The Dance Centre is shining a spotlight on Vancouver’s contemporary dance scene with the 13th biennial Dance In Vancouver. Taking the stage, November 24-28, Dance In Vancouver showcases a diverse and creative dance program, of free and ticketed events, unique for its concentrated focus on promoting the province’s contemporary dance talent, not only to local audiences, but also to dance promoters and curators from across Canada and around the world.
Program highlights include a world premiere from The Biting School; performances by Dumb Instrument Dance, Kelly McInnes and Mahaila Patterson-O’Brien; installations by Anouk Froidevaux and Action at a Distance; showings of works in process by Tasha Faye Evans, Zahra Shahab; free presentations in a non-theatrical location by MascallDance and Co.ERASGA; and a wide-ranging selection of ticketed and free events at locations around the city.
The 2021 edition has been co-devised by Melbourne, Australia-based guest curator Angela Conquet with Michelle Olson and Starr Muranko, Artistic Director and Artistic Associate respectively of Vancouver’s Raven Spirit Dance. The curators have imagined an unusual edition conceived as an invitation to experience dance as a ritual of being and sensing together. Indigenous worldviews anchor the vision for this edition which privileges intimate audiences, unusual locations and surprising formats, both live and digital.
The program includes IndigeDIV, co-produced with Raven Spirit Dance, which celebrates the unique worldview that Indigenous artists bring to the global conversation with inspirational keynotes centering Indigenous knowledge, alongside live performances, digital offerings, video installations, and a delegates’ program. Firmly grounded in, and bravely echoing, the times that we are in, Dance In Vancouver aims to connect, inspire and provoke.
Executive Director Mirna Zagar explains: “Dance In Vancouver works on many levels. It’s a great opportunity for audiences to experience work by local artists; our artists get to build their networks beyond the local context; and the presenters become more informed about our dance scene. While travel restrictions mean we won’t see our international visitors in person in the numbers we are used to, we look forward to using the digital space to connect with our colleagues around the world.”
Dance In Vancouver runs at various venues in Vancouver from November 24 – 28, 2021. Visit thedancecentre.com for tickets, full details of the program and events, and Covid-19 protocols.
The Dance In Vancouver Program at a glance
Ongoing:
P. Megan Andrews the disorientation project
Wednesday-Sunday November 24-28 | 10am-4pm
Roundhouse Community Centre
Installation:
Action at a Distance + Tangaj Collective BLOT –Body Line of Thought
Wednesday-Sunday November 24-28 | 1-4pm
KW Studios
Installation:
Anouk Froidevaux Lament for a Dying World
Wednesday-Sunday November 24-28 | 2-5pm
Lobe Studio, 713 East Hastings St
Open Rehearsal:
Justine A Chambers Steady
Friday-Sunday November 26-28 | 3.45-4.45pm
Progress Lab 1422
Performance:
Dumb Instrument Dance Made In Voyage
Wednesday-Saturday November 24-27 & December 1-4 | 5pm + 7pm nightly
Morrow
Performance:
The Biting School Orangutang (premiere)
Wednesday-Saturday November 24-27 & December 1-4 | 7pm
Russian Hall
Studio Showing:
Zahra Shahab Al-Fattah: when I bow, I see the opening
Thursday November 25, 5pm + Friday November 26, 6pm
Scotiabank Dance Centre
Livestream:
Jeanette Kotowich KWE – digital offering
Thursday November 25 | 7pm
Performance:
Double Bill
Kelly McInnes Blue Space + Mahaila Patterson-O’Brien: Mid-Light: A Translucent Memory
Friday November 26, 2021 | 8pm
Scotiabank Dance Centre
Online event:
Future Leisure Escape
Friday-Sunday November 26-28 | 12 midnight, 12.45am, 1.30am, 2.15am
Workshop:
Lee Su-Feh (battery opera) Touch Me Hold Me Let Me Go
Saturday November 27, 10am-noon, Scotiabank Dance Centre
Sunday November 28, 1-3pm Online
Performance:
MascallDance Lurch
Saturday-Sunday November 27-28 | 11am
SFU Woodward’s Atrium
Performance:
Co.ERASGA Offering
Saturday November 27 | 12 noon + 3pm
SFU Woodward’s Atrium
Studio Showing:
DanceWest Network Re-Centering/Margins Creative Residency
Saturday November 27 | 4pm
Scotiabank Dance Centre
Performance:
Tasha Faye Evans Cedar Woman (work in process)
Saturday November 27 | 8pm
The Annex
Artist Talk:
Lee Maracle with Tasha Faye Evans Cedar Woman’s Storytelling
Sunday November 28 | 2pm
The Annex
Artist Talk:
Symmetry, Negative Space, Continuity
Sunday November 28 | 3pm
The Annex
Digital DIV
Wednesday November 24-Saturday December 4
Streaming on demand