Saturday April 2nd and Sunday April 3rd | 2pm
MacDonald Stewart Art Gallery
Barbara Pallomina [Toronto] Non-existent Dances Choreography by Jessica Runge Using poems by Roger Leveille, Margaret Atwood, Gwendolyn MacEwen and George Bowering, and drawings by Tony Tascona and David Rabinowitch as points of departure, Non-existent Dances negotiates the territory between movement and stillness to create a dance redolent with geometrical shapes. In this spare and concise new work, created for Barbara Pallomina by Jessica Runge, Pallomina's expressive physicality,clarity of intention, and attention to detail are showcased, and combine with her striking capacity for honesty in performance to create a singularly remarkable dance.
Jessica Runge (choreographer) works and makes her home in Toronto. She began dancing at the age of five and completed her professional training at the School of Toronto Dance Theatre. A member of Toronto Dance Theatre since 1998, Ms. Runge also enjoys a successful career as a freelance dance interpreter, improviser, choreographer, and teacher. She has toured nationally and internationally performing her own dance works as well as those of such acclaimed Canadian choreographers as Peggy Baker, Peter Chin, Kim Frank, and Christopher House. Ms. Runge has been nominated for three Dora Mavor Moore awards for her outstanding work on new dance premieres. She teaches improvisation and movement to Canadian high-school and university students, street youth, adult beginners, and professional dancers. She is currently a director of Series 8:08, Toronto-based producers of innovative dance workshops and performance.
Parahumans Dance Theatre [Hamilton] Over The Hills and Far Away Choreography by Dave Wilson and Dancers The piece is set to a mix of Indian Sacred/Classical music/chants, plus DJ rhythms and samples. The women are in a secluded mountain region, enacting personalised dance rituals in a friendly and supportive atmosphere. When not dancing, the dancers watch each other. The dance highlights solos, duets and ensemble sections. The style is modern and expressive, with the percussive music initiating much of the body's response.
Parahumans Dance Theatre were formed in 1992 and produce work of an interdisciplinary nature with dance being central. The company have performed in Toronto, Hamilton and completed two summer tours of England. The company have participated in the Toronto dance fringe (fFIDA) several times, as well as Samll Potatoes, Artist's Play and Series 8:08, RED, and Dance Ontario's Dance Weekend. Artistic Director Dave Wilson has been choreographing since 1978 and was trained in Toronto (Centre for Movement) and Vancouver (Synergy). Dave has been a Dance specialist in the Department of Kinesiology at McMaster University for 20 years and is Artistic Director of the McMaster Dance. Company. He is presently completing a PhD at Leeds University, England in 'Dance and Community'.
