Artist Q&A with CORPUS Dance Projects

Toronto's CORPUS Dance Projects will be participating In the Park with Camping Royale. We asked choreographer David Danzon a few question about their upcoming performance and this is what he had to share with us.

GD: The theme of the 2019 GDF is “What Moves You” can you share with us what moved you when working in the creation of Camping Royale?

DD: Unpredictable or unlikely movement moves me. In particular the movement of inanimate objects. In this case, a tent transformed as a baroque royal dress. 

Photo Isabel L'Italien

GD: What is it that you love the most about performing outdoors? 

DD: I find that the unpredictability of performing outdoors, battling the elements, having to retain the attention of a sometimes fleeting crowd, competing against the natural soundscape (dogs, car horns, etc..), is most challenging and ultimately satisfying. Of course, the concept of Camping Royale works best outdoors...

Photo Isabel L'Italien

GD: Is there anything else you would like to share with Guelph audiences before your performance?

DD: Very happy to share this very theatrical work in the context of the festival.

Photo Isabel L'Italien

Guelph Dance staff tell us about their top picks for the 2019 Guelph Dance Festival

General Manager, Adriana Rosselli Londoño, and Outreach & Development Manager, Leslie Fisher, tell us what they are most excited about at the 2019 Guelph Dance Festival.

I am looking forward to seeing everything at the festival. However, I would like to tell our readers about two things: the On the Stage presentation of EUNOIA by Fujiwara Dance Inventions and the Late Night series at the Studio. Bringing a full-length work to the Stage on Saturday night is super exciting. At the festival we are often presenting short pieces or excerpts from longer works, so having a full-length performance is a rare privilege and something we are looking to continue doing more often. Works like EUNOIA truly need to be seen in their entirety, creating a completely different experience for the audience. EUNOIA will be a treat with its captivating choreography, and beautiful imagery, a true multi-disciplinary work!

This year we have a new series called Late Night, in which we invite audiences for an intimate performance and then a reception where they will have the opportunity to connect with the Festival artists at the Studio on Friday night. I am looking forward to seeing how this new series will be received by our festival audiences and how it will evolve into the future. For its first iteration, Late Night will present Toronto’s Wild Rabbit Dance Projects with the piece There She Was. Please be advised this piece contains nudity, so you may want to leave the little ones at home!

And Griffin (pictured with me) loves the Park so we will definitely be there every day!

Adriana Rosselli Londoño

I am really looking forward to the revamped Youth Moves series!

Lacey Smith from Dasein Dance has been a long time contributor to the Youth Moves series. This year she will be presenting The Four Seasons Project which brings together 80 youth ages 11-20 in a re-imagining of Vivaldi’s masterpiece. Young dancers and one youth string ensemble from four cities will come together in a multi-disciplinary production that brings a youthful twist to the celebrated Four Seasons. Collectively with the youth, they have developed a movement score inspired solely by the rich imagery Vivaldi brings to life through these timeless concertos. Woven together are the results of this collaboration that unite music, movement and text in a beautiful celebration of nature, youth and the transcendent music of Antonio Vivaldi.

We are so excited to present a full-length work for youth this year and Lacey has also been able to work with dance schools who have been presenters in this series in other years. This is an exciting transformation of the Youth Moves series and I cannot wait to see the full work.

Lacey was even offered an opportunity to participate in the Fall for Dance North Open studio series at Union Station in Toronto.  https://www.ffdnorth.com/union You can see a little clip of the work in progress here  https://bit.ly/2KZfIfv

Additionally, because there will be so many youth from out of town participating in this series this year we have even developed a Youth Pass. This will encourage young    dancers to participate in many facets of the festival.

The $35 Youth Pass Includes:

(For youth under 18, only available by phone or in person at the River Run Centre)
1 Ticket to In the Studio on Saturday June 1st at 5:00pm
1 Ticket to On the Stage on Saturday, June 1st at 8:00 pm
1 Workshop Registration of your choosing
Admission to Roundtable Discussion, Artist Reception and In the Park
***Additional workshops can be purchased at $10 each***

Leslie Fisher

Artist Q&A with Pauline Berndsen Danse

Montreal's Pauline Berndsen Danse will be part of In the Park with their piece Hypnos. We asked choreographer Pauline Gervais a few questions about their upcoming performance at the Guelph Dance Festival.

Photo by Mike Pattern

GD: The theme of the 2019 GDF is “What Moves You” can you share with us what moved you when working in  the creation of Hypnos?

PG:During the creation of Hypnos, it was really interesting to dig deep on how I could express my vision of the subconscious through movement. I challenged myself to not overthink my approach to the piece in order to reflect better what hypnosis is. Also, during the process, it moved me to see how all of the artists involved in this piece developed this connection and pleasure to work together. One of the most important aspect of this hypnosis experience that I wanted to express was a shared conscience that also allowed personal freedom. That way, I knew I had to portray different reactions to the hypnotic state that still brought the dancers to that same inner place. Right when the creation started, I could see the authenticity in each artist and it brought strength to Hypnos. 

GD: What is it that you love the most about performing outdoors?

Photo by Mike Pattern

PG: Hypnos being my first outdoors performance made me realise its many great aspects. However, what I enjoyed the most about it was the close contact with the audience. Seeing very clearly the reactions of the people watching was something that I loved and learned a lot from. It brought a lot of energy to the dancers and transformed the piece into a shared experience not only among the dancers, but with the public too. Without the lights, stage and distance, the piece felt very intimate and giving. That feeling gave me the desire to start creating more outdoors pieces in order to find more ways to connect and touch the audience with my work. 

Photo by Mike Pattern

GD: Is there anything else you would like to share with Guelph audiences before your performance?

PG: I would love to thank Guelph Dance Festival for inviting to present my piece Hypnos. It is such a wonderful opportunity to keep evolving as an artist. I can't wait to share my work at the In the Park series!

Artist Q&A with Fujiwara Dance Inventions

We asked choreographer Denise Fujiwara a few questions about the upcoming performance of EUNOIA at the 2019 Guelph Dance Festival and here is what she had to share with us.

Guelph Dance's Artistic Director, Catrina von Radecki, tells us what she is most exctied about at the 2019 Guelph Dance Festival

Of course, I am very excited about all the artists we are bringing to Guelph! I get so excited to have so many brilliant artists from across the country come to Guelph the first weekend of June each year!  Some of the artists will be at the festival for the first time and others are returning as audience favourites!

One of the things I am most excited about however, is our partnerships.  Our community partners help us expand our programming, reach new audiences and learn more deeply about the people who make up our community.

This year, in partnership with KidsAbility, a not-for-profit organization that empowers children and youth with special needs to realize their full potential, we have invited Montreal-based BBoy Luca “Lazylegz” Patuelli to Guelph so that he can deliver an excerpt of his very popular motivational conference “No Excuses, No Limits”. Luca Patuelli will perform, include audience members and motivate the audiences with his incredible break-dancing skills as part of our In the Park Series on Friday May 31st at 7pm and Saturday June 1st and Sunday June 2nd at noon. As a complement to his performances he will also lead a 60-minute motivational conference and workshop at Centennial High School.

With these performances and workshops, we are hoping to provide meaningful experiences for children, youth and people of all ages abilities to experience dance and its transformational power.

In the motivational conference “No Excuses, No Limits” Luca Patuelli shares with the audience his inspirational story and his passion for dance. Born with Arthrogryposis, a neuromuscular disorder affecting the bones and joints of the body, he has undergone a total of 16 surgeries since he was seven months old to support his legs, hips, spine, and shoulders. Despite facing physical challenges, Luca learned at an early age about the power of adapting positively to any situation.

With growing notoriety as a break dancer, Luca has had opportunities to appear on both Canadian and American media, including appearances on the Ellen Degeneres Show, So You Think You Can Dance Canada, The Today Show, America’s Got Talent, Tout le Monde en Parle, Star Académie, TF-1 and Paul O’Grady. Luca’s work in dance is a testament of what we are all capable of and of the transformational power found in the arts.   

A huge thank you to Heather Granger from KidsAbility for helping us make this happen and to the KidsAbilty Youth Advisory Council who are assisting Guelph Dance to ensure all our events are fully inclusive.

If this new partnership was not exciting enough, we also have a new partnership with Guelph Pride!  Following our In the Park series on Sunday June 2^nd, Guelph Pride will provide family friendly programming for all ages from 1:30-4:00pm at Exhibition Park. Activities will include a Bouncy castle, Pride pets in the park, Crafts, performances and much much more!!  We hope with this new partnership to introduce more people to contemporary dance while celebrating Guelph Prides mission to celebrate diversity, education, and visibility within the 2SLGBTQI and communities and beyond.

We are also proud to continue our incredible partnership with the Exhibition Park NeighbourhoodGroup’s Creativity Picnic on Saturday June 1^stfollowing the In the Park Series, 1:30 pm-4:00 pm.  As in the part the Creativity Picnic will include musicians, comedians, crafts and vendors that are sure to entertain audiences of all ages.

So the In the Park series is clearly NOT TO BE MISSED!  So many fun things are planned for the park series on Friday, Saturday and Sunday!  Our inclement weather location is Old Quebec Street.

AND this event is pay-what-you-can which of course is very exciting!