The Dance Centre is presenting a world premiere, Rebel Grace, from choreographer Zivian Kwan.
Presented as part of Asian Heritage Month, May 12-14, Rebel Grace explores gentle transgressions as acts of resistance and empowerment. Create by Kwan, in collaboration with an ensemble of dance artists – Justin Calvadores, Lisa Mariko Gelley, Juolin Lee, Andrea Nann, and Rianne Svelnis – the work traces themes of rupture, repair and subversion through imagery, text and movement, and features live music from multi-instrumentalist Roxanne Nesbitt and Taiko artist E. Kage.
“The last 2 years have really informed the complexity of this present moment,” says Kwan. “For me, it has been a time of maturing and of extreme reinvention, of trying even harder to embolden positive change. I feel a growing need to transgress normative constructs, paired with a desire to move through the world with love and care. Rebel Grace explores this, alongside performers who are womxn or gender non-binary, and mostly people of colour. I’m inspired to celebrate nuanced or bold resistance, to imagine whimsical alternatives, and to recognize artful rebellion as a revolutionary act of gratitude and grace.”
Ziyian Kwanhas worked as a dance artist on the unceded ancestral territories of the Musqueam, Squamish and Tsleil-Waututh First Nations since 1988. As an interprète, she has performed over 100 original creations by an eclectic range of choreographers on international stages. As Artistic Director of Dumb Instrument Dance, Ziyian’s work abstracts lived experience to form collages of imagery, movement and language. Throughout her work, Ziyian aspires to artfully challenge the status quo and to conjure reciprocity through creative exchange. Ziyian’s artistry is inspired by collaboration with luminaries in the fields of dance, music, film, theatre, literature, and visual art.
The Dance Centre, 677 Davie Street, presents Rebel Grace by Zivian Kwan, a Global Dance Connections series production, from May 12 to 14, 2022 at 8pm as part of Asian Heritage Month. Tickets are on sale at thedancecentre.ca $34 adult / $25 student & seniors