Artists from the U.S., Japan, Denmark and Canada Slated for 2017 Vancouver International Dance Festival; Lineup Announced!

Vancouver International Dance Festival (VIDF) kicks off its 17th year of connecting Vancouver audiences with the power and breadth of contemporary dance in a four-week line-up that showcases world-renowned artists from the United States, Japan, and Denmark alongside seasoned and emerging Canadian artists from Vancouver, Montreal, and Toronto.

From March 1-25, 2017, at various Vancouver venues, VIDF will present 14 captivating companies, including anticipated performances by San Francisco's internationally-lauded troupe Alonzo King LINES Ballet; a Canadian premiere from Japan's Dairakudakan and Denmark's Kitt Johnson; west coast premieres from Toronto's Kaeja d'Dance and Montreal's Compagnie Virginie Brunelle; world premieres from Vancouver's-own Kinesis Dance, Karen Jamieson & Margaret Grenier, Rob Kitsos/Jane Osborne/Kim Stevenson, among many others.

"Dance is a universal language. As a form of expression, it transcends barriers of dialect and culture allowing us to understand and meaningfully engage with individuals of different backgrounds," said Barbara Bourget, Co-producer of VIDF. "Our Festival exists to celebrate this universality with voices and experiences from around the globe. This year we do so by showcasing a range of engaging, enthralling, and entertaining performances from world-class artists considered masters and innovators of their craft, from the surreal imagery of butoh, edgy expressions from our own backyard, American ballet at the cutting edge of contemporary dance, and much more."

In addition to ticketed shows, VIDF includes training opportunities for intermediate to advanced dance students, life drawing classes open to the public, and a number of free performances for VIDF members and the community. Tickets and details for all VIDF performances and activities are available at vidf.ca or by calling 604.662.4966.

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2017 VIDF LINE UP:

At the Vancouver Playhouse:

Alonzo King LINES Ballet (San Francisco)
Shostakovich and SAND
Vancouver Playhouse: March 3 & 4, 8pm
Known for hyper-physicality and technical brilliance, Alonzo King LINES Ballet returns to Vancouver after its audience-wowing premiere at the 2012 Vancouver International Dance Festival.

Shostakovich, set to four Shostakovich string quartets, pushes the company's dancers to extreme athleticism, shifting effortlessly from triple and quadruple pirouettes to elegant long-limbed poses en pointe. SAND is touted as "transformative" - a sophisticated spectacle performed to the original score of tenor saxophonist Charles Lloyd and jazz pianist Jason Moran. A first foray into dance for this trailblazing jazz duo, SAND amplifies the virtuosity and potency of King's talented company of dancers.

Dairakudakan (Japan)
Paradise
Vancouver Playhouse: March 10 & 11, 8pm
Founded in 1972, Dairakudakan is Japan's longest-standing butoh ensemble, globally recognized for its spectacular and theatrically explosive performances. As part of VIDF 2017, the company will present its latest groundbreaking work, Paradise, which premiered in June, 2016 at Tokyo's Setagaya Public Theatre. The work's origins came from Choreographer/Director Maro's realization that while hell is abundantly described in literature and culture, there seems to be little consensus around what constitutes paradise. On a white, geometric set, the 21 members of the company embark on a surreal and haunting journey that explores whether paradise is something that can only be found by tunneling within.

At the Roundhouse:

Compagnie Virginie Brunelle (Montreal)
To the Pain that Lingers
Roundhouse Performance Centre: March 16-18, 8pm
In To the Pain that Lingers, Montreal choreographer Virginie Brunelle offers a poetic work that is sometimes romantic, sometimes crude, but always informed by her search for our connections to each other, for the links that leave traces and create memories.

Kaeja d'Dance (Toronto)
lifeDUETS
Roundhouse Performance Centre: March 9-11, 8pm
Performed by Karen & Allen Kaeja, lifeDUETS showcases the collaborative talents of this husband and wife duo, known for their award-winning performances, site-specific works, acclaimed dance films, and educational outreach programs ongoing since 1991.

Kitt Johnson (Denmark)
POST NO BILLS
Roundhouse Performance Centre, March 23-25, 8pm
POST NO BILLS, choreographed and performed by Kitt Johnson, explores the potential of crisis to transform the human condition, based on the view of Existential Psychology that crisis must lead to criticism and not merely be suffered passively.

Rob Kitsos/Jane Osborne/Kim Stevenson (Vancouver)
Death and Flying
Roundhouse Exhibition Hall, March 16-18, 7pm
Death and Flying asks us to consider the objects, gestures or images we cherish to feel close to the ones we love. Inspired by American poet Max Heinegg, this duet looks at the things we collect in life and the things we choose to leave behind.

Molly McDermott (Vancouver)
Kai Kairos
Roundhouse Exhibition Hall, March 9-11, 7pm
Molly McDermott has been a key collaborator and performer with Kokoro Dance for the past decade. Her patient, determined presence in Kokoro Dance's creative process continues to be an inspiration to the choreographers. This new solo is built on Molly's extraordinary talents as an expressive, viscerally physical, and intelligent dance artist who applies total dedication and rigour in her quest for excellence in artistic expression.

Ouro (Vancouver)
PACE
Roundhouse Exhibition Hall, March 23-25, 7pm
OURO is a Vancouver-based collective that uses hip-hop, waacking, breaking, popping, and contemporary dance as the foundation for new work. PACE, OURO's second creation, explores each dancer's personal relationship with anxiety, suppression, and isolation.

At Woodwards:

Karen Jamieson/ Margaret Grenier (Vancouver)
light breaking broken
Woodwards Production Studio, March 23-25, 5pm
Peeling back the layers of the unknown and forging a path to understanding, light breaking broken is the personal journey of two artists reconnecting with language, culture, and identity through different cultural perspectives and individual histories.

Matthew Romantini (Toronto)
Crumbling
Woodwards Production Studio, March 9-11, 5-m
The human desire to transcend the mundane permeates Crumbling, choreographed by Barbara Bourget for Matthew Romantini. Through movement, sound, and text, this piece explores the creative desire to ascend and the destructive desire to crash.

KTL Company (Vancouver)
Woodwards Atrium, March 5, 12 & 19, 3pm
KTLco is a Vancouver-based urban Dance Company created by Ken Yung and Shauna Smith. The company offers an intensive, mentorship based training program, with on a focus on individual dancers recognizing and achieving their goals in the dance industry.

Deanna Peters Mutable Subject (Vancouver)
Dancers Playing Basketball
Woodwards Atrium, March 5, 12 & 19, 2 pm
Dancers Playing Basketball features a group of dance artists testing their skills in half-court play, rapping with dance-basketball jargon and sharing how physical performance on the court relates to the their artistic practices.

At Scotiabank Dance Centre:

Kinesis Dance somatheatro (Vancouver)
In PENUMBRA
Scotiabank Dance Centre, March 1-4, 8pm
Kinesis Dance somatheatro marks its 30th anniversary with the world premiere of In PENUMBRA, a multi-media work inspired by the search for utopia and the penumbra - the grey area between light and darkness that clouds our quest for enlightenment.

At Studio 1398:

Yayoi Theatre Movement (Japan)
OKUNI - Mother of Kabuki
Studio 1398, March 1-10, 8pm
OKUNI - Mother of Kabuki is Yayoi Theatre Movement Society's new 70-minute production, choreographed and performed by artistic director, Yayoi Hirano, that takes its audiences back to 17th Century Japan and the roots of the Kabuki (avant-garde or bizarre) performances that were heavily influenced by western costume and jewelry.

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The Vancouver International Dance Festival runs March 1-25, 2017. Tickets: Free to $60. Passes: Vancouver Playhouse Shows: $60 Adults; $50 Seniors/Students; Roundhouse, Scotiabank Dance Centre, Studio 1398 Shows: $30 Adults; $25 Seniors/Students; Kokoro Woodwards Studios: $15 Adults; $10 Seniors/Students. Go online at vidf.ca or call 604.662.4966 for more information.

About Vancouver International Dance Festival (vidf.ca): The Vancouver International Dance Festival (VIDF) is a social-profit, artist-run organization dedicated to supporting and furthering the art of culturally diverse contemporary dance. Each year the Festival scours the globe, and its own backyard, to assemble a month of emotionally rich and intellectually stimulating dance expressions. In doing so, the Festival functions as an important link between Vancouver and a vibrant, international community of artists, ensuring world-class contemporary dance will always have a place in the hearts and minds of Vancouver audiences.

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