dance Immersion Welcomes Azaguno and KasheDance to Harbourfront Centre This Weekend

dance Immersion celebrates 20 years of supporting, promoting and producing dancers and dances of the African Diaspora with the second of its two Showcase presentations this season. ExpressionsŠNow showcases two acclaimed companies who present a myriad of dance styles informed by their own personal evolution in dance: Ohio's Azaguno and Toronto's KasheDance - each of whom present a world premiere. This dynamic double bill runs today, April 4 and Saturday April 5 at Enwave Theatre as part of Harbourfront Centre's NextSteps.

Azaguno founder/dance director and choreographer Zelma Badu-Younge and founder/executive and music director Paschal Yao Younge bring the world premiere of Africa Meets Asia. With its 15-member dance and drum ensemble, Azaguno explores the fusion, juxtaposition and similarities of African and Asian dance and music. Azaguno is a multi-ethnic international touring group based in Athens, Ohio in the United States that focuses on performance of traditional and contemporary African dance and music. Through inter-cultural works, Azaguno brings a unique African theatrical experience to the stage.

Kevin Ormsby's KasheDance is hailed as embodying artistic diversity in technique, form and presentation. This company, celebrating its fifth anniversary, ushers in a new genealogy of Afro-contemporary dance steeped in modern dance, ballet and rooted in dances of the diaspora as it presents three works - variously performed by the ensemble's eight dancers - for the evening, all choreographed by Ormsby.

- Toronto premiere of Ke-ashe (Interludes within), a work from 2011 that charts instances of personal restraint to freedom in the internal and external interludes of life. It questions the rhythms we lose, gain and embrace in the walk of life.

- Recalcitrare (2011) explores the symbiosis of dance styles and techniques and its relationship to art and music. The cello joins the kora in the musical score that questions the notion of "classical".

- 5Š investigates the interconnectivity of embodied memory in a conversation about migratory bodies in motion, influenced by place and time under the resonance of Afro beat and house music. World Premiere.

dance Immersion was founded in 1994 to address the need for additional presentation, skill development and networking opportunities for dance artists of African descent. The African Diaspora refers to the communities throughout the world that are descended from the historic movement of peoples from Africa - predominantly to the Americas, Europe and the Middle East, among other areas around the globe. dance Immersion has experienced considerable success in connecting with dance artists of African descent throughout Canada and around the world. Under curator Vivine Scarlett, its programs offer audiences and participants a variety of activities that mirror diverse artistic expressions. www.danceimmersion.ca

dance Immersion presents ExpressionsŠNow featuring Ohio's Azaguno and Toronto's KasheDance including two world premieres April 4-5, 2014, Friday-Saturday at 8pm, Saturday matinee at 1pm, as part of Harbourfront Centre's NextSteps series at Enwave Theatre, 231 Queens Quay West, Toronto. Tickets: $25-$30 (Students/Seniors/CADA $18-$20). Group rate available. Harbourfront Centre Box Office at 416-973-4000 or online at: http://www.harbourfrontcentre.com/nextsteps/dance-immersion/.

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