The 2009 Canada Dance Festival will feature two mesmerizing evenings of performance - the Aboriginal Contemporary Dance Platform on Friday, June 26, and the Canadian Multiculturalism Day Gala on Saturday, June 27. Contemporary choreographies rooted in vastly different forms, Dancing Through Cultures will showcase extraordinary dance performances and the profound contribution that culturally diverse and Aboriginal artists make to our collective Canadian culture.
Aboriginal Contemporary Dance Platform - Friday, June 26 - 8:00 PM - NAC Studio (photo - Gaétan Gingras)
The Aboriginal Contemporary Dance Platform will feature three dance pieces that transpose the vibrant interaction between the traditional and the new. Byron Chief-Moon will perform Blood Alley, a visually stunning solo about human disconnection drawn from ancient stories of our sacred earth. Gaétan Gingras presents his contemporary ritual dance Memoire de sang (Blood Memory) in honour of his Mohawk / Iroquois ancestors. The evening concludes with a collision of urban and traditional identies in the world celebrated bboy / bgirl crew Red Power Squad.
Tickets - $30 Adult / $20 Student through Ticketmaster and the National Arts Centre Box Office
Canadian Multiculturalism Day Gala - Saturday, June 27 - 7:30 PM - NAC Theatre (photo - Ballet Creole)
Celebrating the occasion of Canadian Multiculturalism Day on June 27, the CDF presents a stunning gala featuring some of the most exciting voices in Canadian contemporary dance. Theirs is a dance that originated in different heritages, transposed itself through migration and is now enriched through the global exchanges emergent in Canadian culture. Tribal Crackling Wind brings to the stage acclaimed choreographer Peter Chin's profound exploration of cultural loss and survival in Transmission of the Invisible. Menaka Thakkar Dance Company presents two works - Agni Ratha, a world-premiere choreographed by Menaka Thakkar, and Riaz , choreographed by Natasha Bakht - highlighting the development of the Bharatanatyam form in Canada. And Ballet Creole performs Patrick Parson's Breakin Out , an all-male piece infused with virtuosic grace and athleticism set against the polyrhythmic structure of African music; contemporary dance fused with traditional motifs juxtaposing movement and sound.
Tickets $40 Adult / $20 Students available through Ticketmaster and the NAC Box Office