Travel Blog

10 Nov

Dance In Vancouver Nov 20 – 23

Plastic Orchid Factory's Bevin Poole. Photo credit: David Cooper.

Plastic Orchid Factory’s Bevin Poole. Photo credit: David Cooper.

Dance In Vancouver is a biennial showcase of the contemporary dance scene in B.C. In the latest instalment, Nov. 20 – 23, eight companies perform excerpts of new works and recent productions in four mixed programs.

Dancers and companies include acclaimed artists like Wen Wei Dance, Tara Cheyenne Performance, Joe Ink, Sarah Chase with Andrea Nann, dumb instrument Dance/Ziyian Kwan, Vision Impure with Nova Dance, the plastic orchid factory and battery opera performance.

Organized by The Dance Centre, the four-day event is not only a chance for enthusiasts to catch the province’s contemporary hoofing talent in new and acclaimed works, but also an opportunity to check out local talent that brings dance promoters and scouts from across Canada and around the world.

This latest edition has been programmed by Jeanne Holmes, Artistic Producer of the prestigious Canada Dance Festival. Among the performances and performers:

Wen Wei Dance, Made in China – Vancouver’s Wen Wei Wang collaborates with Gao Yanjinzi, Artistic Director of Beijing Modern Dance Company, and Qiu Xia He, of Vancouver’s Silk Road Music to “explore individual personal narratives that are bound by a shared Chinese heritage, and how their traditional artistic forms have evolved in a modern world,” according to the press release.

Tara Cheyenne Performance, Highgate – Acclaimed dancer Tara Cheyenne Friedenberg brings us a romp through Victorian funerary culture.

Tara Cheyenne 4 by Wendy

Tara Cheyenne 4 by Wendy

Sarah Chase/Astrid Dance with Andrea Nann – Sarah Chase’s works combine words and stories with movement and influences that include mathematics, memory, and the natural landscape. This piece was commissioned by Toronto’s Dreamwalker Dance Company for dancer Andrea Nann.

Joe Ink, Left – A man comes to terms with his life in a tightly focused pas de deux – with a teacup. Left is one of dancer/choreographer Joe Laughlin’s “most enduring and popular works,” according to the Joe Ink website.

dumb instrument Dance, the neck to fall – In this solo piece created and performed by Ziyian Kwan, an original score by cellist Peggy Lee and percussionist Dylan van der Schyff underscores an examination through dance of a woman’s vulnerability.

Vision Impure and Nova Dance – Noam Gagnon of Vision Impure teams up with Nova Dance‘s Nova Bhattacharya for a duet that explores themes of devotion, submission, sexuality and spirituality.

For a complete program and more info, visit the Dance Centre website.

All performances are at Scotiabank Dance Centre (677 Davie Street).

Article source: http://www.insidevancouver.ca/2013/11/10/dance-in-vancouver-2013/