Firehall Arts Centre Presents Fujiwara Dance Inventions' EUNOIA This May

The Firehall will present Fujiwara Dance Inventions' Eunoia from Wednesday, May 8 to Saturday, May 11, 2024.

Eunoia is a dance-theatre production and adaptation of Christian Bök's award-winning book of poetry of the same name. It is a conceptual book written in the form of a lipogram where each of its five chapters is constrained to the use of one vowel. It is much lauded as a work, won the 2002 Griffin Poetry Prize, and became a bestseller in Canada and the UK.

Eunoia means ‘beautiful thinking' and is the shortest word in the English language to contain all five vowels. In the book, the author imposed the severe constraint of working with only one vowel in each chapter. Remarkably, and despite the severe limitations to the usable vocabulary, Bök was able to create oddly narrative poems with characters, scenes, and coherent action.

“The choreography has imposed constraints as well,” says Fujiwara. “For example, in Chapter E, we use the neck, spleen, knees, etc. Rather than limit the choreography, we've found that these constraints have allowed us to create a delightful parallel world that is separate and yet, still relates to the poem in odd and unexpected ways.”

Throughout the production, poetry is used as text – spoken live, as a kind of score for the dance, in multimedia expressions and as the basis for movement invention. The work is rigorous, surprising, and frequently droll.

Credits for Eunoia:

Choreographed & Directed by:  Denise FujiwaraPerformed by:  Sylvie Bouchard, Brayden Cairns, Jen Hum, Mayumi Lashbrook, Lucy Rupert, & Gerry TrenthamComposition & Sound Design by:  Phil StrongVideo Design by:  Justin StephensonLighting Design by:  Roelof Peter SnippeStage & Production Management by:  A.J. MorraVoice Direction by:  Gerry Trentham

For more information on The Firehall, please visit www.firehallartscentre.ca.

About Fujiwara Dance Inventions:

Fujiwara Dance Inventions is a repertory dance theatre company based in Tkaronto/Toronto. It creates original works that have toured nationally and internationally to 4 continents over its 33 years. The creative work is founded out of research, improvisation and Japanese Butoh practices, and this work evolves and expands with each project. Current works; Eunoia, is rich in spoken text and has complex design elements, Moving Parts integrates local choirs and everyone sings in 3-part harmony, and the upcoming Valley of Shadows is a short film shot on location in the badlands of Alberta. The company is graced largely with creative performers who are also choreographers and artistic directors of their own companies. We work to create dance performances and learning opportunities that integrate the experiences of performer, audience and learner in ways that cultivate curiosity, creativity, openness, and presence.

About Firehall Arts Centre:

With over forty years' history of weaving diverse storytelling into the fabric of Greater Vancouver, Firehall Arts Centre is where stories come alive. Through theatre, dance, music, inter-disciplinary work and the visual arts, The Firehall has embraced its mission to enrich lives and expand minds through the arts. One of the most unique cultural institutions in British Columbia, The Firehall - in more predictable times - hosts over two hundred performances per year. Located in the city-owned heritage fire station built in 1906, The Firehall's intimate black box studio theatre along with its outdoor courtyard performance area and its rehearsal studio has served to support innovative, eclectic, and often politically-charged theatre productions as well as exquisite, cutting-edge dance and music performances. The Firehall is proud to support emerging and established performing artists and companies, and strives to program work that is inclusive, culturally rich, and reflective of the many voices and perspectives in Canada.

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