Xtraordinary TO Dances presents Two New World Premieres

Xtraordinary TO Dances (XTOD) gives rise to a feast of 2 premieres: XTOD Solo Dance Xchange (live performance) and XTOD: Moments In Reel Time (film).

A TEN-YEAR vision of Karen and Allen Kaeja's, brought to life at Streetcar Crowsnest for three performances only!

Dance enthusiasts will love this intuitive dance initiative produced by Kaeja d'Dance, running three nights only from Thursday February 1st to Saturday February 3rd, 2018 at the Guloien Theatre, Streetcar Crowsnest. Join us and 22 extraordinary dance artists for a raw, soul-exposing experience.

Produced by Kaeja d'Dance, the Solo Dance Xchange (SDX) is a platform for 22 extraordinary Toronto dance artists, including Peggy Baker, Nova Bhattacharya, Shawn Byfield, Robert Desrosier, Karen Kaeja, Pulga Muchochoma, Ofilio Sinbadinho, and Santee Smith who intimately expose and fertilize each other's creative processes with essences of what makes them who they are. Coming from a multiplicity of generations and practices, these artists will perform a 3-minute stage solo inspired by the exchange of another's original, improvised XTOD film footage, shot in the summer of 2017. This gateway between dance artists and their practices will give audiences a unique eye into what makes each dancer move and respond. The XTOD film - Moments in Reel Time, celebrates and reveals a mosaic of 22 Extraordinary Toronto dance artists improvising one-minute dances in meaningful locations of their choice throughout Metropolitan Toronto. Phil Strong and Eric Cadesky score powerful original music for the film and live performance (SDX).

"When I think about the collection of evolving practices of dance art in our city and how we as dancers channel and expose ourselves through the body as vessel, it is rare to be in a situation of exchange via a serendipitous draw from a hat, where two artists learn from, witness, engage with, and are inspired by a morsel of one another while excavating for the self, what inspires us to create. As a presenter, creating platforms for dancers to do what they do best is a constant passion." Karen Kaeja

"I've been immersed in Dance Film for two decades and this unique opportunity to accentuate and elevate our dance community in film is a dream come true. I have tried to capture the Artists embodiment of place, perception and soul in these rare solos that embrace both the Dance Artist and their unique relationship to the environment they've chosen to illuminate." Allen Kaeja

The Solo Dance Xchange is a dream that Karen Kaeja has incubated for a decade. Kaeja d'Dance invites you to join them for an ever-evolving evening of a collection of extraordinary solo dances, live music, and a deeply engaging talk back. The original film, XTOD: Moments In Reel Time, will be screened before the show each evening!

Xtraordinary TO Dances - Karen Kaeja and Allen Kaeja
XTOD Solo Dance Xchange - Concept and Artistic Director: Karen Kaeja
XTOD Moments In Reel Time - Concept and Director: Allen Kaeja

Featuring - Peggy Baker, Nova Bhattacharya, Shawn Byfield, Michael Caldwell, Robert Desrosiers, Esmeralda Enrique, Jasmyn Fyffe, Roshanak Jaberi, Allen Kaeja, Karen Kaeja, Benjamin Kamino, Hari Krishnan, Mi Young Kim, Emily Law, Claudia Moore, Pulga Muchochoma, Roula Said, Ofilio Sinbadinho, Santee Smith, Brian Solomon, Robert Stephen, and William Yong.

Lighting Design - Simon Rossiter
Composers / Musicians - Eric Cadesky and Phil Strong

The Guloien Theatre, Streetcar Crowsnest, 345 Carlaw Ave., Toronto
February 1 - 3, 2018 - 8PM
Click here for tickets or call (647) 341-7390

General Adult Ticket - $30
Student/Senior/Arts Worker - $25

"The coolest couple on the dance scene." - Now Magazine

Since 1991, Kaeja d'Dance has created award-winning contemporary dance performances, site-specific works with large numbers of dancers, acclaimed dance films, and community engagement programs. An internationally lauded dance company with recent quadruple Dora Mavor Moore nominations for Karen's Crave, they break ground, instigate risk and bring together dancers and collaborators to create experiences both on and off the stage, in local and international communities. With over 140 original works including commissions here and abroad, Karen and Allen's signature aesthetic is known for its athletic intensity, sensual articulation and theatrical imagery, each with distinctly individual sensibilities.
www.kaeja.org