With our What You See Is What You Get (WYSIWYG*) programme for the dance: made in canada/fait au canada Festival, we continue to follow our irresistible urge, one that literally combines serendipity with creativity. WYSIWYG is determined by lottery (subject to minimum professional requirements) not because we were lazy, but because we believe that there is a tremendous value in “letting it happen and allowing”+ and seeing what shakes out. We proudly present five exciting artists from different backgrounds and practices – local heroes to national gems, but all with the same desire to share with you their perspective and experiences.
We hope you will enjoy it.
Wed Aug 16
Thur Aug 17
Fri Aug 18
-
-
Sat Aug 19
-
-
+ post-show chat. ASL Interpreter available.
Sun Aug 20
Join us for a post-show chat
Sat. Aug. 19, 3:00 pm
With Aly Keita, Marie Lambin-Gagnon, Lukas Malkowski, Samantha Sutherland, Bryce Taylor
Moderated by Deanne Kearney
ASL Interpretation by Ryan Kraft
Deanne Kearney is a dance writer, researcher, and critic, currently pursuing her Ph.D. in Dance Studies at York University in Toronto, Ontario. Her works have been featured in publications such as Dance Magazine, The Dance Current Magazine, Dance International, and Mooney on Theatre. Currently, she provides comprehensive reviews of a wide array of dance performances on her website, The Dance Debrief (DanceDebrief.ca). Her complete writing portfolio is available at DeanneKearney.com. Deanne is also an editorial board member of Riffs Journal and serves as the international secretary for PoP Moves, a global research group dedicated to popular dance and performance
Djata : Conversations du Manden
Born from an alliance between the buffalo and the lion, Soundjata Keita, the long-awaited child whose birth was foretold by soothsayers, is unable to walk. After years of humiliation, against all odds, he stands up, walks across the village and uproots a baobab. This marks the beginning of his awakening, which will lead him to found the great Mandingo Empire, unifying the regions of West Africa, including Guinea, the Aly Keita’s home country. The choreographer draws on his ancestors’ story and embodies the messages of the griots’ accounts, blending dance, acrobatics, and percussion to showcase his personal journey with a constant interplay of strength and vulnerability.
“In this energetic piece, the strength of Mandingo history is transmitted through Keita’s body as he performs movements influenced by circus, contemporary and African dance.” – The Link (Véronique Morin).
Content Warning
Haze
Choreographer, Performer, Composer & Author: Aly Keita
Production Manager: Raffaela Siniscalchi
Photographers: Sarah Lopes, Juan David Padilla Vega
At age 13, Aly Keita began his artistic journey in Guinea, where he studied dance, circus arts, and music at the Keita Fodeba Acrobatic Art Center. In 2016, he came to Canada for a cultural exchange initiative between young Inuit and Guineans, which culminated in the production of the documentary “Circus Without Borders.” Since then, he has collaborated with various organizations, including Productions Kalabanté, Cirque Eloize, Cavalia, and Zab Maboungou/Compagnie Danse Nyata Nyata, MAPP_Montréal, Collectif White Wash, Jobel Art for Earth, etc. Starting from 2020, he created and presented his own production, “Djata: Conversations of the Manden”. He also participated in “Afro Canada,” a four-part documentary on 400 years of Afro-descendant history in Canada. He has extensive experience in teaching and cultural mediation.
Sun Bleached Keith’s
Sun Bleached Keith’s is a piece in two parts, the first section being a melodic and tender duet between a married couple (Danced by Bryce Taylor and Tania Angelovski) enjoying the company of each other and the comfort of the life they have managed to create together. The second vignette will centre around the wife (Danced by Tania Angelovski) as she learns to cope with the absence of her second half, learning how to move again and how to connect with a person who is no longer there.
Performer: Tania Angelovski
Performer & Creation Process: Sophie Willet
Photographers: Jeric Collantes & Michael Osikoya
Bryce Taylor(He/They) is a Dancer and Choreographer hailing originally from Yarker Ontario. While classically trained as a ballet, and contemporary dancer Bryce is also an accomplished breaker/breakdancer. They would begin work as a choreographer in the summer of 2018 after co-founding Winnipeg’s Summer Dance Collective with their colleague and friend Cameron Fraser-Monroe. For the past 4 seasons Bryce has worked as WSDC’s choreographer in residence, choosing to focus pieces on the mundane, small moments of life. Believing these moments to be truly special, and worth creating for, to express the subtle yet powerful beauty in the day to day.
Microphone Controller
hi, welcome, thank you, all of you, i’m getting into my voice, my movement, both, at the same time, because this how i show you, playing songs ‘till i get you singing, and i dunno what it’s about but i know what it feels like, i know how it feels, how every single one of us, every, single one of you in the audience tonight has your own voice, your expression, your movement, your voice, your sound, your feelings, your movements, your songs, your favourites, your excitement, your love, me, you, us…
there’s so much i want to say
Content Warning
Loud & jarring noises
Choreographer / Performer: Lukas Malkowski
Dramaturg: Antonia Gersch
Lighting Designer: Christopher Malkowski
Videographer: Drew Berry
ASL Coach: Gaitrie Persaud
Outside Eyes: Woosang Jeon, Rocio Becerra Parraga
Inside Eyes: Annalise Van Even, Breeanne Saxton
Music composers, in order of songs: Ozzy Osbourne and Randy Rhoads, Lukas Malkowski, Prince and the Revolution, Alphaville (Performed by Youth Group)
Photographers: Jeremy Mimnagh & Drew Berry
Lukas Malkowski is a CODA(Child of Deaf Adult), performance maker and Aquarius based between Canada/Germany. He has performed in John Wick 4, CTM Festival(Berlin), the Rodeo Festival(Munich), Festival Trans Amérique(Montreal), and the Schrittmacher Festival(Holland). Lukas’s choreography & teaching is shaped by the embodiment of physics, voice, and Sign. He has choreographed ambient sets, music videos, and films for Sam Slater(Joker OST), LBT, and 7th Plain(Luke Slater). Flowmentum: his movement practice, is driven by social dialogue and physics embodiment. He has taught and performed at festivals, companies, and schools across North America and Europe.
Corps/Objet (Body/Object)
“Corps/Objet” is a new creation that is part of my current project, “Still Life”, a series of performances and exhibitions composed of large scale photographs and sculptural movements. Inspired by the still life genre, I explore the ephemeral nature of the body and investigate how its shape and movements relate to living and non-living matter. I translate, explore and question principles of classical still life painting—virtuosity, depiction and replication—into contemporary dance and photography to call for a contemplation of the relationship between bodies, objects and the space containing them.
Content Warning
Partial nudity
Choreographer: Marie Lambin-Gagnon
Dancer: Megumi Kokuba
Composer: Brandon Valdivia
Costume Designer: Marielle Robichaud
Photos by: Marie Lambin-Gagnon
Marie Lambin-Ganon is a choreographer, dancer and visual artist. Her practice combines dance, photography, sculpture and installation. She collaborated with artist Sara Cwynar to choreograph “Red Film,” which was presented at the Sao Paulo Biennale (2018), at the MoMA and Musée d’art contemporain de Montréal. She was commissioned by the Toronto Dance Theatre to create a performance installation “Slow Dance,” which earned her a feature in NOW Magazine as one of their “12 Stage Artists to watch in 2019.” Lambin-Gagnon presented “Slow Death,” an installation and performance commissioned by the Art Gallery of Ontario and shown in situ in the institution’s European Masters galleries.
slip away
This new work by Samantha Sutherland explores themes of loss and hope relating to the endangered state of the Ktunaxa Language. What happens when individuals and communities are motivated by fear? What work needs to happen to develop a sense of hope for our future? This tells accounts of what has happened for the preservation of the language, and showcases dreams and desires on where to land in the future.
Choreographer/ Performer: Samantha Sutherland*
Music: Jeffrey Sutherland
Voice: Sophie Pierre and Samantha Sutherland
Costume Designer: Cindy Sutherland
Mentorship: Olivia C. Davies
Photos by: Jeysa Caridad & Aidan Tooth
Samantha is an Indigenous contemporary dance artist, choreographer, and teacher based in Tkaronto. Her ancestry is Ktunaxa and Scottish/British Settler. She graduated from the Arts Umbrella Dance Diploma Program in 2018. She has worked with Ballet BC, Red Sky Performance, and is currently an Artistic Associate with O.Dela Arts. Samantha has presented her own solo works in the Matriarchs Uprising Festival by O.Dela Arts, the Paprika Festival, Sharing the Stage with the National Ballet of Canada, Night Shift, Common Ground Dance Festival, Weesageechak Begins to Dance, and at the National Arts Centre.
Banner photo by Juan David Padilla Vega