ew of us can escape the grace and emotional connectivity that comes from watching a live dance performance. It’s inescapable, the fascination of movement, the allure of physical, on-stage transformations. Even those without a background in the arts can be moved by the whims of seasoned dancers, who without speaking, tell intricate stories using little more than motion and visual wit.
Running March 4 – 29, the Vancouver International Dance Festival will fill the bellies of both dance aficionados and everyday Joes by showcasing a variety of contemporary dance performances from around the world. With the goal of putting Vancouver “on the international map of dance,” the festival is bringing local, national, and international performers to the city for a month long blitz of performances, workshops, and exhibitions.
“The theme of the festival is to challenge people, to move their hearts and minds and souls and this can be done through many kinds of dance,” said festival publicist Sabrina Mehra. “We say it’s a month of adrenaline driven dance, and that can include things that are very, very slow and very, very fast.”
This is the eighth installment of the annual event, which will headline acts from France, Japan and Toronto. New to the lineup this year is the addition of late night performances, meant to add an element of Euro-chic while catering to night owls who prefer to dine and relax during the first half of the evening.
“What audiences can expect is to come at 10 p.m., and they can sip on a glass of wine, or take back a pint of beer and watch really evocative, provocative choreography from artists from Japan, from Montreal and from Vancouver’s own Butoh-a-Go-Go,” said Mehra.
The upcoming festival will host superstar dancer Margie Gillis performing with seven of Canada’s most fearless dancers, including Vancouver’s own Emily Molnar, in M.Body.7, which will take place in the Centennial Theatre (March 14 – 15). Other highlights will include Toronto Dance Theatre, which will showcase its world-renowned dancers in Christopher House’s critically-acclaimed Chiasmata (March 6 - 8). The 2008 Touring Exchange Project of the Canadian Network of Dance Presenters brings together three distinct aboriginal companies - Gaetan Gingras out of Quebec, Kaha:wi Dance out of Ontario, and Raven Spirit Dance from B.C. - for two evenings of dance entitled Indigenous Dancelands (March 11-12).
“Every year we try to build our audience, and I think these shows in particular could bring people who may be a little scared about what contemporary dance may actually be because this environment, this celebratory atmosphere gives a chance to really experience dance in an informal, casual cabaret stage setting,” said Mehra. “People do have a lot of misconceptions about what contemporary dance is about, either that they’re not going to get it, or they’re going to find it boring or it’s not going to move them. Contemporary dance just means dance that is being created now, so that could mean from different cultures, different circumstances, different settings create different dance and what our festival does is bring these people to Vancouver so our audiences can experience contemporary dance.”
VIDF will feature 32 evening performances, 19 free dance performances, 6 master classes, an exhibition of dance art and photography featuring 10 visual artists, and daily drawing sessions with dancers as models. Dance artists will come from across Canada, France, Spain, and Japan.
“To experience a live dance performance is to experience visceral communication that travels from the bodies of the dancers to your body,” said VIDF executive director, Jay Hirabayashi. “There is something immediate and direct that is felt in witnessing live dance that is completely different from viewing it on television or in film. There is a palpable excitement felt when watching dancers take physical risks with incredible virtuosity. Dance opens new windows on how you understand yourself and gets you in touch with your emotions. Dance makes you feel alive.”
For a full listing of locations, performances, workshops, and exhibitions, go to
www.vidf.ca.
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