Dance Centre Presents the 12th Biennial DANCE IN VANCOUVER

Vancouver's contemporary dance scene takes centre stage in Dance In Vancouver, November 20-24. This curated biennial event provides a unique opportunity to experience the ideas and creativity of dance generated by a diverse community of local artists, as well as cross-fertilization between genres including ballet and street dance. The 2019 edition features performances by companies including Amber Funk Barton/the response., Joshua Beamish/MOVETHECOMPANY, OURO Collective, Raven Spirit Dance, and Vision Impure; in addition to discussions and free events. Produced every two years by The Dance Centre, Dance In Vancouver is unique for its concentrated focus on promoting the province's contemporary dance talent, not only to local audiences, but also to dance promoters and curators who come from across Canada and around the world to sample West Coast dance.

Executive Director Mirna Zagar explains: "Dance In Vancouver works on many levels. It's a great opportunity for local audiences to experience work by local artists; our artists get the chance to build their national and international connections; and the presenters become more informed on our dynamic and diverse dance scene. Over time we have seen significant growth in touring activity and BC dance is now enjoying enhanced visibility on the world stage."

This edition has been programmed by Dieter Jaenicke, Director of the internationale tanzmesse nrw in Dusseldorf, Germany, which hosts the largest gathering of dance professionals in the world. 35 presenters are booked to attend from France, Spain, Italy, Norway, Finland, Ireland, Germany, the Netherlands, Hungary, Hong Kong, Taiwan, Singapore, Brazil, and New Zealand, as well as from across Canada. Dieter says: "This is a city that is very rich in high quality dance - it has been a real pleasure for me to curate this event. Choreographer Amber Funk Barton said to me "there are global stories in everything", which resonated strongly with me, and I hope to reflect this in the program. DIV will share the scope of the dance scene and highlight the issues that artists are responding to at this moment."

Opening Events:

Wednesday November 20 | 4-11pm

Free admission
Dance In Vancouver opens with a day of free talks and events including a roundtable discussion about dance in the city with visiting guests, and a keynote address. Different spaces at Scotiabank Dance Centre will be animated with Alexa Mardon and Erika Mitsuhashi's site-specific Tour, a studio presentation of Kinesis Dance somatheatro's multi-disciplinary Against, and Lee Su-Feh/battery opera innovative kinetic sculpture installation, the Dance Machine.

Performances:

Vision Impure

Pathways

Thursday November 21 | 8pm

Noam Gagnon's latest work Pathways explores the intricate push and pull of relationships impacted by urban living. Ten extraordinary dancers draw on all their strength, speed and agility to power through the explosive choreography, striving to find moments of emotional connection amidst the visceral intensity.

Amber Funk Barton/the response.

VAST

Friday November 22 | 8pm

Inspired by personal travels, Amber Funk Barton's atmospheric solo VAST is an ode to the explorer that resides in all of us, the traveler and the dreamer who wonders what resides beyond the edge. The choreography fuses seamlessly with lighting, sound and set design to create an evocative meditation on our limitations as human beings, and how despite these limitations we still desire to propel ourselves forward into unknown territory.

Raven Spirit Dance

Gathering Light

Saturday November 23 | 2pm

Gathering Light follows the journey of seed to flower, beginning with the stirrings of consciousness to the full embrace of transformation. This luminous quartet choreographed by Artistic Director Michelle Olson delves into the impulses rooted in our bodies that travel through us to find the light, while revealing the ceremonies that support our full bloom. Performed in the round, the work creates a distinctive sense of ritual where transformation is an experience we share with the performers.

Joshua Beamish/MOVETHECOMPANY

Saudade

Saturday November 23 | 8pm

Sunday November 24 | 6pm & 9pm

Saudade investigates loss, memory, and the deep longing for something unattainable. Six outstanding male dancers merge elegant balletic lines with street-style dynamism and drive, conjuring up fleeting intimacies in a series of ghostly solos, duets, and group passages, accompanied by a hauntingly beautiful cello score.

OURO Collective

HAKO

Sunday November 24 | 2pm

Known for imaginative and original works based on hip hop, waacking, breaking, popping and contemporary dance, OURO Collective teams up with experiential design studio Tangible for HAKO, a multidisciplinary dance experience. Using interactive installations, striking visual effects and exhilarating movement for an ensemble of five virtuosic dancers, the work reframes our relationship to technology, and joyfully re-ignites our capacity for curiosity and play.

Installations

Thursday-Saturday November 21-23 | 6.30-11pm

Free admission

Company 605 is creating a special installation version of their most recent work, Loop, Lull, in which five virtuosic dancers adapt to changes and attempting increasingly complex feats.

Audiences can drop in and stay as long as they wish. (6.30-8pm and 9-10.30pm nightly.)

Lee Su-Feh/battery opera's Dance Machine is a kinetic sculpture - 64 pieces of bamboo suspended from a central copper disk - that can be transformed into multiple configurations by the movement of the bodies within it. (6.30-11pm nightly.)

Photo Credit: Chris Barton