Skyborn: A Land Reclamation Odyssey | Image by Emily Cooper
By Rachel Rosenberg
PuSh, Vancouver’s international performing arts festival, runs from January 21–February 9, 2020. It’s an exciting and unique event, giving audiences the chance to experience a variety of local and international performances. These five shows highlight the work of artists with incredible vision and diverse backgrounds.
Cutlass Spring
Cutlass Spring | Image by Benoit Lachambre
Cutlass Spring (February 6–8, 8 pm) will be at the Scotiabank Dance Centre. Montreal’s Dana Michel performs a personal and, at times, disconcertingly strange show. An examination of her own internal experience, it is funny and mysterious at the same time.
Flying White – 飞白
Flying White – 飞白 | Image by Emily Cooper
Flying White – 飞白 (January 31 & February 1, 7:30 PM; February 2 at 2 PM) will be at Fei and Milton Wong Experimental Theatre. This collaboration between Wen Wei Dance, Turning Point Ensemble and Little Giant Chinese Chamber Orchestra is a passionate, intercultural production that mixes music, dance, and stunning visuals
She, Mami Wata & The Pussy WitchHunt
She, Mami Wata & The Pussy WitchHunt | Image by Jakkub Fulin
She Mami Wata (January 28–31) will be at Performance Works on Granville Island. d’bi young anitafrika stars in this solo show about four friends living in present day Jamaica, each struggling in their own way with the country’s ‘buggery’ laws. DJ Softieshan adds fitting beats to this dramatic, passionate ode to queer life.
Skyborn: A Land Reclamation Odyssey
Quelemia Sparrow’s Skyborn (January 23–Feb 1, various times) will be at The Cultch’s Historic Theatre. This is a fairy tale style quest grounded in Indigenous ancestral knowledge, featuring inter-Indigenous sound and puppetry as well as Musqueam/Sto:lo animation.
Tell Me What I Can Do
Tell Me What I Can Do | Image by Jesse Hunniford
Tania El Khoury’s Tell Me What I Can Do is a free exhibition at Roundhouse Community Arts & Recreation Centre from January 28 until February 2. It’s open from 12 to 9:30 PM every day. El Khoury’s former show, Gardens Speak, requested that the audience write response letters; here, she showcases a curated selection — many of which contain the words “tell me what I can do”.
For a complete listing of shows, times, and other PuSh-related events, visit pushfestival.ca.
Rachel Rosenberg is a writer and library technician who is a proud member of the LGBTQ2+ community. She writes for Book Riot and can be found on Twitter @LibraryRachelR
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