And you thought spring was here…

If you are seeing this before 7 pm on Friday or Saturday, February 23 and 24, you still have time to check out Broken Chord, Maqoma and Sibisi’s hybrid dance and music production playing this week. Featuring members of the Vancouver Chamber Choir, Broken Chord tells the story of the African Native Choir (1891-93) through atmospheric soundscapes as well as traditional Xhosa and contemporary dance. Check out this interview by Gail Johnson with Choreographer Maqoma in Stir. Pre-show Chat 7:15pm each night in the Vancouver Playhouse Upper Lobby with Host Vanessa Richards, interdisciplinary artist, facilitator and educator (Feb 24), Jim Smith, DanceHouse Executive and Artistic Director (Feb 23 & 25) with guests Thuthuka Sibisi, Broken Chord Composer, and Kari Turunen, Vancouver Chamber Choir Artistic Director. At the Vancouver Playhouse, 8 pm. Tix

Don’t miss this! A community workshop with Gregory Maqoma in African-inspired Contemporary dance on Saturday, February 25! Traditional Xhosa and Contemporary dance styles. Gregory Vuyani Maqoma became interested in dance in the late 1980s as a means to escape the growing political tensions growing in Soweto, South Africa, where he was born. He started his formal dance training in 1990 at Moving into Dance, where he, later, became the Associate Artistic Director in 2002. He founded Vuyani Dance Theatre (VDT) in 1999 while undertaking a scholarship at the Performing Arts Research and Training School (PARTS) in Belgium, under the direction of Anne Teresa de Keersmaeker. Maqoma has established himself as an internationally renowned dancer, choreographer, teacher, and director. THE PULSE THEORY – Gregory Maqoma Dance Technique: Maqoma sieves memories through movement techniques that are a reminder of German philosopher, economist, and revolutionary, socialist Karl Marx’s (1818-1883) notion of kinetic maxim: It does not so much express what you should do but what you have to overthrow in order to do it, namely all conditions that inhibit kinetic potential.” 9:30 – 11 am, at Harbour Dance. Sign up

Streaming on demand February 21 – March 7, Jamie Robinson and Avery Smith present -273.15: a series of body rituals. Body and camera collaborate to create three distinct visual experiences of ritual. Through rigorous processes of imagination, performers experiment with specific ways of meeting and being with the body. Inspired by the fundamental states of matter, the movement explorations draw on scientific phenomena in the search of reaching an altered state of being. Supported and funded by The Dance Centre. For more information

Thursday March 2 – Sunday March 5, Dancers of Damelahamid produce the annual Coastal Dance Festival (CDF), in partnership with The Anvil Centre in New Westminster and the Museum of Anthropology at UBC. The Festival is a celebration of the stories, songs and dances of the Indigenous peoples of the Northwest Coast with guest national and international artists. The 16th annual festival brings Indigenous artists together to share and support one another in a celebration of lived artistic practices. Guest national and international artists have connected the festival with a global community of Indigenous dance, including Inuit artists Paunnakuluit, internationally renowned performer and ambassador of Māori performing arts and avant-garde theatre Rosie Te Rauawhea Belvie, and e , who under the guidance of Wiradjuri Dancer and Choreographer Jo Clancy, perform contemporary and traditional Aboriginal dances from the creation stories and landscapes of the Darug, Gundungurra and Wiradjuri peoples who have occupied and cared for the unceded lands of the Blue Mountains and NSW Central West in Australia since time immemorial. Many events of the weekend are free! Check out all the programming and ticket information here. At the Anvil Centre, New Westminster.

For those of you that teach dance, on Sunday February 26, New Works continues it’s Share Dance: In Practice series with The Child as a Teacher, evolving our creative pratices of sharing dance and teaching with intention. Join co-facilitators Julie Lebel and Starr Muranko in conversation around the creative practice of teaching dance. To register. At Q7 Studios, 77 E 7th Ave, Vancouver. 3:15 – 6:15 pm.

Join All Bodies Dance Project and connect with the joy of movement, self-discovery, and imagination, all from the comfort of your home! Explore and improvise through movement prompts, phrases, shapes, and activities that celebrate the diversity of inclusive community dance. No experience required; everyone is welcome. Move as much or as little as you would like. These classes are facilitated by Janice Laurence, who is a disabled dance artist, educator, and movement ambassador. Her unique dance practice includes the joyful exploration of using various mobility aids. Janice was born with the neuromuscular disease Charcot Marie Tooth (CMT) Type 1A. She enthusiastically believes that creativity, community, connections, and diversity are our strengths. In partnership with ConnecTra. Three Fridays a month: Fridays February 24, March 3, 24, and 31. Register: https://bit.ly/3DF80AT