Close X
Friday, November 22, 2024
ADVT 
Lifestyle

DanceHouse Launches 2019/20 Season with Spirit

Vancouver Playhouse, 600 Hamilton St25 Oct '19 to 26 Oct '19 @ 8:00 PM - 11:00 PM

    DanceHouse, in partnership with Dancers of Damelahamid, launches its exhilarating 2019/20 season with Australia’s acclaimed Bangarra Dance Theatre in the Canadian Premiere of Spirit, October 25 & 26, 2019 at 8pm at the Vancouver Playhouse. Choreographed by Bangarra’s Artistic Director Stephen Page and former Assistant Artistic Director Bernadette Walong-Sene, the retrospective piece is a visionary fusion of nine of the company’s celebrated Indigenous and contemporary works that boldly bridge past and present. Bangarra Dance Theatre has an authentic style of totemic storytelling reflecting the Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander communities — tracing the unbroken connection between people, the land, and creation itself. Established in 1989, the cutting-edge company has played a critical role in the resurgence of traditional dance expressions.

    Spirit draws from the multi award-winning company’s most celebrated repertoire. Hailed as “a landmark work; a revelation,” (The Australian), the company’s full ensemble of 17 dancers — each with a proud Aboriginal and/or Torres Strait Island background — perform a series of nine vignettes from past seminal works: Brolga (Corroboree), Black (Ochres), Yellow (Ochres), Dingo (Skin), White (Ochres), Moth (Bush), Two Sisters (Bush), The Call (Walkabout), and In her Mind (Nyapanyapa). Tracing an unbroken song-line, Spirit gives voice to a cosmos of plants, animals, and ancestral medicine, laid down one step at a time. This “haunting, mesmerizing, and incredibly powerful performance” (Dance Informa) seamlessly blends ceremonial tradition gathered from respected community elders with dynamic contemporary movement, highlighting remarkable athleticism and powerful extensions from its company of accomplished dancers.

    The atmospheric score for Spirit was composed by the late David Page, Bangarra’s long-time music director and prolific composer, and Steve Francis, an award-winning composer for film, television, theatre, and dance. A celebration of the sacredness of ritual from dawn’s first light to the setting sun, the lush score’s heady foundation is punctuated by the earthly rhythms and natural vibrations found within cultural customs, including a pulsing drumbeat, droning didgeridoo, and dynamic vocalizations.

    A descendent of the Nunukul people and the Munaldjali clan of the Yugambeh Nation from the South East Queensland, Bangarra Artistic Director and Spirit choreographer Page is one of Australia’s most treasured and highly acclaimed performing arts leaders. Appointed to his role in 1991, Page has worked in close relationship with Australia’s many communities to develop Bangarra’s signature dance technique that fuses time-honoured culture with contemporary movement. The recipient of numerous performing arts accolades, Page has choreographed several works for The Australian Ballet, including Alchemy and Rites, as well as the Opening and Closing Ceremonies for the 2000 Sydney Olympic Games. His first full-length film SPEAR premiered at the Toronto International Film Festival in 2016.

    A former assistant artistic director, choreographer, and dancer with Bangarra Dance Theatre, Walong is an independent choreographer-performer and educator based in Sydney, Australia, working within dance, theatre, education, advertising, and film. She lectured in performance at the University of Western Sydney for eight years (1999-2007). A graduate of NAISDA Dance College, Walong performed with Dance North, Meryl Tankard, and Australian Dance Theatre.

    DanceHouse presents Bangarra Dance Theatre’s Spirit

    Dates: October 25 & 26, 2019 at 8pm
    Pre-Show Talk at 7:15pm. Host: Starr Muranko (Artistic Associate, Raven Spirit Dance). Guest: Stephen Page (Artistic Director, Bangarra Dance Theatre)

    Ticket Prices: From $35

    Address: Vancouver Playhouse, 600 Hamilton St, Vancouver BC

    Box Office dancehouse.ca/tickets/single-tickets/ or call 604.801.6225

    Website: www.dancehouse.ca

    Photo: Courtesy of the artists

     

    Join DARPAN Magazine community on socialmedia!  

     

     FACEBOOK  |  TWITTER   | INSTAGRAM  |  YOUTUBE    |  ISSUU

    Event Location Vancouver Playhouse, 600 Hamilton St
    Address:
    Post Code: V6B 2P1

    MORE Lifestyle ARTICLES

    BC Culture Days Announces 10th Anniversary Events

    Various locations | 27/09/2019 - 29/09/2019

    Beloved province-wide arts & cultural celebration offers eclectic swath of FREE events & activities to suit every taste and interest

     

    BC Culture Days Announces 10th Anniversary Events

    27/09/2019 - 29/09/2019

    The Consulate General of India in Vancouver presents Namaste Canada 2019

    Massey Theatre, 735 Eighth Avenue | 31/08/2019 - 31/08/2019

    A wide array of dances and music from the different states of India will be presented and performed 

    The Consulate General of India in Vancouver presents Namaste Canada 2019

    31/08/2019 - 31/08/2019

    Kokoro Dance presents world premiere of Reading the Bones

    Roundhouse Community Arts & Recreation Centre 181 Roundhouse Mews | 18/09/2019 - 28/09/2019

    Vancouver’s Acclaimed Butoh Dance Company Reimagines a Lifetime of Work

     

    Kokoro Dance presents world premiere of Reading the Bones

    18/09/2019 - 28/09/2019

    Top Reasons to Visit Interior Design Show

    1055 Canada Pl | 26/09/2019 - 29/09/2019

    The West Coast’s premiere interior design show promises something for everyone this September

     

    Top Reasons to Visit Interior Design Show

    26/09/2019 - 29/09/2019

    K-TIGERS ZERO Live Show World Tour 2019

    2080 United Blvd | 15/10/2019 - 15/10/2019

    K-TIGERS ZERO is ready to break through into the Korean Wave with their debut world tour.

     

    K-TIGERS ZERO Live Show World Tour 2019

    15/10/2019 - 15/10/2019

    The Comic Strippers Return to Coquitlam

    1205 Pinetree Way | 23/08/2019 - 24/08/2019

    A male stripper parody and improve comedy show.

    The Comic Strippers Return to Coquitlam

    23/08/2019 - 24/08/2019