

Please send material by mail to members@thedancecentre.ca. or call us at 604.606.6416. We look forward to the conversation!

Andreas Kahre, Editor

AK: You seem to be involved in many projects that bridge the gap between movement and visual art practice, — such as the event at the Western Font with Jen Weih this November.

JC: Sometimes it seems like every time a visual artist wants to deal with dance, I get the call—which is great, because it completely coincides with my interests. There was a period of time when I quit dancing for a number of years and began to collaborate with visual artists on movement. I seem to have an interest in making stuff, and little concern with whether what I am making is a 'dance', or a movement project, or if the practice is the project, so over the past few years I kept getting roped into collaborations with visual artists. First with Kristina Podesva (former editor of Fillip magazine) on a project at ‘colour school’, and then with a residency at the Western Front in 2009/2010, with curator Sarah Todd, who was looking at the tension between contemporary dance practice and contemporary visual art practice—which, to my mind, is not a universal tension. For me it was more specific to Vancouver, because in other places in the world it doesn't exist, but it was an interesting question. Then, last year, Brendan

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Dance Central November/December 2013

Fernandes created a work at the Front called The Working

AK: I know what you mean. My first installation there was a

Move which looks at the body as object. He has obsessions

piece curated by Antonia Hirsch on the theme of Hidden Trea-

about ballet, and needed someone to build a bunch of bal-

sures. It was all about the hidden aspects.

let moves for him. We talked a lot about the stereotypical image of dance, about the status quo and about how danc-

JC: So you were part of the family?

ers are treated. Then Jen Weih and I began to talk. She has been fascinated with dance and movement, and participat-

AK: Yes, and no. I worked at the Front for eleven years, and

ed in a community movement practice at the Field House

observed the shift from 'family' collective to institution, and the

that was about moving in unison. Jen said that she wanted

growing divide between visual art and performing art cultures.

to create a project at the Western Front based on the idea

It was an interesting position, because I was between and part

of a dance party, but that it would take some preparation to

of both worlds and ran the publications program.

get people into the right mode, and she asked me to come and teach a warm-up class. We had one practice session

JC: Publications are really important—not as proof that we are

with the people at the Front, and I think everybody was a

worthy, but that we exist, and as a vehicle to keep conversa-

visual artist, or at least not a dancer. I spent an hour moving

tions alive – not just about the product, but about how we work

them through a guided improv, concentrating on simple

and how we contextualize our work. Speaking of the Front,

tasks, like 'how does my wrist fold', to make them curious

until Jen proposed that we work together to make a warm up

about their body without demanding anything virtuosic,

practice as a way into the work, questions came up concerning

and get them thinking about it as a material rather than a

whether or not a dance party is a project. It did make me won-

casing for your mind. We had one rehearsal, where where

der who determines what makes our work a project.

people apparently felt stressed about being 'good', so my job was hospitality: Making everyone feel welcome, and

AK: If being determines consciousness, institutions perhaps

letting them know that everything is okay as long as no one

determine discourse. Whose language do you use?

is getting hurt.

JC: Su-Feh and I facilitate a series, The Talking Thinking DancAK: It is interesting to see dance make a comeback at the

ing Body, which I find very exciting, where we talk about dance

Western Front. Of course it was always a part of it through

performances once a month. Whose language we use depends

Jane Ellison's work, and EDAM, but the relationship with

on who is there. It's not about the industry or dance culture,

the visual artists was not always so cordial. The exhibitions

or how nice the choreography was and how good the danc-

program kept complaining about body odour...

ers were, but it is open to all kinds of language. Ultimately, we are working with our community to develop our own language,

JC: I have always been fascinated by the Western Front

because 'critical discourse' can alienate embodied practice. I

architecturally—that is what led me to create my doorway

spend a lot of time around visual artists, and I feel frustration

project: There is always another set of corridors and door-

when I make a statement about something in dance, they say:

ways, and hidden rooms.

Oh, but in visual art, we..." and I say" That's a very clear line you've drawn." I find that division demoralizing and pompous, continued on page 5

Anna Wyman School of Dance Arts presents The Winter Concert of Dance 2013 Saturday December 14 at 4pm at Centennial Theatre in North Vancouver Tickets may be purchased through the school or box office Contact: info@annawyman.com / 604-926-6535 Dance Central November/December 2013

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Dance Central The Dance Centre Scotiabank Dance Centre Level 6, 677 Davie Street Vancouver BC V6B 2G6 T 604.606.6400 F 604.606.6401 info@thedancecentre.ca www.thedancecentre.ca Dance Central is published every two months 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.

From the Executive Director Dear Members,

Editor Andreas Kahre Copy Editor Hilary Maxwell

As we near the end of the year, we look back on a very

Contributors to this issue: Justine A. Chambers, Holly Bright, Mirna Zagar

acclaimed artists. This is also the middle of our dance

Dance Centre Board Members Chair Ingrid M. Tsui Past Chair Andrea Wink Vice Chair Gavin Ryan Secretary Simone Orlando Treasurer Roman Goldmann Directors Barbara Bourget Susan Elliott Margaret Grenier Beau Howes Anndraya T. Luui Josh Martin Jordan Thomson Dance Foundation Board Members Chair Michael Welters Secretary Anndraya T. Luui Treasurer Jennifer Chung Directors Santa Aloi, Linda Blankstein, Grant Strate Dance Centre Staff: Executive Director Mirna Zagar Programming Coordinator Raquel Alvaro Marketing Manager Heather Bray Services Administrator Anne Daroussin Development Director Sheri Urquhart Technical Directors Justin Aucoin and Mark Eugster Accountant Lil Forcade Member Services Coordinator Hilary Maxwell

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 by numerous 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 through the BC Arts Council, and the City of Vancouver through the Office of Cultural Affairs.

satisfying series of performances by internationally season, and we are looking forward to celebrating local artists as part of the upcoming Dance In Vancouver biennal, which will again present a wonderful opportunity for dance professionals to meet, see, learn, and exchange information. This, the 9th edition of the festival, will bring together an unprecedented number of dance professionals from across Canada, in a veritable who’s who of Canadian dance! The program is packed with mainstage performances and informal studio showings, along with many other events and opportunities for dialogue. For the dance community, DIV is more than just another conference, with many opportunities to engage in a less formal frame, which as many of us know, is often the best opportunity to make and strengthen contacts, and to open the door to new opportunities. Come, take a first step, or simply take a peek!

Following Dance In Vancouver, we are thrilled to launch a new project: Migrant Bodies, a project supported by EU’s Culture Programme and created in partnership between Comune di Bassano del Grappa (Italy), La Briqueterie - Centre de développement chorégraphique du Val de Marne (France), Circuit-Est (Québec), The Dance Centre (British Columbia) and HIPP The Croatian Institute for Dance and Movement (Croatia).

Today’s world is being traversed by a population without nationality or territory, and in number almost approaching the size of a continent: The population of migrants.

This continuous global journey, challenging those who view it as something to be 'controlled', creates a network

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continued from page 3

A Casing for the Mind

A conversation with Justine A. Chambers

of cultural and physical connections that expand to every part of the planet. Regardless of their reasons for migrating, all people carry their territory imprinted into their bodies, as a landscape of their own. Migrant Bodies uses artistic and cultural tools to reflect on migration, on its cultural impact, and on

because it assumes that what I do couldn't be equal. Embodied practice is complex, but immediate it in its application so it can be seen as 'simple', and this language sometimes treats dance like the braindamaged cousin under the stairs. I actually found it intimidating during my first residency at the Front. My partner is a visual artist, and was verbally processing his MFA with me, so I was familiar with the concepts, but I read everything I could get

the rich source of different values it can bring for the

my hands on to become familiar with the language. I wondered

whole of European and Canadian societies.

why the two visual artists I was in residence with never did the same with dance. All they could talk about were references from

The project brings together 16 artists (6 choreogra-

45 years ago, and it seemed that they didn't feel it was neces-

phers/dancers, 5 writers, 5 visual artists) from three

sary or interesting to talk to me and learn something about

European countries and two Canadian provinces over

contemporary dance.

a period of two years, to carry out research on migrations and the social and cultural challenges these processes create, as well as the contributions and the potential for inspiration that these movements offer.

The project supports artistic exploration and aims to initiate works inspired by these contexts in order to propose a new understanding of the complex questions migrations pose, through engaged dialogue and interaction with a broad audience base. We invite you

AK: Territoriality has been an ongoing struggle in the Vancouver arts scene. Even in embodied practices, performance art, theatre, dance, sited performance, embodied media—they all seem to exist in parallel universes.

JC: Some people say to me "I think you make performance art, not dance", and I say "Tomato, Tomato", I am a contemporary dance artist, so my work is dance. My friend and colleague Ame Henderson and I talk about it all the time: We are getting tired of

to come and meet our partners and learn more about

the labels: This is dance, this is performance art, this is theatre.

the project!

Perhaps people need these categories to feel at home, but we all make art, performance, sound, movement, and even if we

Our next major endeavor is our traditional collabora-

use these categories, we need to keep talking, and we need to

tion with the PuSh Festival, in 2014. Until then, on

be inclusive. When we speak about Trisha Brown in dance we

behalf of all of us here at The Dance Centre, I thank

talk about post-modernism while the visual artists talk about

you for all of your support and contributions – along

post-structuralism—but how important are these differences?

with Season Greetings. We wish you and yours a prosperous and inspirational New Year!

Sincerely, Mirna Zagar, Executive Director

AK: Jen Weih uses Hail the New Puritan, a fictionalized documentary about the Scottish dancer and choreographer Michael Clark from 1986, with music by The Fall, Glenn Branca, Bruce Gilbert and Jeffrey Hinton to anchor her project; a performance piece that blends ballet movement and hyper-sexualized performance, but whose shock value has long since evaporated.

What is the frame she was thinking in?

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JC: She was thinking about what constitutes 'contemporary dance', and decided that for her contemporary dance is dance that is happening right now at dance parties. To me that is contemporary folk dance, but I understand her interest. Perhaps the big query is: 'How can people arrive in that space, and how can they arrive with some availability or abandon to that moment.' Usually, let's be honest, that means alcohol...

AK: The Western Front wouldn't be what it is without the tension between puritanism and debauch...

A Casing for the Mind A conversation with Justine A. Chambers

JC: She was thinking about ways to prepare for an event, and I described the ways contemporary dancers prepare in a certain sacred, ritualistic way that would almost never include alcohol, because we want to be 'good' on stage, precise and in command of our bodies.

The question was how we could use the preparation as a doorway to the event, when people are already doing something goofy; How to let them make the transition into the party without giving them time to decide whether or not they are 'good' at dancing. By already experiencing a professional dance warm-up, and the question is how that relates to making you ready for an awkward social situation, and get your mind into a place to be in physical dialogue with people. It is about taking away some of the the critical, theoretical verbal approach and instead ask what your own embodied practice would be.

AK: What was the response?

JC: After the first meeting, people came up to me and said: "Oh, the body as a material! This is a fascinating notion!" And I thought 'Well, that's what I have been doing for twenty years.' Of course there are lots of artists, Rebecca Belmore for instance, who have been doing physical work for a long time, and a whole performance art tradition, so there is visual art that uses the body as material, but it was nice to hear it recognized within a dance context, and also interesting to hear it described as 'new'. In conversations with people outside my discipline I often hear that dance is not sophisticated, but I know different. When I am in a class, I am blown away by the sophistication, the intelligence, and by the way that history is embodied in us.

AK: The gap between visual and performing art is especially curious considering that Vancouver has prided itself for the past thirty years in being at the forefront of an interdisciplinary approach to art.

JC: Yes, especially at the Western Front. When I did research at the beginning of my residency I realized that Intermedia and Yvonne Rainer are where it all started—in my house— and now, for a residency proposal we talk about the tension between their house and mine? I was gob-smacked: Why are we talking about tension? What created the huge separation between these places?

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AK: Institutional funding in the context of corporate ideology and its language of competing brands and strategic positioning, I would argue. Talk of being gob-smacked: I remember when a local curator applied to become executive director at the Front, and proposed to kick out EDAM, Jane Ellison's class and Performance Art, and turn the whole building into a gallery, Interestingly, there were quite a few heads around the table who nodded in approval at the idea. The days of Yvonne Rainer, Judy Radul and embodied practice may be gone for good... Apart from that, you have been involved in a project called 8 Days. What is it about?

JC: 8 Days started out as something that Ame Henderson and Tedd Robinson put together in 2012. It was very successful, and they decided to do it again. The idea was to talk about practice in Canada, without posturing or product in mind. We spend so much time looking to Europe and the US that it was great to focus on the people in dance in Canada. It was also lovely to talk to peers directly rather than through a grant application. I was ecstatic when I got accepted, because they were people I loved already or always wanted to know more about. We got together in July 2012 at La B.A.R.N. on Lac Leslie, Quebec—Claudia Fancello, MC Forté, Ame Henderson, Benjamin Kamino, Davida Monk, Tedd Robinson, Stephen Thompson, Michael Trent and I. Our structure for the day was eating. We made a habit of going into the studio and having a dance party every morning, with a lot of Motown and backup dance, and we would sit in silence until someone said 'I want to talk about this' or 'I want to try this'. It was not careful, or reserved, but more like a summer camp.

Tomato, Tomato...

We decided we wanted to do this again because we don't sit in each others communities and wanted to continue the conversation, and since I had a residency at a house on the beach, and with The Dance Centre, I thought 'Let's do it here!'. We added six people, so the group was Ame Henderson, Claudia Fancello, Stephen Thompson, Michael Trent, Davida Monk, MC Forté, Christopher House, Andrew Tay, Karine Denault, Caroline Gravel, Laurie Young, and Naomi Brand and I. Now we were thirteen and it was a very different eight days. We had some hard conversations, and people were willing to change their mind. We did some dancing, and we were a little polite; It was harder to co-author because we had two generations, but I got to know people I never really knew. For me it's about sharing practice, relationship building, having an opinion and being direct and clear with each other.

continued on page 16

Dance Central September 2004

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Dance In Vancouver DIV mainstage performances at SBDC: Program One: Wen Wei Dance Made in China* Tara Cheyenne Performance Highgate* Wednesday November 20, 7pm + Saturday November 23, 9pm

Program Three: dumb instrument Dance/Ziyian Kwan: the neck to fall , Vision Impure and Nova Dance DVOTE: Lust, Madness and Mayhem* Thursday November 21, 7pm + Friday November 22, 9pm

Wen Wei Wang’s intimate new work is a collaboration with Gao Yanjinzi, Artistic Director of Beijing Modern Dance Company, and Qiu Xia He, of Vancouver’s Silk Road Music. Through dance, music, storytelling and multimedia they explore individual personal narratives that are bound by a shared Chinese heritage, and how their traditional artistic forms have evolved in a modern world. Highgate is a morbid romp through Victorian funerary culture, jumping straight from the darkest part of Tara Cheyenne Friedenberg’s imagination. Reflecting personal and collective grief, a band of figures captivate in this fascinating gothic dance of death, physical oddity, humour, and horror. www.wenweidance.ca www.taracheyenne.com

the neck to fall is a solo created and performed by the exceptional dancer Ziyian Kwan. Featuring an original score by cellist Peggy Lee and percussionist Dylan van der Schyff , it examines a woman’s vulnerability by sifting through layers of persona, each danced with distinct kinetic motifs: levity, gravity, implosion and grace. Vision Impure’s Noam Gagnon teams up with the innovative bharata natyam dancer Nova Bhattacharya for a daring and intense duet exploring the profound connection between two human beings, touching on themes of devotion, submission, sexuality and spirituality.www. dumbinstrumentdance.com www.visionimpure.org www.novadance.ca _________________________________________

__________________________________________ Program Two: Sarah Chase/Astrid Dance and Andrea Nann/ Dreamwalker Dance Company new work* Joe Ink Left Wednesday November 20, 9pm + Saturday November 23, 7pm The hypnotic works of Sarah Chase are rooted in a distinctive style which combines words and stories with movement, underpinned by influences including mathematics, memory, and the natural landscape. Commissioned by Toronto’s Dreamwalker Dance Company, her new work for the exquisite dancer Andrea Nann integrates these elements to achieve a simple yet compelling aesthetic, full of poetic resonance. Quirky and wickedly sophisticated, Left is one of Joe Laughlin’s most enduring and popular works, depicting a man coming to terms with his life in a tightly focused pas de deux – with a teacup. www.dreamwalkerdance.com www.joeink.ca

Program Four: plastic orchid factory _post* battery opera performance Everything Thursday November 21, 9pm + Friday November 22, 7pm _post is a multi-disciplinary work that frames the allure, elegance and cultural disconnect of classical ballet in western Canada. With four classical dancers, a deconstructed piano score, and the unexpected use of ballet’s iconic tulle and pointe shoes, choreographer James Gnam creates a thought-provoking and visually stunning examination of beauty, nobility, partnership and power. Su-Feh Lee’s mesmerizing solo Everythingis set to Barry Truax’s I Ching-inspired electroacoustic score, and conjures up a theatrical ritual of smoke, numbers and flying objects in order to negotiate the history she carries in her body with the history of the territory on which she dances. www.plasticorchidfactory.com Dance Central September 2004

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www.batteryopera.com Post-show talkbacks after each 9pm show

PLUS Satellite performance at Shadbolt Centre for the Arts - 6450 Deer Lake Park, Burnaby: New Animal, 605 Collective (Shadbolt Centre for the Arts) Nov 20-23, 8pm Tickets and info: http://www.burnaby.ca/ThingsTo-Do/Arts-and-Heritage/Shadbolt-Centre-for-theArts.html __________________________________________ Studio Showings and Dialogues Showing and Discussion: Collaborations, with 605 Collective, Marta Marta Productions, Restless Productions Thursday November 21, 1.30-3.30pm Orpheum Annex This session offers insight into the artistic process that takes place when dance is created in collaboration with other disciplines, through informal showings of work and facilitated dialogues with the artists. 605 Collective shows excerpts of a new work in development which is being created by local theatre company Theatre Replacement, supported through a Dance Centre residency; Restless Productions, co-directed by choreographer Claire French and composer James Maxwell, share recent work and discuss their creative partnership; and Martha Carter, Artistic Director of Marta Marta Productions, presents video footage of her recent work Speaking in Ligeti and talks about the CO:LAB dance/ music research lab which was hosted by The Dance Centre in 2012, along with one of the participating composers. ______________________________________ Studio Showing: Kokoro Dance Friday November 22, 12-1pm SBDC Kokoro Dance presents a studio showing of Life, a new work for seven dancers choreographed by Barbara Bourget and Jay Hirabayashi. Founded in 1986, Kokoro combines the rigour and aesthetic of

Japanese butoh with Western contemporary dance, in works for the theatre as well as sitespecific creations including the annual Wreck Beach butoh, now in its 18th year. Followed by a moderated Q&A session with the artists. _______________________________________ Studio Showing: Out Innerspace Friday November 22, 1.30-2.30pm SBDC Out Innerspace shows an excerpt from Me So You So Me (2012) followed by a Q & A session for presenters and artists. Fueled by Japanese historical and pop culture, classical Indian tabla rhythms, and cartoons, the work reveals projections of the self: through the eyes of a partner, the dynamic of a couple, and the genre-defying music of experimental Japanese percussionist Asa Chang. David Raymond and Tiffany Tregarthen have been collaborating since 2004; from 2005-2007 they shared a residency based in Belgium facilitated by the Antwerp International Dansstage, founding Out Innerspace on their return to Vancouver in 2007. ________________________________________ Improvisation and Discussion: Mascall Dance Friday November 22, 2:30-3:30pm SBDC Artistic Director of Mascall Dance since 1982, Jennifer Mascall has spent 30 years exploring the potential of the human body moving in space and has been characterized as a maverick, a visionary, and a radical revisionary. Her work is fascinated with body research and improvisation, as shown through her ongoing series the Nijinsky Gibber Jazz Club. In this session Jennifer and her dancers will demonstrate and deconstruct improvisation and its role in the artistic process and in performance.

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Showing and Discussion: Karen Jamieson Dance + Les Productions Figlio Friday November 22, 3.30-4.30pm SBDC The art of the solo is examined through informal studio showings of two new works in development by two of Vancouver’s most established and respected choreographers, and moderated dialogues for the artists and presenters. Karen Jamieson formed her company in 1983 and her works uncover a mythic, poetic language through dance; solo|soul is a new full length solo, developing out of a three-year research process. Supported through a Dance Centre residency the piece will premiere in summer 2014 at the Dancing on the Edge Festival. French-born choreographer Serge Bennathan was Artistic Director of Toronto’s Dancemakers for 16 years before forming his own company in Vancouver. His new solo Monsieur Auburtin is an autobiographical journey through a life dedicated to dance.

Saturday November 23, 1.30-4.30pm Orpheum Annex The session highlights the diverse work coming from a new generation of Vancouverbased dance artists, with excerpts of new work and a moderated discussion. The Contingency Plan show a new work by Vanessa Goodman, created through the Iris Garland Emerging Choreographer Award administered by The Dance Centre, scheduled to premiere at the Dancing on the Edge Festival summer 2014: a new work by Amber Funk Barton, Artistic Director of the response.; Starr Muranko’s Canadian/ Peruvian collaboration The Spine of Mother Earth, tracing shared themes of the native cultures of North and South America through the common bond of the mountain range; and a new work by Shay Kuebler, a versatile and dynamic performer now developing his own work.

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Studio Showing: Ballet BC Saturday November 23, 1.30-2.30pm SBDC

Discussions and Talks

Founded in 1986 and led by Artistic Director Emily Molnar (formerly a dancer with the National Ballet of Canada, Ballett Frankfurt) Ballet BC is an acclaimed contemporary ballet company which presents a diverse repertoire of Canadian and international contemporary ballet from the late 20th and early 21st centuries, and is a hotbed for the creation and performance of new works. The company will present an excerpt of a new work in progress, followed by a moderated discussion about contemporary ballet today and the role of artistic residencies and guest choreographers. __________________________________________ Showing and Discussion: The Contingency Plan, the response., Starr Muranko, Shay Kuebler

Critical Response Dialogues Wednesday-Saturday November 20-23, 8-9pm SBDC Dancers’ Lounge Level 5 How do we talk about a performance we experienced? These sessions for presenters will explore Critical Response Tools to demonstrate a simple and effective method to generate audience feedback through dialogue and create shared meaning. Critical Response allows our audiences room to grow, connect, question, and draw meaningful insight from the artwork they see. The tools enable a guided conversation utilizing structured dialogue around a performance.

It permits a kind of conversation to occur often a kind which people are not in the habit Dance Central September 2004

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of having - to reach beyond personal opinions of the experience. The dialogue is expanded beyond the traditional thumbs-up, thumbs-down approach frequently used and as a result new shared meaning and language can emerge. Moderated by members of Ontario Dances and Atlantic Moves, and presented in partnership with Made in BC - Dance on Tour.

Engaging Communities: Case Studies Part 1 Thursday November 21, 4-5.30pm VIFC Presenters and artists come together to share their experiences of community engagement through dialogue and exchange, discussing successes and challenges, best practices, and how authentic relationship building can take place. Continues on November 22 at 4.30pm. Presented in partnership with Made in BC - Dance on Tour. __________________________________________ Engaging Communities: Case Studies Part 2 Friday November 22, 4.30-5.30pm VIFC See Engaging Communities: Case Studies Part 1 on November 21. Presented in partnership with Made in BC - Dance on Tour. __________________________________________ Discussion: Community Engagement in Dance Forum with Karen Jamieson Dance Saturday November 23, 4.30-6pm, VIFC Please join us for the third session of a series of conversations on community engagement as an art practice, initiated by Karen Jamieson Dance. These ongoing forums examine the tangible and not so tangible aspects of community engaged art practice and its relationship, specifically in dance, to practice with professionals. These facilitated in-the-round discussions include contributions from a variety of practicing community engaged artists from senior to emerging. Presented in partnership with The Dance Centre and Made In BC – Dance on Tour. Moderated by jil p weaving. Presented in partnership with Made in BC - Dance on Tour. __________________________________________

Other Events Opening Reception Wednesday November 20, 5.30-7pm SBDC Marcuse Studio, Level 5 Join other presenters, artists and other dance professionals for an opening reception co-hosted

by The Dance Centre, the CanDance Network and the Canadian Dance Assembly. ________________________________________ DIV Lounge Wednesday November 20, 7-12pm SBDC Marcuse Studio, Level 5 Thursday-Saturday November 21-23, 5-12pm VIFC The informal gathering place for DIV attendees, presenters and artists to meet, mingle, network, relax, and enjoy a drink. _______________________________________ Made in BC Welcome Lunch Thursday November 21, 12.15-1.15pm VIFC Presenters and artists are invited to a welcome lunch with Made in BC – Dance on Tour, featuring the launch of the new Groundwork website and details of the artist application process for the 2015-2016 touring program. RSVP by November 4 to landon@madeinbc.org. ________________________________________ __ Powered by Pecha Kucha Thursday November 21, 10.30-11.30pm VIFC Dance In Vancouver adopts the global phenomenon of Pecha Kucha (‘chit chat’) to bring together the creators and presenters of dance. In these fast-paced presentations, selected artists and presenters each present a theme or idea that inspires them, within the PK format: 20 slides, 20 seconds per slide. Attendees will learn more about their colleagues and co-attendees in a fun, sociable lounge environment.

Locations Scotiabank Dance Centre (SBDC), 677 Davie St Dance Central September 2004 3 (Faris Family Studio performance space, Level 1

"I like creating Space" Dance, like most contemporary art forms, is an urban phe-

our General Manager just retired I am also doing a lot of the

nomenon, and in British Columbia centers on Vancouver. One

administrative work. I choreographed a number of small

of the dance artists who operate outside of the LowerMain-

projects, when I was living in New York, and when I was in

land is Holly Bright, Artistic Director of Crimson Coast Dance

university. I had a small company then, with a friend, and

(www.crimsoncoastdance.org) in Nanaimo.

we choreographed and performed all over town. When I came here and began to teach, it was a very different situ-

AK: You are very much established in Nanaimo as a performer,

ation: Canadian dancers got paid, while American dancers

presenter and choreographer, but you have worked with

worked for bus fare and the joy of it and had a job on the

many Vancouver–based dance artists. How do you maintain

side. I liked the idea of supporting professional dancers

your connection with the Vancouver dance scene?

and since I wasn't able to do that I decided to concentrate on performing, and choreographing with students, which

HB: It is a balancing act between the demands of the

I loved. As a performer, I desire the experience of the

company, finding the funding to travel. It would be great to

creative process and I want to work with artists who enjoy

get over there more often, because there are so many exciting

delving into what is possible, what may arise. I do consider

emerging and up and coming artists in the city.

myself an emerging choreographer.

AK: Did you ever live in Vancouver full-time?

AK: Do your different roles form a coherent texture, or is it more like a series of discrete but overlapping jobs?

HB: For about a year. After that, I commuted and kept a little place where I stayed two or three nights a week. Finally, I let

HB: It is a landscape, and I look at it all as a creative act.

that go, too, and commuted daily, but after two years, in 1993,

One of the things I delight in presenting is to bring myself to

I thought: "Enough of that", started Crimson Coast Dance and

a project and to work with the artists on ways of animating

began bringing performers to Nanaimo.

what they are doing so that our local audience can have a deeper understanding and relate to the work even before

AK: Like many contemporary dance artists, you don't seem to

they enter the theatre. I get to find out what is happening in

fit the mould of being purely a performer, choreographer or

the community and I get to plan and create events around

presenter. I have mostly seen you in a performance context,

the performances. I do well when I can be in a creative pro-

but you also work as a presenter, as a choreographer, and as

cess with an artist and really focus on that. I have also been

an interdisciplinary collaborator. How do you see yourself and

remounting some of my past solo work, and as a presenter,

how do you balance these roles?

I know how to promote myself, yet I find it challenging to make the time for it.

HB: I have been performing all my life. I love rehearsing and deepening into the work, so that is what I seek out wherever I

AK: You have worked collaboratively with musicians, per-

can, but in the last few years it has been getting less frequent.

formance poets, and community artists. Is your solo work

My last 'gig' was in July and within two months I began to think

related, or is it a distinct practice?

"Oh, I am no longer a performer." There is a sense of questioning and curiosity, about that state of dancing less these days,

HB: It is also collaborative. I have done a lot of commis-

and I am listening to what that means. I broke my arm a year

sions, often with choreographers whose approach seemed

ago, and that has set me back a bit. This is the first time in my

very different from my way of dancing, and when I have

dance career that I am questioning where I am, at the same

been asked about it, my response has been that is exactly

time that I find that I am doing a lot of presenting, and since

why; to get to experiment and try new things. I chose

12

Dance Central November/December 2013

Thinking Bodies: Performer Portraits A conversation with Holly Bright choreographers whose work has some sense of 'Aha!' for me,

because they inspire me and I like to think that we inspire each

and the commissions are usually to support a collaborative

other and that a collaborative process results in something larger

creative process. This is not what I learned when I trained. My

than what we can do alone. I like creating space for that.

early company days were where about learning steps, and then I spent hours and hours in the studio trying to fill them

AK: You seem comfortable with set pieces and props, even when

out and precisely understand why I was taking each step in

they impose restrictions on the movement, like the river rocks you

terms of the character. That is really juicy for me, and as I be-

have used. Do you prefer working with objects, text and other

gan to collaborate, I realized how much I loved that process of

'impediments' rather than the body on the empty stage, or is this

discovery, so now I often work with choreographers who ask

an aspect of inviting collaborators into 'pure' choreography?

me to bring myself to the work. I also find that now I am at a point where I want to be more in a process with other people, Image: Anne Bright and Holly Bright, Photography by Dirk Heydemann

HB: I think both are really interesting, and provide a lot of material

for exploration: A body in empty space is really vulnerable,

Coast landscape setting, and its urban past as a hardscrabble

while with objects there is interaction, and sometimes, when

mining town. Does the city play a role in what you do?

I go into the studio, I like to have something to work with; rocks are super patient and will do anything you ask them to.

HB: I am definitely informed by my environment, and there is

I also find that sometimes set or props can help explore or

definitely a way that the beauty of the place acts like a mir-

reveal metaphor, as it did with the river project, What The

ror to humanity, because we get to see the outcome of our

Water Whispers. I enjoy the adding, choosing and remov-

actions. When I first moved here I wanted to make a Butoh

ing layers of metaphor, irony, and especially things that can't

piece based on logging. I remember reading Dena Davida's

be said with words. We often talk around it in dance. We

book Field of Motion: Enthography In The Worlds Of Dance,

say: 'It's as though', 'it was like', or 'I had the experience of', 'it

in which she points out that a lot of artists around BC created

reminded me', and we can't really put the words on it. I am

work based on nature, and I am no exception. I was inspired

very interested in articulating the things we can't put words

by a study about the Nanaimo river and took stories from

to. There is lots of room to grow for me as a choreographer,

people in the community as part of the work.

and to explore the various angles of the idea...

AK: Is presenting contemporary dance in the social ecology AK: Irony in dance is an interesting idea. How does the ironic

of a city like Nanaimo different from doing it in a large urban

appear for you? How do you discover it?

centre? Could you take Crimson Coast to Montreal tomorrow?

HB: That's it; You don't set out to create irony—the unwel-

HB: I think that there are parts of what I have developed in

come gift— especially in life, but unless I were to have an

terms of presenting and programming that could be taken

ironic picture I wouldn't know how to carve it into a dance

elsewhere, especially the outreach aspect, and a creative

so that it results in that picture. To reveal something about it,

approach to presenting. I think it has become a bit of a social

I might perhaps backtrack to reveal or find the connections.

movement: People want to do things rather than just watch them, and participate in events rather than just buy a ticket.

AK: Do you develop dance from character?

That means I get to figure how to create interactions between an artist or concept and our community, so that it has rel-

HB: When I work with students I often use character, but

evance here. Sometimes the show seems to become almost

I think I mostly develop dance from feeling. For the river

secondary to the activity that surrounds it. That approach

project, for instance, I was inspired by a film about three

could be applied anywhere, and I think it has created a lot of

rivers in the UK that all run into the same estuary. A friend

friends for us. People come to Crimson Coast because they

of mine created a film, attaching a little camera to a toy boat

get experiences that deepen their lives and their relationship

and send it down all three rivers. He then edited them to

with dance in some way. On the other hand, I met a man on

arrive at the same time, and I loved the irony of these three

the ferry and I told him that I present contemporary dance in

very different river journeys and there is this way that they all

Nanaimo, to which he replied: " That must be hard. I can come

arrive at the estuary at the same time, after all their tumbling,

home from work and have dinner, and spend the evening with

and diving. Each river represented a life to me, and no matter

my family, or watch TV, so why would I or anyone else need

what route the river takes, the estuary, or life, will go on. It

to go see dance?" I thought: "Really? Is that all you want out of

spoke to me about the irony of life, turmoil and the transition

life? There is so much more!"

to death especially for those left behind. That no matter what happens in individual journeys, life goes on. How do you

AK: That attitude is eminently portable. He might have said the

capture that in movement? That is where I began my thinking

same if he lived in Manhattan...

and the act of movement began with a glacier.

HB: True, but maybe there is a little more of a challenge in AK: Nanaimo is situated on one of Vancouver Island's largest

Nanaimo, because dance really didn't exist as a professional

estuaries and in juxtaposition between its beautiful West

art form until I moved here in 1992. I think some people

Dance Central November/December 2013

14

are still surprised that this is something grown ups actually do. They know that there is such a thing as ballet, but that is

"I like creating Space"

somewhere on the outside, except for what their children may

A conversation with Holly Bright

be involved in. But I love creating avenues for people to access contemporary dance. It has been a really interesting journey, and what I am happy about learning and demonstrating is that, in some way, when I step out of this role or when someone else starts here, their work will be a little bit easier. That is a good thing, and I think it's something that could transfer. Another initiative that could work elsewhere is our BodyTalk project

zone. I like complexity which can be challenging, so I learn

which provides career exploration for youth in the perform-

to simplify.... With The 605 Collective, the lemons worked,

ing arts. We provide mini–mentorships with professionals like

and my understanding was that the dancers are brilliant,

graphic designers, and teach aspects of a general manager's

yet we all have habits we fall back on when the going

job, such as budget, sales, dealing with arts editors, in the nuts

gets tough and my understanding is that Dana wanted to

and bolts of presenting. They get to experience work with

push the dancers beyond their comfort zone. She wanted

technicians, lighting designers and to explore the workings of a

to show what happens when we are pushed beyond our

theatre while they create an event for the community. I am also

limits, and introduced something for them to fight over. The

teaching them my job, so they get to learn how to curate, how

lemon and its bitterness, like Josh Martin said, "threw us

to wrap up a project, and we are now working on a manual so

into wild land; It was a slap in the face, and we just became

that as our facilitators change from year to year we have some-

animals." The work shows us a piece of our humanity and

thing they can take and run with, and we can pass it around so

it resolves into a reflection of how obstacles can make us

others can play with the idea. Those are encouraging aspects of

more human. So now market that. All you can do is put

presenting dance in this community, even if the art form is still

things out there and find ways for people to access it. You

pretty young here.

don't have any control over the outcome.

AK: When someone like The 605 Collective comes here, how

AK: What's ahead?

do you prepare an audience?

HB: That's a good question, especially in the non-profit HB: They are bringing a work called NEW ANIMAL, cho-

world. The Gaming cuts two years ago created a difficult

reographed by Dana Gingras, that uses lemons as a central

situation for us now, especially in terms of stainability, and

object, and we created a photo project with photographer Dirk

we are trying to look at what we can do. We now have our

Heydemann and people from the community biting into lem-

festival back and are working to demonstrate that everyone

ons: Dancers, musicians, writers, city councillors, the MLA for

wants us here and we want to be here, and to deal with

Parksville, and it has been very successful. These are the kinds

the setbacks. We are entering our third seven-year busi-

of events we create around events, and people start to get

ness cycle, and we are thinking of how we will go on. I am

curious about it, and we get them involved. Another example

also talking with Susanna Hood about remounting a solo

is a piece based on T.S. Elliot's 4 Quartets' that Deborah Dunn

she created for me called costing not less than everything,

brought over, which involved a series of events that featured

and I am looking at exploring open source forms with other

Astro-Poetry, Astronomy and moving the systems of the body.

choreographic professional development opportunities.

I love finding ways for people to enter into contemporary work

Life is certainly unfolding as a creative process.

in engaging — and sometimes oblique— ways.

AK: Thank you!

AK: Does the community respond with curiosity?

HB: Some people do. Marketing can be challenging when you are doing something that is outside the community's comfort

NEW ANIMAL by the 605 COLLECTIVE will be presented at the Port Theatre, Nanaimo, Saturday, November 9th, at 7.30pm Dance Central November/December 2013

15

A Casing for the Mind

continued from page 7

AK: The first project resulted in a book. Will there be another publication?

A conversation with Justine A. Chambers

JC: Yes, we are going to make another publication, and we have just written the call for next year's 8 Days. We also held an event at the end of the project for the dance community and visual arts community — we had a tea in the middle of the park and created a score about hospitality inside the event. A lot of people came who don't usually intersect, and it was a great opportunity to look at what our common points of interest are, despite all the problems in the arts community, and how we can share.

AK: How do you talk without viewing each other as compet-

At first we did six dinners where we would cook together as an

ing for resources or defending territory?

improvisation and develop a physical score to do while dining.

I put down the ingredients and said: Don't talk, don't discuss

JC: We talked a lot about that, about how we defend our

what you’re going to make, and sometimes it worked like five

choreographic signature, or mark. If we identify that way we

solos, and sometimes it came together in an amazing cohe-

put a ceiling on what our practice can become. This is one of

sive meal. Right now the creation of the work, is the work, and

the opportunities that 8 Days offers: To talk without being too

with each new group we eat with, we capture and add their

careful, and without being pegged against each other. I feel

behaviours/postures/actions to the 'score' so that every single

that right now, since I am no longer a little kid, nor a mighty

person who has ever eaten with us is present at every dinner.

and powerful Oz, it is a good time to insist on these conver-

It’s an exercise in culling the past and creating and distilling

sations, and to let people change their positions. If we are so

memory through embodiment, using a phenomenological lens.

worried about optics all the time we can only lose. Of course

We decided to invite the presenters for Dance In Vancouver

I am not accessible to everything and everyone, but I want

to participate and rehearse with us, so they will be coming to

to know what position people are taking when I watch work.

dinner. I think, they think they are coming to a show, although I

I want to feel where they are and what they are asking me to

was quite explicit in my proposal that I want to put them in the

see or experience.

centre of the art-making, instead of at the edge of it, making decisions about our work. It is a very complicated task, to eat

AK: You are also creating work for Dance In Vancouver.

and have a conversation, while simultaneously accumulating and executing the embodiment of these scores, and I don't

JC: Yes, It is a project about dinner held at Ten Fifteen Maple, a

know how it is going to go, but everyone is going to get fed,

residency in a field house in Hadden park. We call ourselves

and everyone will have wine. For DIV, we won't improvise the

the Task Force (I love super heroes. I love the American my-

cooking, instead my mother will devise the menus, it will be

thology thing....) It is a participatory performance, where you

fascinating to see what we accumulate. I love working on this

come and eat dinner with us.

project, and I love the people I work with. .

AK: Why dinner?

AK: Thank you!

JC: I am really interested in the codes of behavior related to

Links to project pages:

eating and how those differ from country to country, house-

http://justineachambers.com/category/projects/task-force

hold to household an with different demographics. I also like

http://tenfifteenmaple.org/projects/justine-chambers-projects/

acknowledging what is really happening in the space. At din-

http://justineachambers.com

ner parties there is always a tension about how you act. (My

(www.brendanfernandes.ca)

father was a diplomat, so I grew up at dinner parties.)

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Dance Central September 2004

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