Features
Political Bodies
Dance and/as Protest By Elan Marchinko, Rodney DiverlusPublic protest on the land now called Canada often disrupts the rhythms of everyday life. Dance, when used in and as protest, entails the work of remembrance and caring for difficult histories, memories and stories. Elan Marchinko explores four performative works that engage in protest: The Holomodor Project, Meridian, Bearing and Blackout. Included are Rodney Diverlus’s choreographer’s notes.
Posted November 20, 2019
All that Glitters...
How do studios decide to compete? By Grace Wells-SmithDance competitions in Canada are becoming more and more popular, but what values are associated with this world? Grace Wells-Smith sat down with Jennalee Desjardins and Sean Boutilier, who initially appear to be on opposing sides of this debate.
Posted September 14, 2019
Fearless Physicality
Athleticism in Toronto’s professional wrestling scene By Deanne KearneyProfessional wrestlers are athletes, performers, actors, dancers, gymnasts and comedians, and their sport has more in common with a ballet than with an episode of reality TV. Take a deeper look at the astonishing athleticism and theatricality within the world of pro wrestling.
Posted July 5, 2019
Myth-Busting
The Dance Current asked artists to share the misconceptions and assumptions surrounding the style(s) and genre(s) they work in and what they wish people knew about their practice.
Posted May 9, 2019
Beginnings are Everywhere
Reflections on the Coastal First Nations Dance Festival By Jane GabrielsJoin Jane Gabriels on her journey to the 2018 Coastal First Nations Dance Festival (CFNDF). Responding to the experience from a place of accompaniment, Gabriels pivots from viewer to witness.
Posted February 5, 2019
Collective Copyright
Navigating authorship within contemporary dance By Lee SlingerAs dance artists navigate projects and performances, they encounter differing ideas of authorship. The evolving relationship between artists and digital media sharing have also shaped how these concepts are understood. Slinger spoke with several contemporary dance artists about their understandings of ownership, authorship and the role of intellectual property in their art-making processes. Slinger also weighs in with Carys Craig, a scholar of intellectual property, who argues that the legal system imposes binaries, such as choreographer/performer or work/performance, on creative work that do not speak to how dance is created, performed and shared.
Posted November 30, 2018
Caribana is Our Stage
Embodying tradition, ritual and art in Canadian Carnival By Kevin A. OrmsbyThemes of becoming, shaping from and returning to are central to Caribbean performance arts. As one of these art forms, Carnival is a nuanced performance art practice rooted in the cultural memory of the lives of Caribbean peoples throughout Canada and the diaspora. But whose story is told (or not told) and in what context? The telling or omission of stories can be traced to a lack of understanding of the complexity of the Caribbean and its Carnival – a performance tradition that is more than the mass commodification, sexuality and “loud music” we often associate it with.
Posted September 27, 2018
Where Are All the Women?
In an industry where women outnumber men, ballet still has a long way to go to achieve gender equality By Tessa Perkins DeneaultIn an industry where women outnumber men, ballet still has a long way to go to achieve gender equality. Take a look into the state of gender parity and representation in Canadian ballet.
Posted March 30, 2018
Decolonizing Dance Stages
Presenters talk about breaking barriers By Rhodnie DésirThis year in Canada, the conversation about diversity, inclusion and representation has been omnipresent. I’m profoundly happy that more presenters, curators and jurors have brought these words into their vocabulary. But I question what they’re really referring to. Do we all really feel and understand the urgency? More precisely, when asking, “What does the word diversity really mean?” the answers from the dance milieu are often incomplete, reflecting a lack of comprehension of the issues at stake.
Posted January 18, 2018
The Politics of Dance
The current moment of arts advocacy at the federal level By Kate CornellTen years ago, in the Summer 2007 issue, Shannon Litzenberger, then executive director of the Canadian Dance Assembly, wrote a column about the dance community and the federal government, “Coping with the Conservatives: CDA reflects on a year of cultural policy under Canada’s new government.” The Dance Current asked current executive director Kate Cornell to comment on the changes over the past decade and the relationship with the Trudeau Liberal government.
Posted November 7, 2017
Choreographing Community
Vancouver’s community-engaged dance momentum By Brittany Duggan“You have to almost fall out of love before you’re going to open up to other possibilities,” recalls Karen Jamieson, of her journey into community-engaged dance. A Canadian pioneer of the practice, Jamieson shares with Brittany Duggan how this practice spread through Vancouver and how it was “utterly different from professional dance” as she had previously known and practised it.
Posted October 11, 2017
Expressive Bodies and Digital Cultures
Thinking about the Symposium IX on “Embodied Spaces” By Dena DavidaWhat is at stake for dancers and the dance profession in the face of technological advances? Dena Davida explores this question, based on her experiences at Symposium IX, presented by Audiokinetic and organized at/by the Société des arts technologiques (SAT) in Montréal, Québec, from May 30th through June 3rd, 2017.
Posted July 20, 2017
Broadening the Stage
Connecting with dance audiences through body diversity, representation and inclusivity By Cristina MatteisPervasive conceptions about which bodies are considered beautiful, professionally acceptable or healthy continue to restrict how individuals seek self-expression through the art of dance. Activists, experts and dance artists discuss the importance of body diversity in presenting a wider range of lived experiences onstage, reaching new audiences and connecting with them more meaningfully.
Posted July 14, 2017
Code of Silence
A call to action to address and prevent abuse in dance communities By Marie France ForcierIn the March/April issue of The Dance Current, Marie France Forcier hosted the print conversation, “Creating Safe Spaces.” The article focused on sharing strategies for identifying and preventing abusive situations. In this follow-up, Forcier delves deeper into the problematic, widespread and systematic experiences that lay at the root of that discussion by challenging what she identifies as the code of silence within the discipline.
Posted May 25, 2017
