Well, it had to happen – welcome to a rainy Vancouver Fall!

DanceHouse is so thrilled to present Kidd Pivot‘s new work Assembly Hall, October 25-28! Working again with theatre artist Jonathon Young, Kidd Pivot Artistic Director Crystal Pite has created a dance theatre hybrid that promises the company’s signature wit and invention. Fuelling Kidd Pivot’s work is a fascination with story and the role of language as an animating force, and Assembly Hall is no exception. A group of medieval re-enactors have come together for an Annual General Meeting in their local community hall. As the Board of Directors, they oversee an event called “Quest Fest” that has fallen on hard times: membership is dwindling, debt is mounting, and the hall is falling apart. Unless something drastic happens, the Directors of this venerable order will be facing dissolution. As the meeting progresses, the line between real and re-enactment begins to blur, ancient forces are awoken, and it soon becomes clear that there is something much more at stake here than a mock-medieval tournament. Janet Smith from Stir spoke recently with Pite about the work – check out the interview here as well as a video of the work in progress in studio. At the Vancouver Playhouse, 8 pm. Tix

Saturday and Sunday, October 20 and 21, The Falling Company offers PLUNGE. The PLUNGE Mentorship Project is a paid mentored project in creation and performance providing opportunities for emerging and early-career artists. Five dancer mentees and four production mentees have been selected and will showcase their mentored work. At Eighth & Eight Creative Spaces (Massey Theatre Complex) Performance studio 1B, October 20 7:30 pm, October 21 2 pm. Tix

Saturday, October 21 UNIT/PITT Society for Art and Critical Awareness invites you to Chaos Emblematic + UNIT/PITT Housewarming! After 3 years of remote operations, they are celebrating their new move with UNIT/PITT’s first public event in their new gallery location—a milestone in their nearly 50-year history in the city! Welcoming by Manuel Axel-Straina for UNIT/PITT on behalf of their Musqueam family members, marking this new chapter for UNIT/PITT, which now operates in Kitsilano near places named sk̀ʷəyəẁs and ťθəmťθaməls. Chaos Emblematic performance featuring the performers Masha Sherbyna, Mauro Fernandez von Waldenburg, James-Amzin, Ben Helten, KOFI Original music by Thiago Franzim. Housewarming party with fermented cocktails by Sahba Sadeghian. Sounds like fun! At UNIT/PITT 2954 West 4th Ave, 7 pm. FREE! but come early because space is limited. More info

This Sunday, October 22, Uzume Taiko and Vancouver Tap Dance Society present Shake the Earth: Tap & Taiko. What happens when taiko drummers and percussive dancers meet? They Shake the Earth! This concert is a celebration of rhythm: When does sound become music? When does pattern become rhythm? What draws us in and compels us to dance? Performed by Uzume Taiko and Vancouver Tap Dance Society members Jeffrey Dawson, Riley Skworoda, and Joel Hanna, this performance revolves around the seasons. From the excited and energetic play of the midday sun, to the calm and reflective shadows of the moon, join us on a journey as we Shake the Earth! At the Chan Centre for the Performing Arts, 3 pm. Tix

On Friday, October 27, Mascall Dance brings us The Impossible Has Already Happened, in answer to the looming question “How do we endure what lies ahead?” In its Canadian premiere (the work toured New Zealand this past Spring), The Impossible Has Already Happened brings together two nations’ stories of water amid a global climate crisis. Choreographers Jennifer Mascall (Canada) and Claire O’Neil (NZ) investigate the power and purpose of water. Water sustains, nourishes, disrupts and dazzles our planet. It draws parallels to our flowing lives, to stagnated situations and presence of being. With a sense of urgency, this work highlights our precious natural resource and all it can achieve. Check out the teasers here. At the Anvil Centre, 7:30 pm. Tix

Thursday, November 2 to Saturday, November 4 join Ballet BC in their season opener, HERE. The evening HERE features the return of one of the most popular works in Ballet BC’s repertoire by a legendary creator, an anticipated world premiere from a choreographer new to the company, and an epic large ensemble piece. Experience Enemy in the Figure from William Forsythe, a new creation from Stephen Shropshire, and Shahar Binyamini’s BOLERO X. Check out a trailer of the works and more info here. At the Vancouver Playhouse, 8 pm. Tix

November 2 to November 8, STAND Festival offers up a beautiful selection of performing arts by and for immigrant and refugee performing artists. Through a series of free workshops, panel discussions and public showcase performances, both live and online, STAND supports and amplifies the creations and voices of newcomers to Canada through the arts. The goal of STAND Festival is to centre and support immigrant and refugee voices while addressing social issues concerning race, class, and gender. The programming offers intriguing performances, knowledge-sharing workshops, panel discussions, and the chance to connect with inspiring newcomer artists who share their stories of survival, courage, failure, and hope. At Presentation House Theatre, North Vancouver. For more info and tix

On Thursday, November 2, as part of STAND Festival, check out Belle Spirale Dance Projects and Blackout Art Society in KIN (working title). Two performers explore themes of belonging, intergenerational memory, and kinship through an introspective, emotive world in this multi-dimensional contemporary dance work. A collaboration between Belle Spirale Dance Projects and Blackout Art Society, directed and envisioned by Alexis Fletcher, complemented by Sylvain Senez’s dramaturgy and visual design. Collaborators and performers, Lazaro Silva and Juan Duarte, beautifully translate lineage and memory into their dance. At Presentation House Theatre, 7:30 pm. FREE!

Love this! November 5 and then November 19, Stand Up Dance: Book Swap. Do you have a book you love and want to share with someone else? Join Stand Up Dance for the Anatomalia book swap! Bring your book to the theatre lobby on November 5. Books focussing on feminism, 2SLGBTQIA+, and social justice are encouraged, but all genres are welcome: fiction/nonfiction, graphic novels, anime/manga. (No coffee table books or magazines please.) Meet the artists of Stand Up Dance and tell them what you love about the book. They will wrap it up and incorporate it into the set of Anatomalia, running November 16-18. Come back on November 19, pick another book from the collection, unwrap and enjoy! Share some refreshments and connect with other book lovers. At the Scotiabank Dance Centre, 2 – 3:30 pm. FREE

For those dance artists out there, APPLICATIONS FOR THE 2024 SUMMERWORKS PERFORMANCE FESTIVAL – NOW OPEN! SummerWorks expands the possibilities of performance. Approaching its 34th year, the SummerWorks Performance Festival is widely recognized as one of the most vital and necessary platforms for launching new performance work in the country. SummerWorks is currently seeking proposals within their Presentations, Lab, and Public Works programming streams, for the Festival’s next iteration:  August 1 – 11, 2024, in Toronto, Canada. Proposals are encouraged from established and emerging creators working across all disciplines and artistic traditions. In-person, digital, and hybrid performance projects will be considered. NO APPLICATION FEE. GUARANTEED ARTIST FEES. Submission Deadline: OCTOBER 27, 2023 at 11:59 PM EST. For more info