Inside Vancouver

What is man but a slave to biology? asks exciting new dance piece

by Shawn Conner in Entertainment on October 10, 2017

Animal Triste cast, including JamesGnam, Brianna Lombardo Marc Boivin, Riley Sims, Courtesy Mathieu Doyonre,

Is man merely a slave to his biology? A new piece, Animal Triste, poses the question through dance.

A new work by Mélanie Demers, Animal Triste premiered earlier this year in at Montreal’s Agora de la danse. Along with Demers’ Mayday Danse, Vancouver’s Plastic Orchid Factoryis bringing the piece to Vancouver, for three nights. The show runs Oct. 19, 20 & 21 at 8 p.m. at Scotiabank Dance Centre (677 Davie St.).

From the looks of the trailers (links below), the show looks like a wild one.

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What is man but a slave to biology? asks exciting new dance piece

Ballet BC opens its new season with themes of ‘awakening and change’

by Shawn Conner in Events on September 21, 2017

Ballet BC Dancers Gilbert Small and Kirsten Wicklund. Photo by Michael Slobodian.

The North American debut of a piece by internationally acclaimed European choreographer Johan Inger will kick off the 2017/18 season of BC Ballet.

Along with a new work from Ballet BC Resident Choreographer Cayetano Soto, Inger’s B.R.I.S.A. forms Program I, which opens the new season Nov. 2-4 at the Queen Elizabeth Theatre (630 Hamilton St.).

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Ballet BC opens its new season with themes of ‘awakening and change’

What to see at this year’s Vancouver International Dance Festival

by Shawn Conner in Uncategorized on February 23, 2017

Japan’s Dairakudakan performs as part of this year’s Vancouver International Dance Festival.

Even if you don’t know a pirouette from a Pirelli, the 2017 Vancouver International Dance Festival has something to boggle the mind, and inflame the senses.

A showcase for local and international choreographers, performers and companies, the VIDF is a hotly-anticipated annual event. This year, from March 1-25, 14 different companies will perform at various venues. Here’s a preview of some of the pieces during the festival’s 17th edition.

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What to see at this year’s Vancouver International Dance Festival

Unforgettable dance performances coming with Dancing On the Edge fest!

by Shawn Conner in Uncategorized on June 29, 2016

Frédérick Gravel and Étienne Lepage THUS SPOKE_Stéphane Najman_avec Anne Thériault

Frédérick Gravel and Étienne Lepage’s THUS SPOKE is among the works presented at this year’s Dancing On the Edge festival.

Frederick Gravel created a buzz in Vancouver in 2014, with his show Usually Beauty Fails at the PuSh International Performing Arts Festival. In July, the Montreal choreographer brings a new piece to town as part of the 28th Annual Dancing on the Edge festival (July 7-16 at various venues).

Gravel’s Thus Spoke…, which premiered in 2013, blends monologues with movement, concert-style lighting and the acid-rock stylings of Jim Hendrix (watch a preview here). Described by the choreographer as “philosophical, with a rock ‘n’ roll vibe,” Thus Spoke… is among the highlights of the festival, which presents both full-scale productions and works-in-progress that push the boundary between performance and contemporary dance. Here are a few more.

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Unforgettable dance performances coming with Dancing On the Edge fest!