From Joe Ink, and Vancouver dance luminary Joe Laughlin, comes the world premiere of Joe: A Solo Show, three nights only from October 18 – 20, 2018 at 8pm at the Scotiabank Dance Centre. Audiences will be treated to three distinct solos from three diverse choreographers: Vancouver dance artist Amber Funk Barton, Montreal-based choreographer Gioconda Barbuto, and internationally-renowned South African choreographer Vincent Mantsoe. The culmination of a profound process of personal, physical, and artistic discovery, the solos are skillfully woven together with voiceover by the artists to create a richly nuanced tapestry that encapsulates Laughlin through the eyes of each of his esteemed colleagues.
Laughlin’s athletic background and versatility has informed more than 60 highly inventive creations for Joe Ink and such esteemed organizations as the National Arts Centre, the Banff Centre, the Canada Dance Festival, the Royal Winnipeg Ballet, and the Johannesburg-based Moving into Dance Mophatong, to name a few. His excellence in choreography – influenced by classical to contemporary and hip hop to gymnastics – has been recognized with the Clifford E. Lee Award for Choreography, the Jacqueline Lemieux Prize, and the Isadora Award, among others.
Amber Funk Barton, to whom Laughlin has been a mentor, is the artistic director of Vancouver-based dance company ‘the response’. As a choreographer, Barton has had her work presented in various venues in Vancouver, across Canada, and internationally at the Chapter Arts Centre in Cardiff, Wales and the NW New Works Festival in Seattle, WA.
When internationally esteemed Italian-Canadian dancer and choreographer Gioconda Barbuto shared the Clifford E. Lee Award for Choreography with Laughlin in 1996, the two became dear friends and artistic collaborators. In addition to her celebrated career as a performer with Les Grands Ballets Canadiens and Nederlands Dans Theater III, she has unflaggingly pursued her choreographic calling, creating detailed, dynamic friezes of full-bodied gesture, marked by her innate musicality.
Internationally lauded dancer and choreographer Vincent Mantsoe has shared his uniquely spiritual and compassionate approach to dance with audiences around the world. Hailing from the South African Township of Soweto, Mantsoe danced with Moving Into Dance Mophatong (MIDM), one of the first integrated dance companies in South Africa. Currently based in France, Mantsoe has been recognized for his excellence with prestigious awards in South Africa, Angola, France, Canada, and the United States. In 1999, Laughlin travelled to South Africa to choreograph a piece for MIDM as part of a cultural exchange, and the two forged an enduring connection.
Single tickets for Joe: A Solo Show are now on sale at ticketstonight.ca
Joe: A Solo Show
Dates: October 18-20, 2018 at 8pm
Ticket Prices: $38 (Adult), $32 (Student/Senior)
Address: Scotiabank Dance Centre 677 Davie Street, Vancouver, BC
Box Office: ticketstonight.ca
Website: joeink.ca
Photo by Michael Slobodian
