2009 VANCOUVER INTERNATIONAL DANCE

Photo Courtesy of VIDF

2009 VANCOUVER INTERNATIONAL DANCE CELEBRATES FIFTIETH ANNIVERSARY OF BUTOH
March 3-April 4, 2009

VANCOUVER, BC— Butoh turns the big 5-0, adventurous music and dance groups collaborate, and world-renowned dance artists from six countries take to the stage in the 2009 Vancouver International Dance Festival (VIDF), which runs March 3-April 4 at locations around the Lower Mainland, including the Roundhouse Community Centre (RH), Centennial Theatre, the Shadbolt Centre for the Arts, and the Scotiabank Dance Centre.

“Butoh has always embodied challenge and change as well as incessant curiosity about who we are and why we are here,” said VIDF Executive Director Jay Hirabayashi, referring to the evocative and sometimes controversial artform that emerged in post-war Japan. The 2009 VIDF celebrates the fiftieth anniversary of butoh with performances by Yoshito Ohno (who appeared in butoh’s first performance, Kinjiki (Forbidden Colours), in 1959); workshops and a lecture-demonstration by butoh progenitor Natsu Nakajima; and three multidisciplinary premieres by Kokoro Dance. “In this year’s festival, we have programmed works that embody challenge, change, and curiosity about the human condition.”

The 2009 VIDF kicks off with Two Night Stand, a multidisciplinary collaboration with Barbara Bourget and Jay Hirabayashi, Juno-nominated Inuk throat singer Tanya Tagaq, guitarist Tony Wilson, percussionist Dylan van der Schyff, cellist Cris Derksen, pianist Lee Pui Ming, and filmmaker Clancy Dennehy (8:00pm, March 3-4, RH). Renowned dancer-choreographer Jérôme Bel (France) and Thai classical dancer Pichet Klunchun (Thailand) perform their humourous cross-cultural 2005 duet Pichet Klunchun and myself (8:00pm, March 5-7, RH). Toronto’s Nova Bhattacharya pushes the boundaries of contemporary bharatanatyam in Primary View (10:00pm, March 6-7, RH).

In the second week, butoh takes centre-stage in Flower, a new duet by Yoshito Ohno (Japan) with collaborator Lucie Grégoire (Montreal) (8:00pm, March 10-11, RH), the latter of whom performed audience-favourite Eye in the 2005 VIDF. Louise Bédard Danse (Montréal) explores the colours and textures of the art of Vancouver-based artist Marianna Gartner in Finally, You Are (Enfin vous zestes) (8:00pm, March 12-14, RH). Mascall Dance (Vancouver) performs WhaT,?, a creative collaboration between accomplished dance artist Ron Stewart and Jennifer Mascall (10:00pm, March 13-14, RH).

In the third week, music and dance enrich each other in stunning collaborations. Five choreographers, six dancers, and one choir converge in Dancers Dancing and the Vancouver Cantata Singers’ Voices in Motion, Bodies that Sing (8:00pm, March 17-19, RH). Kokoro Dance and the Vancouver Symphony Orchestra build upon their previous collaborations in the rebel (8:00pm, March 20-21, RH). Direct from Spain, lightning-fast Flamenco footwork and exquisite music take centre-stage in two special performances by María Juncal, heralded in Europe as “the Flamenco sensation of the 2008-2009 season” (8:00pm, March 19-20, Centennial).

In the fourth week, Kokoro Dance reimagines Mary Shelley’s Frankenstein and Prometheus mythology in F, a multidisciplinary work for three dancers and three actors incorporating digitally-manipulated film by visual effects editor Paul Furminger and set design by Peter Eastwood (8:00pm, March 24-28, RH). In The Cell, MOVE: the company debuts new choreography by six local choreographers (8:00pm, March 25-28, Shadbolt). In the final week, Martha Carter—mmHoP premieres Twisted, a group work exploring dance, scoliosis, and personal transformation, (8:00pm, April 1-4, Scotiabank).

The 2009 VIDF is presented by the Vancouver International Dance Festival Society and Vancouver 2010 Cultural Olympiad.

For more information about the 2009 VIDF, please call the VIDF office at 604.662.4966 or visit www.vidf.ca.