Eclectic Expressions of Love Inspire Original Dance Works in Cheeky Valentine’s Performance

Vancouver’s “anything goes” dance event, Small Stage, celebrates Valentine’s Day with four shows of rebellious, unconventional creations. Dances for a Small Stage 33 – The Valentine’s Edition, runs at The Anza Club from February 11 – 14, 2016 at 8pm. Abandoning the Hallmark holiday’s traditional sentiments of gushy romance, audiences can expect performances that will embrace the underrated faces of love, ranging from the adoring bond between family and friends, to the passionate, twisted underbelly of betrayal, jealousy, and obsession.
 
This high-energy evening boasts an impressive and diverse line-up of new and returning ‘Small Stagers’, among them lauded choreographer and 2015 Mayor’s Arts Award recipient Lesley Telford, and Founder/Artistic Director of MOVE: the company Joshua Beamish. A BC-born dancer/choreographer, Beamish is emerging as an international icon, and has created in collaboration with such world-renewed artists as New York City Ballet Principals Wendy Whelan and Ashley Bouder, among others.
 
“Small Stage has always been a vessel for limitless creative exploration, which results in daring discoveries for our audience,” says Artistic Producer Julie-anne Saroyan. “For the 33rd installment of our signature series, Small Stage fans will encounter the very best in bhangra, flamenco, soulful hip hop, and contemporary dance styles. Our artists will draw on the universal language of love as a springboard to create truly out-of-the-box works. Whether attending with friends, family, or a significant other, there will be something here for everyone to relate to, and uncover.”
 
This February’s four-show run will feature choreography by Telford, and a solo choreographed and performed by Beamish, whose last appearance on the Small Stage in 2012 marked his final performance as a Vancouver resident. It will also spotlight new works by Naomi Brand, founder of All Bodies Dance Project (an integrated ensemble for dancers with and without disabilities) and prominent flamenco artist Karen Pitkethly. Owner/founder of the performance group Karen Flamenco, Pitkethly is admired as the face of Vancouver’s flamenco community. Movement artist Jennifer McLeish-Lewis – returning to the Small Stage for the first time since 2013, for which she performed a duet with Ryan Guldemond, lead singer/songwriter of Mother Mother in the inaugural Small Stage point 5 – will choreograph and perform a duet about love and vulnerability. 
 
New to the Small Stage is celebrated bhangra artist Hardeep Singh Sahota, who will be performing a solo work, and hip hop dancer Hannah Henney, member of the all-female hip hop crew, Diamonds in the Rough, who has shared the stage with famed R&B artist Mya. Nela H, producer, director, and choreographer for numerous Much Music, MTV, and EuroMTV music videos, will present a riveting group work from Surrey-based contemporary dance company DISKORDANSE. 
 
Two “Queens of Hearts” – Vancouver’s celebrated drag entertainer Symone Says, and internationally renowned burlesque star, Burgundy Brixx – will emcee the evening performance.
 
Advance tickets are on sale for $25 at ss33-valentine.eventbrite.ca
 
About Small Stage (smallstage.ca)
Founded in 2001, Small Stage has wowed audiences by tearing down formalities and creating intimate, raw scenarios in which to connect artists and audiences through dance. With movement creators at its foundation, Small Stage works with musicians, theatre practitioners, and technologists to produce interdisciplinary and trans-cultural works that encourage high expectations from a diverse audience. 

 

Photo credit: Derek Stevens