EXPANSIVE PERSPECTIVES: ART AND PERFORMANCE IN THE WEST FOR THE WEST

Tania Alvarado | Naomi Brand | Shay Kuebler

Some of western Canada’s most accomplished choreographers and dancers appear in Way West. Come see what these seasoned artists bring to the stage this year:

Tania Alvarado Edmonton | Calgary Hereafter The act of entering a space depends upon the act of leaving another space. Alvarado is interested in the moment where one’s presence lingers behind and how crossing the threshold transforms a new space. The central concept is focused on each performer’s personal experience of leaving, being left and arriving somewhere new. Beyond the metaphorical, Alvarado searches the concrete themes and realities of her subject, such as exile, migration, and adaptation.

Tania Alvarado is a contemporary dance artist from Edmonton, where she completed the Grant MacEwan College Dance Program. She completed a three-year development and mentorship agreement with the Brian Webb Dance Company. Her choreography has been presented at the Canada Dance Festival in Ottawa, at Montreal’s Tangente, the Dancing on the Edge Festival in Vancouver, at the Stream of Dance Festival in Regina, at Toronto's Dancemakers, the Alberta Scene in Ottawa, in the “Marathon”, an event presented in conjunction with the Festival de Nouvelle Danse and Le Group Dance Lab in Ottawa. She has been part of two Banff Centre for the Arts Creative Residencies, she has received two Edmonton Artists’ Trust Fund Awards and has been nominated for the Enbridge award for Emerging Artists. Her choreography has been commissioned by the National Arts Centre and she has performed her solo work in the U.S. and Europe with Bancs d’Essai Internationaux. Most recently, Tania completed two short dance films and spent two weeks in a creative process at the Banff Centre. As a performer, she has recently had the pleasure of working with Red Sky (in collaboration with Black Grace – New Zealand); has been part of the 2010 Dancers Studio West Dance Lab in Calgary; and performed in Regina and Ottawa with Robin Poitras as part of the 2011 Prairie Scene.

Alvarado’s work is presented in partnership with the Prairie Dance Circuit.

Naomi Brand Calgary Seed To Cede Seed to Cede is an intimate dance portrait choreographed and performed by Naomi Brand. The work illustrates the process of spilling oneself open and sowing seeds in a new landscape. Using a movement language that is both purposeful and poetic, the dance converts the stage into a canvas and imprints itself on the space.

Naomi Brand is a dancer, choreographer, teacher and a 2012 recipient of the Lieutenant Governor of Alberta Emerging Artist Award. Her formal dance training began at the University of Calgary where she earned both a BA and an MFA. She has since cultivated a diverse artistic practice as a soloist and a choreographer of group pieces, in addition to working in the burgeoning field of integrated dance theatre. Naomi is an active member of Calgary’s dance community and the co-founder of Calgary Contemporary Dance Collective. She has been an instructor in the Dance Department at the University of Calgary since 2007. Naomi is also a news writer for The Dance Current and the Artistic Associate of MoMo Mixed Ability Dance Theatre.

Shay Kuebler Vancouver Computer Stare (excerpt from KAROSHI ) Computer Stare is an excerpted solo from the full-length production KAROSHI. Through the dynamic of a man and his computer, the section looks at how "karoshi" is a breaking point, a collapse of the mental and physical state. It also speaks to how formatting and societal pressures can cause one to lose focus of self and personal need. Cabinet Cabinet is a work that looks at how one formats and places a structure over itself in attempts to blend, conform and relate. It also references the tendency for people to categorize or denote what they experience to more readily access, secure or protect their own thoughts and ideas. In this work specifically, we look at how man is pulled off his direct path from an outside force, and how outside influence can begin to alter one's own direction and perspective.

Shay Kuebler began his artistic development at the age of five with dramatic arts at Stage Polaris Theatre Academy, and with martial arts in Shito-Ryu Karate. His early artistic growth led to dance and a versatile background in hip hop, jazz, tap, contemporary and ballet. He continues to pursue and develop his artistic range and versatility, most recently, travelling to Tokyo, Japan and Salvador, Brazil, where he studied music, dance and martial arts. Shay was the 2008 Holy Body Tattoo Emerging Artist award winner and is frequently commissioned to choreograph for companies and festivals, including the 2008 Les Grands Ballet Choreographic Competition, the International Dance Festival of Brazil and the 2010 Canada Dance Festival. In addition to being a solo creator, Shay is a co-artistic director of the Vancouver-based 605 collective. shaykuebler.tumblr.com

WHEN AND WHERE

The Studio at Vertigo Theatre Centre Wednesday, October 17, 8:00 PM Post show artist talkback Thursday, October 18, 8:00 PM $25 Regular

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