Dora nominations 2015!

Congratulations to all the nominees for the 2014/2015 Dora Mavor Moore Awards!

We are proud of to have 7 nominations from our DanceWorks MainStage and CoWorks season including 3 nominations (Best Choreography, Outstanding Ensemble Performance and Outstanding Lighting Design) for adelheid dance’s elsewhere, 2 nominations (Outstanding Solo Male Performance and Outstanding Sound Design) for Damaru Dhamaar (part of Baghree Vaze’s Paratopia), another Outstanding Solo Male Performance nomination for Vincent Mantsoe’s NTU and Outstanding Solo Female Performance for Takako Segawa in Moments in Time (part of Across Ocean’s new dances Old Stories)

Best Choreography : Heidi Strauss for elsewhere

Outstanding Solo Performance (Male) : Anuj Mishra for Damaru Dhamaar

Outstanding Solo Performance (Male) : Vincent Mantsoe for NTU

Outstanding Solo Performance (Female) : Takako Segawa for Moments in Time (new dances Old Stories)

Outstanding Ensemble Performance : ensemble of elsewhere

Outstanding Sound Design : Vineet Vyas for Damaru Dhamaar

Outstanding Lighting Design : Rebecca Picherack for elsewhere

 

2014/2015 Mainstage wrap up!

Our 2014/2015 DanceWorks Mainstage season has come to a close

Thank you to all who attended, participated and supported DanceWorks this year!

“This work is made of, and for all of us.” – John Newton

“The ordinary throws itself together out of forms, flows, powers, pleasures, encounters, distractions, drudgery, denials, practical solutions, shape-shifting forms of violence, daydreams, and opportunities lost or found. Or it falters, fails. But either way we feel its pull.” – Kathleen Stewart

https://nowtoronto.com/stage/features/getting-real/

http://www.mooneyontheatre.com/2014/09/26/review-elsewhere-adelheid/

“Dancing is the best medicine all over the world :)” – Martina Andelová

“Vincent’s charisma is extraordinary! This is a rich, touching evening of transformation.” – John Newton

http://www.mooneyontheatre.com/2015/01/31/review-vincent-mantsoe-danceworks/

“It’s a gorgeous work!” – Tal Aronson

http://www.thestar.com/entertainment/stage/2015/02/25/art-and-autobiography-meet-in-two-room-apartment.html

“Wonderful show! Bravo Forcier/Norman cast & crew!” – Dawne Carleton

“[Scars are All the Rage]’s intense focus, complex simplicity and bravery to stay in the worlds of the uncomfortable and fearful were exciting and challenging to experience.” – Brandy Leary

https://forciernorman.wordpress.com/

“Paratopia is an awesome show! I LOVED it!” – Ruchira Sawh

“Today, my students got to experience the rhythmic similarities between kathak (a centuries-old North Indian dance) and hip hop. It’s through connections & collaborations like these that I can imagine a new future in Indian communities that dismantle anti-Blackness.” – Roopa Cheema

http://www.thedancecurrent.com/review/paratopian-view

Interview with Vincent Mantsoe

We spoke with Vincent Mantsoe about his pieces NTU and Skwatta

He will perform at DanceWorks Jan 29-31st at the Harbourfront Centre Theatre

 

DanceWorks: NTU means ‘nothingness’ and Skwatta refers to South Africa’s squatter camps. Why did you choose to express these concepts/states/ideas through dance? How do you understand these two pieces as relating to each other?

Vincent Sekwati Mantsoe: Even though “Nothing” pervades, something always take shape/form, either materialized or spiritually. Both NTU and Skwatta have been created for open dialogues, so I come to believe that both solos are connected either by the states of spirituality, humanity, poverty, pride and so on. NTU is nothing; you as an audience you can create and re-create this path for yourself and see where the path takes you, yet within this Nothingness, the simplicity of nothing, the state of something take shape. In this case Skwatta is the cure fact of how ‘underprivileged’ still live under dyer situations and this is not a unique condition only in South Africa but all over the world. The poor still get even poor and the rich still even richer.

 

“You as an audience you can create and re-create this path for yourself”

 

DW: Culture is something embodied; something we understand through being and living. How do you hold and express both traditional and contemporary elements within you and your work?

VSM: Well, It has been a bumpy road, but as long as I stand, walk, talk and can still express different issues or elements through my body, cultural preservation in the 21st century has always been my true ally. I also hold great respect for tradition, African, Asian and western. And living in the 21st century, I try to adapt old traditions, carefully crafted to be on an international arena where individuals can be inspired or simply travel a new path. Bumpy roads are simply obstacle that can be cleared with patience, and being true to your art. Over the years, I have been slowly crafting these elements. Do they fail? Do they work? Yes, they do. But the philosophy in both my work and in me thrives to be honest and be what it is.

 

“Bumpy roads are simply obstacle that can be cleared with patience, and being true to your art”

 

DW: How do certain places affect what you create? How does traveling to different places around the world affect the work you do?

VSM: Even though I am based in France, my work is very much rooted in Africa, specifically South Africa. Hence traveling around educates me in learning more of different cultures and how it can or cannot affect where I come from. Human culture/traditions have evolved, that is the nature of things. How it affects me and who I am matters as to how I create my work one way or another.

 

For tickets, visit: www.danceworks.ca

For more information on DanceWorks and Vincent Mantsoe, visit our website, follow us on Twitter @DanceWorksTO or friend us on Facebook

Vincent Mantsoe interview with Mimi Beck (2005)

Vincent Mantsoe will be returning to Toronto January 29-31, 2015 – for tickets visit www.danceworks.ca

The last time he graced the Toronto stage was a full decade ago!

DanceWorks’ curator Mimi Beck interviewed Vincent as part of the cultural dance dialogs series during his last visit

 

 

 

Vincent Mantsoe teaching & pedagogy

Check out these videos of Vincent teaching master classes

 

 

Interested in attending class with Vincent when he visits Toronto in January 2015?

Contact education@danceworks.ca to book a workshop or register with Dance Immersion

 

DanceWorks’ 2014-15 Student Matinees Announced!

This season, we are thrilled to present five student matinees, with an eclectic collection of dance styles. From contemporary to South African and Kathak dance, DanceWorks will present exciting works from a diverse group of artists. Check out out the full list of matinee performances and dates.

STUDENT MATINEES 2014 – 2015

elsewhere (contemporary, 5 dancers)                                                                                              

elsewhere is a piece about what has happened and how it leaves a trace on our bodies, our gestures, and the space between us. It is the uncomfortable point where the inevitability of our responses becomes visible; where control, strength and empathy are temporary. A work for five remarkable dancers, elsewhere speaks to resilience in the face of unknowing.

Here is a sneak peek video teaser (password is ‘download’)

Choreographer: Heidi Strauss / adelheid dance

Date: Friday, September 26, 2014 at 12:30pm

Location: Harbourfront Centre Theatre (formerly Enwave Theatre) 231 Queens Quay West, Toronto

Tickets: $10.00 for students and FREE for teachers.

Contact: Contact Catherine Romano, Education & Outreach Manager, at education@danceworks.ca or call 416-204-1082.

SPECIAL WORKSHOP AVAILABLE! DanceWorks is pleased to offer an in-school Workshop led by Heidi Strauss. The workshop focuses on collaboration and the development of trust between dancers. Improvisational tasks and structures will be used to examine ways to communicate, test boundaries, and enter into pacts together. Students will discover aspects of the creation process involved in the development of elsewhere. (Additional fee applies)

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NTU and Skwatta (contemporary / South African dance, 1 dancer)

The unique language and approach to dance making of South African artist Vincent Mantsoe has captivated audiences around the world. With a dance practice that integrates traditional and contemporary forms, Mantsoe’s electric performances, workshops and master classes have left a lasting impression in our community.

Choreographer: Vincent Mantsoe

Date: Friday, January 30, 2015 at 12:30pm

Location: Harbourfront Centre Theatre (formerly Enwave Theatre) 231 Queens Quay West, Toronto

Tickets: $10.00 for students and FREE for teachers.

Contact: Contact Catherine Romano, Education & Outreach Manager, at education@danceworks.ca or call 416-204-1082.

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Ce n’est pas la fin du monde / It’s not the end of the world (contemporary, 7 dancers)                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                     Renowned for his striking works featuring male dancers, Québec’s award-winning choreographer, Sylvain Émard, plunges seven dancers into the hurly-burly of a contemporary world undergoing massive change. Their only language is movement, the music of bodies electrified by a shared feeling of urgency.

Choreographer: Sylvain Émard

Date: Friday, February 27, 2015 at 12:30pm

Location: Fleck Dance Theatre, 207 Queens Quay West, Toronto

Tickets: $10.00 for students and FREE for teachers.

Contact: Contact Catherine Romano, Education & Outreach Manager, at education@danceworks.ca or call 416-204-1082.

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Scars Are All The Rage and what goes between (contemporary, 4 dancers)

This double bill features the work of creators Marie France Forcier and Tracey Norman, whose choreography is aesthetically different enough to be complimentary, astutely crafted and rich in compelling imagery. Forcier’s Scars are All the Rage and Norman’s what goes between explore the impact of loss and transformation, promising a balanced program of satisfying new dance works.

Choreographers: Marie France Forcier and Tracey Norman

Date: Friday, March 13, 2015 at 12:30pm

Location: Harbourfront Centre Theatre (formerly Enwave Theatre) 231 Queens Quay West, Toronto

Tickets: $10.00 for students and FREE for teachers.

Contact: Contact Catherine Romano, Education & Outreach Manager, at education@danceworks.ca or call 416-204-1082.

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Paratopia (Kathak, 1 dancer)

Paratopia is a selection of works exploring the parameters of Kathak dance and Indian classical dance aesthetics in the 21st century. Choreographed by award-winning artist Bageshree Vaze, the works highlight signature qualities of Kathak dance: complex footwork, sparkling pirouettes, intricate facial and hand gestural language, and dynamic movements.

Choreographer: Bageshree Vaze

Date: Friday, April 24, 2015 at 12:30pm

Location: Harbourfront Centre Theatre (formerly Enwave Theatre) 231 Queens Quay West, Toronto

Tickets: $10.00 for students and FREE for teachers.

Contact: Contact Catherine Romano, Education & Outreach Manager, at education@danceworks.ca or call 416-204-1082.

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