Well folks, it’s here – the final DanceHouse presentation for the 2021/22 season! And what a way to go out, with Winter Guests (Norway) in Story, story, die.

The rules of the game are simple. Like and be liked. Kill or be killed. Under the direction of choreographer Alan Lucien Øyen, Norway’s dance/theatre company winter guests deconstruct contemporary pathologies of need and narcissism. Taking inspiration from the performers’ real-life experiences, solo work and group dynamics lay bare the brutal cost of social rituals. With an emphasis on the eloquence of pure dance, winter guests pose difficult questions about what it means to be free when every aspect of daily life is subject to constant scrutiny, manipulation, and judgement. As the game is redrawn, the competition metastasizes into an Escher-like illustration of truth and presentation, as carefully constructed identities implode beneath the pressure of perfection, punishing all those who dare to play.

Alan Lucien Øyen, Choreographer of Story, story, die, is one of the most exciting artists from Norway today. Whether it’s theatre, dance or film, Alan’s works have a highly emotional and dramatic drive. His choreographic language is complex and technically challenging. His works are informed by the world around him which allows him to draw inspiration from a myriad of sources including high art and popular culture as well as personal conversations and experiences – always in pursuit of a sincere and human expression. Read more about Alan Lucien Øyen here. At the Vancouver Playhouse, 8pm. Pre-show Chat 7:15pm each night in the Vancouver Playhouse Upper Lobby. Hosts: Stir Co-founders and Editors Gail Johnson (June 22), and Janet Smith (June 23). Guest: winter guests Artistic Director Alan Lucien Øyen. Tix

Sunday June 12, Mozaico Flamenco presents the Sunday Salon Series featuring a very intimate and special musical evening with artists specializing in pure flamenco, cantaora Jafelin Helten with guitarist Gerardo Alcala with cameo by Kasandra “La China” dancing Tarantos and Oscar Nieto to moderate the question and answer period.  Why Cante Jondo?  While Flamenco can trace Spanish roots, the singing or “cante” traces its roots to the Gitano. The cante was born out of Roma tradition & Flamenco is most famed for its soulful, sorrowful laments expressing human emotion. We present this showcase so that Vancouver audiences can experience little known songs such as Granaina, Livianas, Tarantos, as we rarely hear these sung. This show is for the curious and the flamenco affionados. Mozaico Flamenco’s “Sunday Salon Series” will continue the first two Sundays of the month for the remainder of the year.  The show starts at 7:30pm.  Act 1 is a 45-50 min professional show, followed by a Question and Answer period over wine $5 (bring your own cup!) so the audience can meet the artists.  Act 2 starts at 8:30pm and continues in a community circle like the tablaos in the caves of Sacromonte, Granada.  Flamenco is a vibrant art form that lives on audience interaction in the form of handclapping and shouts, OLE!  Celebrate this wonderful event with Mozaico Flamenco.  Anne MacDonald Studio, Presentation House Theatre, 333 Chesterfield Ave, North Vancouver Tix

Thursday through Saturday, June 16-18, check out 7y98D, a new work choreographed by German-born movement artist, RubberLegz in collaboration with the OURO Collective. The work features 5 of the collective’s dancers, along with an original sound score by Owen Belton, lighting design by James Proudfoot, and costuming by Jean Okada. 7y98D is inspired by The Climate Clock, a public art installation created by artists Gan Golan and Andrew Boyd set on Manhattan’s Union Square. The clock depicts a timer counting down the remaining time to avoid climate disaster. According to the IPCC Special Report on Global Warming of 1.5ºC, if greenhouse gas emissions continue at their current rate, the average global temperature will continue to rise and become irreversible. Golan and Boyd began counting down on September 17th, 2020, from 7 years, 103 days, 15 hours, 40 minutes, and 7 seconds – OURO became aware of the Climate Clock when it was down to 7 years and 98 days. 7y98D entails a ten-minute short film directed by Dave Ehrenreich and Jeff Hamada, a fifty-minute stage piece choreographed by RubberLegz and performed by OURO Collective, and an artwear exhibition by Jennifer Latour. Check out this amazing teaser, and then buy your tickets here! At the Roundhouse Performance Centre, 7:30 pm

Sunday June 19, 2pm | Monday & Tuesday June 20 & 21, 8 pm V’ni Dansi, in collaboration with Full Circle, presents La Mitchin di Mitchif. Led by Artistic Director Yvonne Chartrand, V’ni Dansi (‘Come and Dance’ in Mitchif) is dedicated to sharing the stories and culture of the Mitchif (Métis), through both traditional and contemporary dance. La Mitchin di Mitchif (Mitchif Medicines) is a new Indigenous contemporary dance work created through an international collaboration with Santa Fe’s Dancing Earth. Co-choreographed by Chartrand and Dancing Earth Artistic Director Rulan Tangen, the work is inspired by cultural ancestral knowledge of Mitchif plant medicines. Post-show talkback with the artists June 19. At the Scotiabank Dance Centre. Tix

Coming to a neighbourhood near you throughout the month of June! MascallDance is bringing delivery dances and Beethoven back to your door with Privilege at Home. The outstanding concert pianist Rachel Kiyo Isaawa appears on the back of a pick-up truck playing Beethoven’s Waldstein’s Sonata, accompanied by 5-minute dances by celebrated dancers Ralph Escamillan or Erika Mitsuhashi. Go here for places, dates and times.

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!