contemporary dance

A boundary-pushing lineup

Tuskrik Fredericks and Rebecca Margolick in to begin with no end, part of Dancing on the Edge, which runs June 12-21. (photo by Alexander Diaz)

Dancing on the Edge (DOTE), a cornerstone of Vancouver’s contemporary dance season, presents a line-up of established and emerging dancemakers at the Firehall Arts Centre and SFU Woodward’s June 12 to 21.

Spotlighting a range of world and Canadian premieres, as well as works in progress, from Canadian and international artists, the festival offers seven mixed programs, as well as three full-length works. Among the Jewish community members and companies contributing their creativity are Rebecca Margolick, Noam Gagnon, Stefan Smulovitz, Action at a Distance, and others.

“In the turmoil of the world, we look to artists for solace, encouragement and inspiration. For this year’s 37th annual DOTE festival, we are thrilled to present a roster of artists whose works offer a balm for the soul – exploring a pendulum of themes, from isolation to connectivity, from being overwhelmed to feeling joy,” said Donna Spencer, DOTE artistic producer.

Some of this year’s most anticipated performances include the world premiere of the full-length work Lurch from Vancouver’s MascallDance, an evaluation of legacy, in partnership with three commissioned choreographers: Justine Chambers, Ame Henderson and Sarah Chase; the world premiere of a short work, Tunnel 9, from Montreal’s Fila 13 Productions, with dancers Claudia Moore and Sean Ling-Allan, who take refuge in a confined space; and the world premiere from Taiwanese-Canadian dance artist Juolin Lee, Soup of Forgetfulness, a solo inspired by Taiwanese folklore about the afterlife and reincarnation.

Edge 1 (June 12, 7 p.m., and June 13, 9 p.m.) features Gagnon’s being and the work-in-progress My Dance is not a Hobby by Newton Moraes Dance Theatre.

Edge 2 (June 12, 9 p.m., and June 13, 7 p.m.) pairs Windshear / If I were 2 by Inverso Productions with to begin with no end by Tushrik Fredericks and Margolick.

Edge 4 (June 17, 7 p.m., and June 19, 9 p.m) features To Fetch a Pail of Water by Jennifer McLeish-Lewis, with music composed by Smulovitz, and Tidal Wave (Excerpt) by SQx Dance Company.

On June 17, at 9 p.m., Action at a Distance and Belle Spirale Dance Projects present TUNING.

For more information and tickets, visit dancingontheedge.org.

– Courtesy Dancing on the Edge

DOTE happens in June

Karen Kaeja and Allen Kaeja in Lasterday. (photo by Kendra Epik)

Featuring more than 30 performances June 13-22, Dancing on the Edge audiences will see world premières, Western Canadian debuts and works-in-progress. This year’s lineup includes the Vancouver première of Lasterday, with choreography by Hanna Kiel, music by Adam Campbell, lighting by Gavin McDonald and performances by Kaeja d’Dance, Toronto Jewish community members Karen and Allen Kaeja.

Lasterday is part of EDGE 1, which also features Tiger Princess Dance Projects and Calder White. Performances are June 16 and 17, 7 p.m., at the Firehall Arts Centre.

Lasterday delves into the relationship of two individuals who carry different memories and perceptions of the same events from their past – sense of timeline, emotional impacts and interactions – revealing how they remember and interpret their shared history. Lasterday is part of the Kaeja d’Dance’s lifeDUET commissioning series. The works explore the Kaejas’ creative and personal partnership. Many duets have toured across the world through Canada and to Spain, India, England, Japan, Mexico, Venezuela and Israel. (For more, see jewishindependent.ca/life-stories-told-in-dance.)

Kiel is a Dora Award-winning artist hailing from Seoul, South Korea, who made Vancouver her home in 1996. Founder and artistic director of Human Body Expression, Kiel is also a resident choreographer at Canada’s JörgenDance.

Campbell is a sound designer, composer, percussionist and singer-songwriter. Originally from Summerside, PEI, and currently living in Stratford, Ont., he has worked as sound designer/composer with many festivals.

McDonald has designed lighting for more than 25 years, across North America and the United Kingdom, and teaches lighting and media design at York University.

Karen Kaeja is an award-winning choreographer, performer and educator. The heart of her research, creation and writing concentrates on the agency of touch. She develops platforms for collaborative relationships between dancers and everyday people, highlighted in her Porch View Dances festival and concept. She is currently co-choreographing with Roshanak Jaberi for Jaberi Dance Theatre’s international collaboration with Sweden – Architecture of Violence.

Allen Kaeja is an award-winning choreographer and dance film director. The child of a refugee and Holocaust survivor, he has created 30 years of Holocaust-inspired stage and film works. He has created more than 210 stage works and choreographed/directed 35 films. His works have been featured in commercials, films and festivals around the world. He teaches Kaeja Elevations and Dance Film master classes worldwide.

About the overall DOTE program this year, the festival’s artistic producer, Donna Spencer, said, “This year, we are pleased to honour one of Canada’s great dance and contact improvisation creators, Peter Bingham, and share his work with the presentation of EDAM’s Dead Weighting. Peter’s body of work has had such an impactful ripple on many of the artists participating in this year’s festival. We are also excited to offer what was a work-in-progress at last year’s festival as a world première this year with Company 605’s lossy; and to bring new choreographic voices such as Anya Saugstad, Clala Dance Project and Simran Sachar to the festival. Stirring things up is in DOTE’s DNA, and we can’t wait for audiences to experience this year’s lineup.”

The complete festival schedule is available at dancingontheedge.org. Tickets can be purchased online via the website or by phone at 604-689-0926.

– Courtesy Dancing on the Edge

Win free dance tickets!

Hasta Dónde…? is one of two works Compañía Sharon Fridman brings to Vancouver Oct. 12-14. (photo by Gerardo Sanz)

The work of Israeli choreographer Sharon Fridman comes to the West Coast for the first time, with a program featuring Hasta Dónde…? and All Ways. And Jewish Independent readers can win two tickets to the Oct. 14, 8 p.m., performance at Scotiabank Dance Centre – simply email [email protected] by Wednesday, Oct. 4, 5 p.m., to be entered in a draw. The winner will be contacted.

Fridman has taken the dance world by storm since establishing his company in Spain in 2006: his athletic, adventurous work is rooted in contact improvisation, filtered through an innate musicality and an eye for design. Hasta Dónde…? explores the relationship between two dancers as it evolves through dependency, struggle and harmony. The endlessly fluid lifts and tumbles are propelled by a surging score. All Ways is a meditation on the multiple paths before us: seven dancers power through a physical and emotional spectrum, which ranges from fierce urgency to calm contemplation.

Hasta Dónde…? premièred in 2011 and has toured to more than 30 cities worldwide, receiving several prizes and audience awards. Fridman describes the work as: “A struggle between two sides, the inner sides we all somehow contain. How far can you transmit? How far can you pull or let yourself be pulled?.… No side is a winner.” All Ways is Fridman’s latest work, and it premièred in 2016. The company visits Halifax prior to Vancouver, in its first North American tour.

Fridman was a dancer with leading companies including the Tadmor Dance Company, the Vertigo Company and Kibbutz Contemporary Dance Company, before moving to Spain and forming Compañía Sharon Fridman in Madrid in 2006. His works have toured to countries including France, Italy, Germany, Belgium, the United Kingdom, the Netherlands, Colombia, South Korea and Singapore, receiving multiple awards. The work of the company is based on the language of contact improvisation, deconstructing and exploring the technique to create a dramatic language that evolves in the hands of the dancers. In addition to many works for the stage, Fridman has created large-scale, open-air, site-specific performances for as many as 70 participants. Fridman’s works are also in the repertoires of companies including Ballet Nacional de Paraguay, Vertigo Dance Company (Israel), Compagnie Jus de la Vie (Sweden) and Compañía Nacional de Danza (Spain).

Compañía Sharon Fridman’s performance is part of the Dance Centre’s Global Dance Connections series. There are shows Oct. 12-14, 8 p.m., at the centre, with a post-show talkback Oct. 13. For tickets ($32/$24), call 604-684-2787 or visit ticketstonight.ca. For a chance to win two free Oct. 14 tickets, email [email protected].