Dancers of Damelahamid is proud to announce the vibrantly forward-looking 13th annual Coastal Dance Festival, a celebration of Canadian and global Indigenous stories, song, and dance, February 25–March 1, 2020 at the Anvil Centre in New Westminster and at the Museum of Anthropology at UBC (MOA), where school performances will be performed in the Great Hall. Program highlights in 2020 include the festival debut of Arctic Song, a collective of Inuit musicians from across Canada’s Arctic, and youth workshops between the New Zealand-based Tuakana and Teina Leadership Academy Group, and two BC-based groups Ewk Hyaha Hozdii (Wet’suwet’en) and Yisya’winuxw (Kwakwaka’wakw).
This year’s festival welcomes 14 Indigenous performance groups from throughout British Columbia, Alaska, the Yukon, and Nunavut as well as international guest artists from as far away as New Zealand. New and not-to-be-missed this year: the emerging talents of Arctic Song, who revitalize Inuit drum songs through pairings with contemporary dance; and the Vancouver debut of New Zealand’s Tuakana and Teina Leadership Academy Group (TNT), a talented company of artists aged 5 to 18, who focus on cultivating leadership abilities through shared learnings. TNT will participate in workshops alongside Ewk Hyaha Hozdii and Yisya’winuxw from Alert Bay, BC.
Other highlights include the return of several festival favourites: Chinook Song Catchers, with 10 cultural presenters performing a Squamish Welcome Song, Killer Whale Song, Owl Song, and more; the Squamish-based dance company Spakwus Slolem, with works representative of their canoe culture; performances by Git Hayetsk and Git Hoan, groups with long-standing connections to Dancers of Damelahamid; the multigenerational Coast Salish Tsatsu Stalquayu (Coastal Wolf Pack); and the Haida company Rainbow Creek Dancers, featuring renowned artists Robert Davidson and Terri-Lynn Williams-Davidson. The mother and daughter team of Chesha7 iy lha mens will return alongside the award-winning Inland Tlingit Dakhká Khwáan Dancers and the Nisga’a Kwhlii Gibaykw.
Dancers of Damelahamid proudly acknowledge the festival takes place on the traditional, ancestral, and unceded territories of the Qayqayt and Musqueam peoples.
The 2020 Coastal Dance Festival is comprised of three performances, located at two venues:
SCHOOL GROUP PERFORMANCES | Weekday sessions introducing K-12 students to the rich history and traditions of First Nations dance, performance, and storytelling
Museum of Anthropology at UBC
Tuesday, February 25 at 10:30am and 1pm
Chesha7 iy lha mens – Squamish
Tuakana and Teina Leadership Academy Group – Māori
Dancers of Damelahamid
Anvil Centre
Wednesday, February 26 at 10:30am
Ewk Hyaha Hozdii – Wet’suwet’en
Tuakana and Teina Leadership Academy Group – Māori
Dancers of Damelahamid
Thursday, February 27 at 1pm
Ewk Hyaha Hozdii – Wet’suwet’en
Tuakana and Teina Leadership Academy Group – Māori
Dancers of Damelahamid
SIGNATURE EVENING PERFORMANCE | Ticketed gala event
Anvil Centre
Friday, February 28 at 7:30pm, doors open at 7pm
Spakwus Slolem – Squamish
Dancers of Damelahamid
Arctic Song – Inuit
Rainbow Creek – Haida
FESTIVAL STAGE PERFORMANCES | Presentations from visiting performers offered by donation
Anvil Centre
Saturday, February 29
Program 1 at 1pm:
Tsatsu Stalquayu – Musqueam
Dakhká Khwáan – Inland Tlingit
Program 2 at 2pm:
Yisya’winuxw – Kwakwaka’wakw
Tuakana and Teina Leadership Academy Group – Māori
Program 3 at 3pm:
Git Hoan – Tsimshian
Sunday, March 1
Program 1 at 1pm:
Kwhlii Gibaykw – Nisga’a
Dakhká Khwáan – Inland Tlingit
Program 2 at 2pm:
Arctic Song – Inuit
Git Hayetsk – Nisga'a/Tsimshian
Program 3 at 3pm:
Chinook Song Catchers – Squamish
Dancers of Damelahamid presents 13th Annual Coastal Dance Festival
Dates: February 25–March 1, 2020
Ticket Prices:
School Group Performances | MOA
February 25, 10:30am + 1pm
School Group Performances | Anvil Centre
February 26, 10:30am
February 27, 1pm
Signature Evening Performance | Anvil Centre
February 28, 7:30pm
Festival Stage Performances | Anvil Centre
February 29, 1–4pm
March 1, 1–4pm
Pre-booking required, call 604-521-5050
$30 for Adults; $25 for Students/Seniors
By donation
Address: Anvil Centre
777 Columbia Street
New Westminster, BC V3M 1B6
Museum of Anthropology
University of British Columbia
6393 NW Marine Drive
Vancouver BC V6T 1Z2
Website: www.damelahamid.ca
Photo by Carlos Castillo
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