Edam Dance Presents:
March Choreographic Series 2023
Work by Isabelle Kirouac & Delia Brett, Alexis Fletcher and Peter Bingham
March 15, 17, 18, 22, 24, 25 @8pm
-Special post-show talk on opening night
OSMOCOSM
Work by Isabelle Kirouac/Delia Brett
OSMOCOSM
Each night, a new scent, a new creation – a new world
Osmocosm: The world of scents and other volatile molecules
We enter a deep space of volatile construction. In Osmocosm, the audience and the performers merge their collective imagination in osmonautical travel. Voyaging from scent to language, to music, to dance and beyond.
Choreographers & performers: Delia Brett, Isabelle Kirouac
Musical composer: Stefan Smulovitz
Thanks to EDAM Dance for inviting us to co-create this work, and thanks to our families and friends for their meaningful insights and contributions.
The Participants
ISABELLE KIROUAC | is an interdisciplinary choreographer, movement artist, mother and educator. She uses movement as a tool to investigate the poetics of the senses, and to process questions raised in her everyday life. Informed by her ongoing practice in dance improvisation, somatics, and immersive work, her movement research has recently focused on the study of fungi, interspecies relationships, olfactory play, and the subjectivity of objects. Isabelle has presented her work and toured across Canada, the USA, Mexico, Colombia and Europe. She holds an MFA in Interdisciplinary Arts from the School for the Contemporary Arts at Simon Fraser University. She is a guest on the traditional and unceded territories of the Musqueam, Squamish and Tsleil-Waututh nations, where she lives and plays.
DELIA BRETT | Delia’s arts career began 35 yrs ago as a teenage film and TV actor. Notably, 35 years ago was also when she had her first contact dance with Peter Bingham and it was only 3 years later that she transitioned from acting to studying and working as a professional dance artist, here, on unceded Coast Salish territories know as Vancouver. Throughout Delia’s extensive career she’s had the privilege of working for many dance and theatre companies but most significant was the quarter of a century (!!) she dedicated to dancing with EDAM Dance, as well as the work she created and performed for 16 years with her company, MACHiNENOiSY (which closed in 2020). Delia cherishes every opportunity to work with brilliant interdisciplinary artists so, although she has transitioned into working more as a transformational coach and wellness teacher through Covid, she of course, jumped at the chance to work with Stefan and Isabelle again. Delia was dramaturge, director and co choreographer to Isabelle Kirouac’s, Megafauna ’21, Third Space ’19 and Habitats ’17. Osmocosm, is their first entirely co-created and conceived performance collaboration.
STEFAN SMULOVITZ | Award-winning technologist, composer, violist, and laptop artist Stefan has performed with leading improvisers around the world and created more than 90 live film scores. He is one of Canada’s most in demand composers for dance and is recognized for his groundbreaking interactive work with Radix Theatre. Kenaxis — Stefan’s game-changing music software — is used by musicians around the world and his Mad Scientist Machine LED light cueing system has opened new possibilities for global collaborations. In 2015 Stefan travelled to Bhutan to collect sounds and create a score for the award-winning documentary “Power of the River”. He is enjoying sharing his knowledge by teaching sound courses at Capilano University and Simon Fraser University.
Everything and Nothing
Work by Alexis Fletcher
During this work-in-progress we are exploring feelings of endangerment with regards to our uncertain future on this planet. Simultaneously, we ask ourselves to reflect on the miracle of life, of evolution, of our inherent togetherness, of our undeniable connection to the Earth, of our origins in the cosmos.
Choreographed by Alexis Fletcher in collaboration with the performers
Performed by Lazaro Silva, Marisa Antoinette Gold, Oksana Maslechko
Music: Paper Stars by Victoria Bell; The Elements, a soundscape by Sylvain Senez; Song of Earth by N.A.S.A Symphonies of the Planets (Complete Voyager Recordings); Alessandro Marcello interpreted by Michel Senez (rehearsal recording).
Text by Gregory David Roberts, Alexis Fletcher; Translated by Sylvain Senez; Spoken by Danielle Senez.
English version of text: https://alexisfletcher.squarespace.com/voice-over-in-english
Lighting Design by Kevin Kiju Kim in collaboration with Alexis Fletcher
Costumes by Alexis Fletcher with special thanks to Davi Rodrigues/Lamondance
Projection by Sylvain Senez, and a very special thank you for your generosity, skill and support.
We extend heartfelt gratitude to Peter, Olivia, Margarida and the team at EDAM for the invitation and very warm welcome.
The Participants
ALEXIS FLETCHER | A dance artist, creator, and producer, I danced with Ballet BC for 14 years and was subsequently a guest artist and Artist in Residence. I now create and perform independently, co-direct The Dance Deck series, and am Artist in Residence at Chutzpah! Festival. I have been supported by Presentation House, Dancing on the Edge, InFrinGing Festival, New Works, BC Arts Council, Canada Council, Dance Victoria, and am thrilled to be a part of this EDAM series.
MARISA GOLD | is an intuitive multidisciplinary dance artist with a passion for all things soulful. She has trained in a variety of Modern/Contemporary styles, with a BFA in dance (SFU), certificate of completion from The Ailey school Independent Study program (NYC), and The Graham school(NYC). She is an expressive dancer, poet, vocalist, choreographer, stylist, and actor whose work is embedded in self-reflection, a deep love for humanity and reverence for our planet earth.
From age 12, OKSANA MASLECHKO experienced a variety of dance styles including Contemporary, Hip Hop, House, Afro, Bellydance, Folk, Bollywood, and more. In 2016, she moved to Vancouver for Lamondance, directed by Davi Rodrigues; completing two years of training, and four years with the Company. Oksana has worked with artists such as Rachel Meyer, Alexis Fletcher, Idan Cohen, Nicolas Ventura, Dance//Novella, Cristina Bucci, Yoshito Sakuraba, Wen Wei Wang, Lara Barclay, Kirsten Wicklund, Heather Laura Gray, Vanessa Goodman, Alysa Pires, and Heather Dotto.
LÁZARO SILVA | began his dance career at the age of 21, in the "Universidade Federal de Sergipe" (Brazil). In 2018, Lazaro joined Lamondace where he trained for three years in the program and has since been a dancer for the Lamondance Company, directed by Davi Rodrigues. Lazaro is looking forward to contribute in this new journey with Alexis Fletcher and thrilled to be part of the Spring Choreographic Series at EDAM.
SYLVAIN SENEZ | Sylvain has been active on the professional Canadian dance scene for over 40 years. He danced as a soloist with Les Grands Ballets Canadiens, Judith Marcuse Dance Company, Coleman Lemieux Company, Les Productions Figlio and Ballet BC. He pursues his artistic interest by exploring photography, film and stage design. He and his wife Alexis Fletcher are the Artistic Directors of The Dance Deck, an annual multi-disciplinary performance series that is presented in their backyard.
VICTORIA (V) | is a Vancouver based scenographer (lighting, sound, set, and projection designer), technical director and Studio 58 graduate. She has been working in the world of drone, noise and glitch music since she was a pre-teen, spending much too much time inside. She is ecstatic that her work is able to be used in such beautiful and innovative works and cannot wait to see how this piece develops further.
Work by Alexis Fletcher
Conversation Pieces II
Work by Peter Bingham
EDAM’s Artistic Director Peter Bingham brings to the stage a directed dance improvisation, which gives space for the strange, peripheral, vulnerable, and playful to unfold. Building on the ensemble's research into associative vocal interjections and supported by EDAM’s creative grounds in Contact Improvisation, seven dancers navigate spatial and sensorial parameters. Above all, the work underscores the intrinsic care, trust, and commitment between the eight adept performers.
Direction: Peter Bingham
Dramaturg: Raïna von Waldenburg
Dancers: Anne Cooper, Francesca Frewer, Hayley Gawthrop, Arash Khakpour, Diego Romero, Olivia Shaffer, Antonio Somera Jr.
Sound: Alex Mah
Thank you Raïna and to all the performers for their commitment and artistry.
The Participants
PETER BINGHAM, Artistic Director of EDAM Dance, has been exploring the boundaries of improvisation and choreography since 1975. His work has been performed across Canada, the United States, Europe and Asia.
RAÏNA VON WALDENBURG, former full-time faculty at NYU Tisch School of the Arts, adjunct at SFU and UFV, currently teaches workshops in Grotowski-based physical performance. Raïna is a dramaturg, writer, director, and performer in Vancouver and the experimental downtown NYC theatre scene. She has been facilitating artists in the development of original performance material for thirty years.
ANNE COOPER is happy to dance in this latest piece by Peter/EDAM, and has danced in many others. She’s danced in the US ‘Glimpse’ Performances under the direction of Nancy Stark Smith from 2012-2018, and for choreographers and companies in Vancouver, Winnipeg & Quebec city. Anne’s own work has been presented at Vancouver venues EDAM, The Firehall Arts Centre & others. She’s taught Contact Improv at EDAM and elsewhere since 2000 and hosts ‘the Jam’.
FRANCESCA FREWER is a contemporary dance artist living as a grateful guest on the unceded, ancestral territories of the Musqueam, Squamish, and Tsleil-Waututh first nations. She loves dancing with EDAM.
ALEX MAH is a composer and interdisciplinary artist whose scores use verbal notation to deal with ideas of indeterminacy, performer choices, and the sensing body. He has participated in festivals, workshops, and performed across Canada, Germany, Denmark, and the U.K. www.cargocollective.com/alexmah
HAYLEY GAWTHROP received their contemporary dance training through Modus Operandi (Vancouver). Since graduating in 2016, Hayley has interpreted works by Emmalena Fredriksson, Arash Khakpour, Antonio Somera Jr, Fight With a Stick, Dumb Instrument Dance, Omer Keinan, Kelly McInnes, The Response, and MACHiNENOiSEY. Their current interests in regards to making/doing are driven by their desire to disrupt gender binaries and are deeply rooted in radical tenderness and gender nihilism.
Originally from Tehran, ARASH KHAKPOUR is privileged to be a dance artist who has immigrated to the ancestral and unseeded territories of the Coast Salish peoples. Arash is very lucky to work with and learn from Peter Bingham. He is overjoyed to have been dancing and performing with the exceptional EDAM ensemble for the past 4 years.
DIEGO ROMERO is a dancer and teacher at EDAM dance. He also runs the independent performance, Boombox. Furthermore, Diego studies continental philosophy and is working towards conjoining Contact Improvisation and philosophy in some way or another.
OLIVIA SHAFFER has enjoyed the last 14 years working as a dance artist. She is grateful to perform with EDAM (since 2014) while simultaneously collaborating with a broad range of choreographers as a freelance dancer. Olivia also leads her own choreographic projects and her work is presented locally and abroad. Olivia teaches dance and movement, including Contact Improvisation, at various studios, festivals, and post-secondary institutions. She holds a BFA from SFU. oliviashaffer.ca
ANTONIO SOMERA JR is a queer and quirky freelance dance artist who lives and works on the unceded territories of the Coast Salish peoples. His interests lie in improvisation, whether it be through contact dance, freestyling in street dance battles or becoming an adult.
Thank you for Joining us
Artistic Director Peter Bingham
Assistant Artistic Director Olivia Shaffer
General Manager Margarida Macieira
FOH Manager Sierra Megas & Tin Gamboa
Lighting Designer Kevin Kiju Kim
Sound Technician Alex Mah
Images/photos by Chris Randle
EDAM and all the participating artists respectfully acknowledge that our activities and events take place on the traditional, ancestral and unceded territories of the Squamish (Sḵwx̱wú7mesh Úxwumixw), Tsleil-Waututh (səl̓ilw̓ətaʔɬ) and Musqueam (xʷməθkʷəy̓əm) First Nations. EDAM also acknowledges the financial support of the Canada Council for the Arts; the Province of British Columbia, BC Arts Council and the City of Vancouver.
