blue ceiling dancer

Monday is traditionally dark night in the theatre but this Monday, December 4th Dancemakers will be lit up with Screen Moves, an enterprise of dance films made specifically for the event. Conceived by the RT Collective and presented in collaboration with Dancemakers , Screen:Moves invites 20 artists from across Canada to create original short dance films for this one-night-only program. The program features a wide range of formats—experimental, narrative, animated and comedic works, offering a unique cross section of Canada’s diverse dance communities on screen. Artists include: Katie Ewald (Dora Winner with Public Recordings, Outstanding Ensemble and Outstanding Production 2014), Nova Bhattacharya (Summerworks 2016 Winner Outstanding Direction) William Yong (4 Time Dora Nominee), Robert Kingsbury (Premiere’s Award for Emerging Artist), Rodney Diverlus (Choreographer and Co-founder of BLM-TO), Brandy Leary (AD of Anadam Dance), Natasha Powell (Company Membe

I love watching rehearsals, not just a run of a performance work in a rehearsal, but the dynamics between collaborators, the body language of artists as they chat, analyze a moment, stretch, plug a device into another device, shuffle papers and ideas around.  When Anisa Tejpar invited me to watch a bit of rehearsal and write about her upcoming show "in time", I knew with this rehearsal being part of her technical residency at Dancemakers, that I would be in for a lot of this kind of action, the movement surrounding the performance, as much as the movement in the performance. Video is being tested and arranged and timed. The composer is present taking notes, the dancer paces and chats with me, the choreographer calmly slides through the space. A network of white fabric hangs in tow pieces from the grid hinting at butterfly wings, albino stained glass or facets of a jewel. The projections break and pick up again over the seams and spaces between. The air is charged with

DanceWorks is 40 years old. A champion of Canadian choreographers and companies, of artistic experimentation. A organism that has morphed and changed, grown and streamlined, riding massive changes in the dance community within and without Toronto, and political shifts that have rocked the arts over this time. Mimi Beck, DanceWorks' curator who is kind, thoughtful and rebellious in a subtle, cheeky way answered some of my questions about the upcoming 40th anniversary celebration performance November 16-18, at Harbourfront Centre Theatre. LR:  40th anniversary!!! that’s quite an accomplishment. what are some of your most proud accomplishments with DanceWorks? MB: Keeping it going, year after year, sometimes against difficult odds. LR: And what are some of the most unusual moments for DanceWorks? MB: In preparing for the 40 th anniversary, I’ve cycled through many memories. A poignant and extraordinary experience took place in March of 2009 around the present