Welcome back – here’s to a new year of dance!

You still have two nights, Friday and Saturday January 14 and 15, to catch John, choreographed by Helen Walkley and interpreted by Josh Martin and Billy Marchenski. John is a memoir of Walkley’s oldest brother, who disappeared from Vancouver in May 1969, never to be heard from again. The work came about as Walkley began to read correspondence, left after her Father’s death, that included notes from John to his parents, as well as letters from his parents to psychiatrists, trying to unravel his mental illness, also to other contacts in an attempt to find him. Check out this article about the work from Janet Smith at Stir. At the Firehall Arts Centre, 7:30 pm. Tix

Also through Saturday January 15, check out assemble, the new, full evening solo performance highlighting former Ballet BC principal artist Alexis Fletcher’s rigorous and virtuosic contemporary movement language, as well as her reflective, personal insights into the human experience. Evocative musical scores by Sigur Rós and Dustin O’Halloran set the tone for this contemplative evening of contemporary dance. In assemble, we follow the solo performer through rich and theatrical stage environments created by visual designer and filmmaker Sylvain Senez, and lighting designer Theo John Hunter Bell. This performance is a poetic work focused on how the sharing of our individual, personal stories can and should encourage others to reflect on their own. assemble weaves together layers of text – written and spoken primarily by Fletcher herself – with Senez’s multifaceted set design and projected films, which transform the stage atmosphere continuously throughout the performance. assemble explores memory, loss, and the capacity of human beings to voyage inward; finding in themselves reserves of hope, joy, and personal growth even within times of struggle. Check out the trailer here. At the Scotiabank Dance Centre, 8 pm. Tix

The 2022 PuSh Festival (January 20 to February 6) is right around the corner, with some great dance and performance works happening! January 25 to 27, check out Born to Manifest as Joseph Toonga channels the experiences of young Black British men in this dynamic dance performance. Set to an original score by Mikey J and marked by the idioms of krump, popping, and other urban styles, the show is a kinetic expression of pride and defiance. Check out a teaser here, and then go buy your ticket! At Performance Works, 7:30 pm.

Also part of the PuSh Festival and as part of the Dance Centre’s Global Dance Series, February 4 check out Maydays La Goddam Voie Lactée (The Goddamn Milky Way) An award-winning choreographer and multidisciplinary artist based in Montreal, Mélanie Demers dives into the political and the poetic with audacious works which fuse dance, theatre, literature and music with explosive effect. La Goddam Voie Lactée is her response to the harshness of the world: a pagan mass, both celebration and challenge, inspired by the constant mourning that marks our current age. Five charismatic women deploy their bodies, voices and instruments in a series of visceral scenes full of raw physicality and emotion. Reflecting on the need for solidarity in the face of adversity, this work is an exercise in self-imagination and creativity, and a means of finding our bearings in this imperfect world. At the Scotiabank Dance Centre, 8 pm. Tix

The Friday Round-Up, a place for the Vancouver community of dancers and dance lovers to come together and share what is going on in the local dance community. In this new world in which we find ourselves, it is now more important than ever to find ways to connect and share all the many new and innovative ways in which we create, communicate and relate in the world of dance. So if you have something you would like to share with the Friday Round-Up, please send it to debora@dancehouse.ca. We look forward to hearing from you!