Jim Smith News

DanceHouse presents the Vancouver premiere of RUBBERBAND's inventive work Ever So Slightly, on stage March 20 & 21, 2020 at 8pm at the Vancouver Playhouse. Choreographed by RUBBERBAND's Artistic Director and Choreographer Victor Quijada, Ever So Slightly explores humanity's instinctive behavioural reflexes developed in response to life's daily aggressions, and our urgent desire for resistance from these constraints. The company's first major work to feature its entire 10-member company of artists, the high-voltage choreography is accompanied by a live electronic soundscape from accomplished composer and DJ Jasper Gahunia and award-winning violinist William Lamoureux.

DanceHouse will present an energizing, two-part program from Brazil's iconic contemporary dance company Grupo Corpo with the Vancouver premiere of Dança Sinfônica and Gira, February 28 & 29, 2020 at 8pm at the Vancouver Playhouse.

BWW reviewer Natalie O'Donoghue selects her top picks from the 2020 Glasgow International Comedy Festival programme.

DanceHouse, in partnership with Dancers of Damelahamid, launches its exhilarating 2019/20 season with Australia's acclaimed Bangarra Dance Theatre in the Canadian Premiere of Spirit, October 25 & 26, 2019 at 8pm at the Vancouver Playhouse. Choreographed by Bangarra's Artistic Director Stephen Page and former Assistant Artistic Director Bernadette Walong-Sene, the retrospective piece is a visionary fusion of nine of the company's celebrated Indigenous and contemporary works that boldly bridge past and present. Bangarra Dance Theatre has an authentic style of totemic storytelling reflecting the Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander communities a?" tracing the unbroken connection between people, the land, and creation itself. Established in 1989, the cutting-edge company has played a critical role in the resurgence of traditional dance expressions.

Berkeley Repertory Theatre announced today that 15 young professionals have been awarded fellowships for the 2019-20 season. Theatre graduates from universities across the nation apply for this program that provides a year-long deep dive into the operations of the award-winning theatre. Fellowships cover a variety of artistic and administrative disciplines and provide specialized training that assists fellows with embarking on a professional career in the arts. Additionally, fellows participate in career development seminars, build professional contacts, and even serve as mentors themselves for Berkeley Rep's annual Teen One-Acts Festival.

DanceHouse is thrilled to unveil its exhilarating 2019/20 season, showcasing the work of four new companies to DanceHouse audiences and two returning favourites, from October 2019 through May 2020. This season's offerings highlight an exceptionally diverse range of pioneering artists who are transforming traditional dance styles with boundary-blurring fusions of genres and cultures.

DanceHouse presents MOMIX (US), an astounding company of 'dance-illusionists', in the Canadian premiere of Viva MOMIX, on stage April 12 & 13, 2019 at 8pm at the Vancouver Playhouse. Helmed by Artistic Director Moses Pendleton, one of America's most innovative choreographers and directors, MOMIX is revered for its ability to conjure a surreal world using props, light, shadow, humour, and the human body. Viva MOMIX celebrates the best of more than three decades of works, with a selection of company favourites mixed with three new creations.

DanceHouse will present the world premiere of Kidd Pivot's Revisor, February 20-23, 2019 at 8pm at the Vancouver Playhouse (now sold out). In their third collaboration, Kidd Pivot Artistic Director Crystal Pite and Electric Company Theatre Co-Founder Jonathon Young join forces to create a wildly innovative dance/theatre hybrid, mixing classic farce and the forces of radical change to craft a fizzing concoction that confounds expectations and inverts the official order. The bold physicality of Pite's choreography for eight dancers embodies the eviscerating wit of Young's script, recorded by some of Canada's finest actors.

DanceHouse will present the world premiere of Kidd Pivot's Revisor, February 20-23, 2019 at 8pm at the Vancouver Playhouse (now sold out). In their third collaboration, Kidd Pivot Artistic Director Crystal Pite and Electric Company Theatre Co-Founder Jonathon Young join forces to create a wildly innovative dance/theatre hybrid, mixing classic farce and the forces of radical change to craft a fizzing concoction that confounds expectations and inverts the official order. The bold physicality of Pite's choreography for eight dancers embodies the eviscerating wit of Young's script, recorded by some of Canada's finest actors.

DanceHouse, SFU Woodward's Cultural Programs, and Talking Stick Festival are honoured to present the West Coast premiere of ILBIJERRI Theatre Company's Blood on the Dance Floor by Jacob Boehme, on stage February 6-9, 2019 at 8pm at the SFU Goldcorp Centre for the Arts. Rooted in Aboriginal Dance, theatre, and storytelling, this award-winning work, written and performed by Jacob Boehme, choreographed by Mariaa Randall, and directed by Isaacc Drandic, is based on the deeply personal experience of Boehme, a renowned dancer, writer, and choreographer from the Narangga and Kaurna nations of South Australia. Blood on the Dance Floor unapologetically shares Boehme's emotionally honest story of gay, Blak, and poz identities; and explores the struggle, heartache, and enduring spirit of someone living at the intersection of Aboriginal, queer, and HIV-positive communities.

Bravo Media's Emmy-Winning digital companion series 'Top Chef: Last Chance Kitchen' returns with elevated stakes and three familiar faces from seasons past. All bets are off when alums Carrie Baird and Brother Luck from Season 15, and Jim Smith from Season 14 are back for a chance at redemption and another shot at the coveted title. With more than one opportunity to get back into the competition, host Tom Colicchio continues to keep the chefs on their toes with fast-paced challenges to determine which chefs have what it takes to stay in the game. 'Top Chef: Last Chance Kitchen' will be available on Bravotv.com directly following the season premiere of Bravo's 'Top Chef' on Thursday, December 6 from 9-10:15 pm ET/PT.

DanceHouse, in co-presentation with SFU Woodward's Cultural Programs and Theatre la Seizieme, is delighted to announce the anticipated Vancouver premiere of Akram Khan Company's award-winning solo, Chotto Desh - loosely based on Khan's childhood raised under the stern eye of his authoritarian father, November 21-24, 2018 at 8pm at the SFU Goldcorp Centre for the Arts. Performances will be held in French on November 22 at 8pm and with ASL Interpretation on November 24 at 2pm. Revered UK choreographer Akram Khan and acclaimed children's theatre Director Sue Buckmaster fuse kathak, storytelling, mime, and interactive animation, to create a bewitching tale of a young man's dreams and memories growing up in Britain and Bangladesh. This charming work for adults and children ages seven and up, will address the complex relationship between parent and child, as well as timely concepts of home, identity, and belonging in our multicultural world.

Acclaimed director Tony Tanner will world premiere Give Me the Sun, his riveting adaptation of Henrik Ibsen's Ghosts, at The Lounge Theatre in Hollywood on September 15, 2018.

This musical is one that everyone loves, but it is not an easy one to put together and do right. Tor Campbell, the Director and Choreographer, has accomplished that with an abundance of clever ideas, high energy, style, conviction and talent. The entire Cast is on top of it, feeling and selling this Broadway treasure like nobody's business! There is so much heart in this large Cast that it just spills out everywhere on stage all the way to the back of the house. Besides non-stop movement, full-out everything across the board performancewise, each Principal and each Ensemble member puts their all into it. Book and Lyrics by Tom Eyen, music by Henry Kreiger, Originally Choreographed and Directed by the great Michael Bennett.

Berkeley Repertory Theatre announced today that 15 young professionals have been awarded fellowships for the 2018-19 season. Theatre graduates from universities across the nation apply for this program that provides a year-long deep dive into the operations of the award-winning theatre. Fellowships cover a variety of artistic and administrative disciplines and provide specialized training that assists fellows with embarking on a professional career in the arts. Additionally, fellows participate in career development seminars, build professional contacts, and even serve as mentors themselves for Berkeley Rep's annual Teen One-Acts Festival.

Acclaimed director Tony Tanner will world premiere Give Me the Sun, his riveting adaptation of Henrik Ibsen's Ghosts, at The Lounge Theatre in Hollywood on September 15, 2018.

BWW Reviewer Natalie O'Donoghue selects her top comedy picks from the Edinburgh Festival Fringe programme.

The Whyte & Mackay Glasgow International Comedy Festival (GICF) reveals its full programme, as this hugely popular event in the comedy calendar returns for its 16th year from Thursday 8 Sunday 25 March 2018.

From Brexit and the Women's Rural to a Fifer's version of Star Wars, standup Jim Smith reveals the bizarre realities of country life in Scotland.

A timeless classic, West Side Story tells the story of star-crossed lovers caught in a turf war between rival ethnic gangs, played out in the streets of Manhattan. Come sing along with the Grammy-winning score, which include classics 'Something's Coming,' 'Maria,' 'America,' 'Somewhere,' 'Tonight,' 'I Feel Pretty,' 'Jet Song,' and 'Cool.