Premiere of ACCUMULATION Comes to Performance Works in November

The dynamic world premiere of Accumulation is a transcontinental performance project by Co.ERASGA Dance, in collaboration with participating artists from the United States (New York), Canada and France. Body, dance, movement, sound, costumes, sculpture and visual objects were all components in the making of this unique live performance event.

This timely and creative production aims to fuse a hybrid of multiple disciplines to create a new performance perspective and experience.

Accumulation is a creative venture that speaks to the challenges of art and environmental stewardship. Can we raise and push our minds, resources, practices and concerns to attune our creativity and respond to our alarming and devastating fragile ecology? 

The piece seeks to question our human relational, place, and time on environmental concerns presently faced by an alarming future never witnessed before in our natural world.

The project sets human-made objects, debris and nature’s remnants to represent our surroundings, an encounter of our human consumption and excess. Centre stage is the deterioration of the natural world, a landscape for a hunting, moving dance and sculptural choreography.

In Accumulation, the assemblage, association, manipulation, contemplation and recycling of ‘stuff’ stirs the creative and artist’s consciousness which becomes our realization and response to an earthly crisis.

23 years ago, award-winning choreographer Alvin Erasga Tolentino paid homage to the cycle and distress of nature in his first full-length work Sola. Now, in celebration of the 23rd season of Co.ERASGA, Alvin takes dance to an even deeper level of awareness in this performance journey .

"What does the earth ask of us" - Robin Wall Kimmerer

Vancouver’s acclaimed dance company Co.ERASGA creates cross cultural and experimental works. The company supports and contributes to the development and enhancement of contemporary dance globally and continues to seek new and challenging projects that provide opportunities and cross-cultural issues in today’s society. The company’s upcoming season, with their fusion of dance and art, delves even further into the awareness for environmental stewardship.  Their 23 rd full-length major work Accumulation was postponed two years ago during production but is now ready to be unveiled. Renowned choreographer and dancer Alvin Erasga Tolentino, along with his long-time French composer Emmanuel Mailly, contemporary French sculptor Marc Gerenton, New York-based costume designer Meagan Woods and Vancouver’s up-and-coming lighting designer Tory Ip, have created this piece using multiple diverse collaborative art disciplines. This project features five talented artists from France, Canada and the USA, and was created over the years in both France and Canada. 2023 sees this project come to fruition and is sure to be a performance highlight in Vancouver’s fall arts season.

Co.ERASGA has visited over 60 diverse cities and communities outside of Vancouver to share the art of dance.

Accumulation is made possible and generously supported by the Canada Council for the Arts, BC Arts Council, BC Gaming Commission, City of Vancouver, Chan Centre for the Performing Arts, City of Thourotte, City of Tergnier, Le Mail-Soissons and MJCS La Châtre in France (residency support creation), Media Sponsors: Stir Vancouver, OMNI TV, City TV and Georgia Straight, and Co.ERASGA’s individual members, donors and sponsors.