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The Dance Centre 12 Minutes Max Returns to the Studio, March 30

Posted on by Jay Minter

The Dance Centre’s long-running 12 Minutes Max program returns to the Scotiabank Dance Centre stage, March 30th.

Featuring four contrasting works in progress by Arno Kamolika & Akshaya Surve, Jamie Ranney, Nathan Coburn, and Rina Pellerin. The artists will share and discuss their works with the audience in an informal studio setting, with Facilitators Ziyian Kwan and Tasha Faye Evans.

Dance Centre - Arno Kamolika & Akshaya Surve
Arno Kamolika (L) Akshaya Surve (R) Photo: Pratiksha Kaddur
Dance Centre - Jamie Ranney
Jamie Ranney Photo: Jessica Lichon

The featured works are:  

  • Arno Kamolika and Akshaya Surve’s experimental dance piece is based on two prominent South Asian dance forms – Bharatnatyam and Kathak. Their work seeks to tell stories that explore the interplay between the two, blending stillness and movement from both in meaningful dialogue.
  • Jamie Ranney’s untitled contemporary dance solo is inspired by her paternal Newfoundland heritage and the social tropes surrounding white settler women, and reflects on her own history of connection to the land, and how colonialism and patriarchy have shaped her relationship to gender identity, race, and place.
  • Nathan Coburn’s ballerinakitty.exe considers two otherworldly characters, the Ballerina Cat and the Moon Man, in a choreographic context working with dancers Elle Derkitt and Sophie Makarenko.
  • Rina Pellerin’s XXXX is a solo performance exploring the tension between societal beauty ideals and the pursuit of personal liberation. Choreographed in collaboration with Clarence Tang and Antonio Somera Jr., the work examines the internal struggles of aging within ever-shifting standards of worth and visibility.
Dance Centre - Nathan Coburn
Nathan Coburn Photo: Elle Derkitt
Dance Centre - Rina Pellerin
Rina Pellerin Photo: Yoshi Hisanaga

Since launching in 1994, 12 Minutes Max fosters experimentation and the creation of new dance works. Every season, The Dance Centre provides essential support to dance artists from a diverse range of genres by assisting in the creation, development and dissemination of works, alongside residencies, labs, exchanges and other projects.

Each 12 Minutes Max season includes two to three modules, with up to nine artists carrying out studio research with the support of facilitators, finally the artists present and discuss their work, in studio before an audience.

The next 12 Minutes Max module, June 1, 2026 features artists Hana Rutka, Kaya Tsurumi, Max Hanic, Palak Dhiman.

12 Minutes Max Studio Showing takes place March 30, 2026 at the Scotiabank Dance Centre, 677 Davie Street. Admission is free with reservations at thedancecentre.ca

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