I am very excited to get to bring Human Landscapes to Toronto audiences! Six months after the work premiered at the 36th Annual Alberta Dance Festival, Human Landscapes will be presented as part of Dance Matters’ Into the Fire program.
Author: Candice Irwin
Your Dance Fest
Presented by random acts of dance performance, and directed by Candice Irwin, Your Dance Fest is a new format of talking and presenting dance. Join us August 25th to 27th at the Oakwood Village Library and Arts Centre for performances, workshops, parties and more! Get your tickets!
What is Your Dance Fest?
People think that dancers are the experts on dance, but that’s not totally true. We may be the experts on how to make dance, but you, our audience, are the experts on how to watch dance.
Your Dance Fest is about making an event that is all about you, the dance watching experts. We want you to tell us what you want to see, and then we’ll make it happen. We’re asking you to be our editors so that the final product is something you find interesting.
Usually the work shown at a dance festival is chosen by other dancers (since we’re considered the “experts”). Instead, what we do at Your Dance Fest is we have a group of community members who think dance is cool, but might not know much about it, as our main curators. What we’ve found is that people who aren’t “dancers” give some of the most honest and genuine feedback about dance. We want to encourage those types of discussions!
Always With Me is Coming to Toronto!
The journey to create Always With Me has been a long one. Since the desk entered our lives almost three years ago it has travelled all over Toronto. Excerpts of the piece have been presented at Newfound Dance’s Movement Market, Emma Letki’s Fall Dances, Series 808’s Choreographic Performance Workshop, The Chimera Project’s FRESH BLOOD, The Space’s Seen But Not Heard art party and The Attic Arts Hub’s Hub Hop (have we mentioned it has been a long journey?) And now the full length version is finally premiering in Toronto on April 15th and 16th at Hub14! Performances will be at 8pm both nights and we will also have a LATE NIGHT SHOW ON SATRUDAY AT 10PM!
Always With Me is a duet by myself and my work desk. Through conversations with the audience and my inanimate dance partner I expose the most intimate relationships in my life and wonder if I give them the full attention they deserve. Part biography, part social commentary, Always With Me, leaves one questioning if the communication tools we have developed in the last century are helping or hindering our ability to connect to one another.
I will also be presenting a work-in-progress version of Rotation(s). An ensemble work being performed by Rachel Cornejo, Hannah Schallert, Grace Smith Denise Solleza and Oriah Wiersma.
If you are interested in joining us we suggest you buy your tickets in advance because is a very small venue and we’d hate to turn you away. Tickets are $10 in advance or $15 cash at the door (if you want to take your chances) and can be purchase online through Brown Paper Tickets
Dance Matters’ After Hours Cabaret
This weekend Dance Matters opened its 10th season! To add to the celebration they hosted a cabaret after opening night. I was lucky to enough to be a part of the event. I performed with fiddler Arthur Ross in a new collaboration we are currently calling Where shall we meet? Some lovely audience member was kind enough to film our performance which I am happy to share with you. Enjoy!
Two Shows to Welcome Fall
It is a busy time right now. Moving date is quickly approaching as are two v
ery exciting shows!
First is Glaciology by Anandam Dance Theatre. It is being presented as part of Scotianbank Nuit Blanche on October 3rd from 7pm until 7am October 4th. Our group of 50 performers will be creating a
human glacier which slowly moves westward along Queens Quay. We are a part of The Work of Wind curated by Christine Shaw. Glaciology will be moving past all the other art works curated by Shaw throughout the night. Anyone that has been t Nuit Blanche knows that it is an overwhelming, energizing and inspiri
ng event where you never know what might happen. If you are planning on braving the crowds I strongly encourage you join us along the waterfront to experience The Work of Wind. As an added bonus everything at Nuit Blanche is 100% FREE!
Right after Glaciology I also will be performing at The Chimera Project’s FRESH BLOOD as part of The Harbourfront Centre’s NextSteps series. I am one of the fifteen choreographers being featured at the event. I will be showing an excerpt of my solo work Always With Me. I am looking forward to sharing my work with a brand new audience on October 6th and 7th and would love to see you there. Tickets can be bought in advance through the Harbourfront Centre.
Candice J. M. Irwin 