Julia Carr. Kevin McCormack photo.
The days leading up to Christmas Eve and Christmas Day can be pretty quiet when it comes to the arts. But at least 12 local dancers and musicians aren’t letting the holiday rush stop them from putting on a show.
Presented by Olivia C. Davies/O.Dela Arts, CoexisDance (Western Edition 1) takes place Dec. 22 at 8 p.m. at Scotiabank Dance Centre (677 Davie St.). The pay-what-you-can event (suggested donation: $10) features an evening of live improvisational duets between local dancers and musicians.
Curated by Dance Centre Artist-in-Residence Olivia C. Davies, CoexisDance brings together six pairs of dance artists and musicians. The pairs will share short improvised duets in an evening of performances. A group jam will bring the show to a climax.
The pairings include:
Contemporary dance artist Emmalena Fredricksson and composer/interdisciplinary artist Alex Mah
Aerial dance artist Emily Long and singer Marisa Etchart
Contemporary dance artist Julia Carr and singer/visual artist Carol Sawyer
Contemporary dance artist Lori Hamar and violinist Joshua Zubot
Butoh dancer Salome Nieto and guitarist/composer Jeff Younger
Contemporary dance artist Sophie Brassard and guitarist/percussionist Rémi Thibault
Julia Carr. Kevin McCormack photo.
This is the first Western Canadian edition of CoexisDance. Toronto choreographer Colin Anthony pioneered the format in 2006. According to Davies, The format’s rules are “no more than two dancers, no more than two musicians, at least one of each.
“The format can encompass multiple interpretations of improvisational scores that are nurtured through short creation residencies for each duet to get to know one another and foster trust prior to performance. The resulting scores are re-imagined in the formal theatre space to welcome audiences to experience the outcome of the duet.”
Sophie Brassard. Kirkness Sotskova photo.
Tickets are pay-what-you-can at the door. For more info, visit thedancecentre.ca.
