More than Dance, We are a Movement
Red Sky Performance (Toronto)
DanceHouse is proud to offer a new film celebrating Red Sky Performance’s 20th-anniversary story as a leading company of contemporary Indigenous performance in Canada and worldwide. More Than Dance, We Are A Movement contains excerpts from their award-winning work and interviews with collaborators who have participated in this remarkable journey. This film captures the creative drive of founder and Artistic Director Sandra Laronde and the exceptional artistic vision that propelled Red Sky Performance to prominence and critical acclaim.
About Miigis
Miigis represents the “perfect breath” of life, a symbol that informs our origin story of travel from the Atlantic Coast to the Great Lakes. Fusing contemporary Indigenous dance with athleticism in an extraordinary form, Miigis explores the catalysts for movement, ancestral forces and living memory, and the cycle of life.
About Trace
Trace is a highly kinetic contemporary dance work inspired by Indigenous (Anishinaabe) sky and star stories. Our ancestral origins stretch across the Milky Way to the atoms burning inside of us in the here and now. Trace offers a glimpse into our origin as the star people as well as our future evolution.
This Digidance streaming is an initiative of DanceHouse (Vancouver), Danse Danse (Montreal), Harbourfront Centre (Toronto), and the National Arts Centre (Ottawa), co-presented with Springboard Performance (Calgary).
With Support from:
Top image: Red Sky Performance, Trace © Rob De Vito
Link available April 14-20, 2021
Streaming in Canada only
Running time: 55 minutes, no intermission
“Magnificent in the scope of its imagination…mysterious in its beauty and driving in its beat.”
Globe and Mail
“You can’t do better than Red Sky…magical and exemplary.”
NOW Magazine
"Red Sky reveals aspects of the more-than-human world in such a way that we can see them, with new eyes, as living and sentient."
The Dance Current
Red Sky Performance
Red Sky Performance is a leading company of contemporary Indigenous performance in Canada and worldwide.
Their mission is to create inspiring experiences of contemporary Indigenous arts and culture that meaningfully transforms society.
Now in our 20th year of performance (dance, theatre, music and media), Red Sky’s work highlights the originality and power of contemporary performance, enabling new creations to expand the breadth and scope of Indigenous-made work in Canada.
The vision of Red Sky Performance derives from its creator Sandra Laronde (Misko Kizhigoo Migizii Kwe) which means “Red Sky Eagle Woman” in Anishinaabemowin (Ojibway) language from the Teme-Augama Anishinaabe (People of the Deep Water). Her vision is dedicated to expanding and elevating the ecology of contemporary performance informed by Indigenous worldview and culture.
Laronde’s concept of performance explores the relationship between movement, live music, theatricality, image, and culture. Her engagement in these disciplines involves collaborations with dancers, musicians, composers, choreographers, visual artists, actors, writers, designers, researchers, and culture keepers who are integral to Red Sky Performance’s distinct productions.
Touring since 2003, Red Sky has delivered over 2,755 performances across Canada including international performances in 17 countries on four continents, including two Cultural Olympiads (Beijing and Vancouver), World Expo in Shanghai, Venice Biennale, and Jacob’s Pillow, among others. At the same time, they remain deeply rooted and invested on a grassroots level and regularly perform in urban, rural, and reserve communities across Turtle Island.
They are the recipient of 16 Dora Mavor Moore awards and nominations, two Canadian Aboriginal Music Awards, three International Youth Drama Awards from Shenzhen, China, and the Smithsonian Expressive Award, among other recognitions.
Sandra Laronde
Executive and Artistic Director, Red Sky Performance
A highly accomplished arts leader, creator, and innovator, Sandra Laronde plays a pivotal role in the ongoing Indigenous cultural resurgence of Canada.
The vision of Red Sky Performance derives from founder Sandra Laronde (Misko Kizhigoo Migizii Kwe which means “Red Sky Eagle Woman” in the Anishinaabemowin (Ojibway) language) from the Teme-Augama Anishinaabe (People of the Deep Water). Her vision is dedicated to expanding and elevating the ecology of contemporary performance informed by Indigenous worldview and culture.
Laronde has created an extraordinary body of work with celebrated collaborators that has led to powerful, transformational arts experiences. Laronde’s concept of performance explores the relationship between movement, live music, theatricality, media, and image. Her engagement in these disciplines involves collaborations with dancers, musicians, composers, choreographers, visual artists, actors, writers, designers, researchers, and culture keepers which is integral to Red Sky Performance’s distinct productions.
The recipient of numerous awards for artistic excellence and leadership, Laronde has garnered the Celebration of Cultural Life Award from the Toronto Arts Foundation, Victor Martyn Staunch-Lynch Award for Outstanding Artist in Dance from Canada Council, Expressive Arts Award from the Smithsonian Institute, Paul D. Fleck Fellowship in the Arts (Banff Centre), among other recognitions.
