Kaeja D'Dance Presents The 8th Annual PORCH VIEW DANCES

Kaeja d'Dance presents the beloved award-winning 8th Annual PORCH VIEW DANCES (PVD). This year PVD will be celebrated with the newly inaugurated Porch View Dances Lane in Seaton Village, of the Annex of Toronto. PVD is a unique family friendly site-specific production that showcases real people dancing in real spaces. The performance runs from July 17 to July 21, 2019, in Seaton Village, part of the Annex of Toronto.

This year, PVD is being honoured with the naming of Porch View Dances Lane, emphasizing just how much of a Toronto landmark this event has become. There will be a special unveiling and celebration on opening night (July 17 at 7pm) to commemorate this milestone! Everyone is invited.

PVD is a community dance festival that engages everyday people as creators, storytellers, and performers. PVD takes audiences on a walking tour of Seaton Village in the Annex of Toronto, to witness new dance works created by professional choreographers. Along the way, there will be dances performed by families, friends, and even strangers, on porches and lawns and vignettes danced by professionals in the most unexpected places. The magical outdoor performances have grown over the last 8 years and spread throughout Ontario. Porch View Dances was conceived by Karen Kaeja and developed with Allen Kaeja.

"I love that our universal language of movement brings intimacy and a non-verbal sense of connection. PVD is a social dance journey where we get to witness lives lived in all their rough and tumbleness, and always, something beautiful flows out of the front door!"
-Karen Kaeja, concept PVD, co-artistic director, Kaeja d'Dance

For the third year in a row, Jim and Owen Adams, father and son, have created a special series highlighting their Indigenous roots. During the event finale, audience members have the opportunity to become active participants themselves, as they are invited to join Karen's Flock Landing, a large participatory dance experience. Flock Landings have been performed in 106 locations from Japan to Toronto thus far.

PORCH 1
Choreographed by Aria Evans
This year, Jim and Owen Adams will be collaborating on a piece for Jim to perform about dreams, memory, and loss.

PORCH 2
Choreographed by Shannon Litzenberger
A group of friends and strangers unite in their shared love of dance, art, and community. They are looking forward to strengthening existing friendships and creating new ones.

PORCH 3
Choreographed by Karen and Allen Kaeja
A mother/daughter duo are looking forward to a magical bonding experience and sharing their dance with the community; while their story is unique, the themes are universal and will resonate with all.

In addition, there will be pop-up vignettes choreographed by Mateo Galindo Torres and danced by professionals Taylor Bojanowski and Mio Sakamoto.

Karen and Allen Kaeja are Co-Artistic Directors of Kaeja d'Dance. Runner up for NOW Magazine's Best Dance Company, they won Paul D. Fleck Fellowships and the Moving Picture Award for best performance. Karen Kaeja is an award-winning performer for stage and film, choreographer, educator, community builder, and project instigator. Her awards include the "I Love Dance" Community Award and the Paul D. Fleck Fellowship for Innovation. She is a 7-time Dora Mavor Moore nominee for Choreography and Performance, including 4 Doras for Crave, winning one. Allen Kaeja is an internationally recognized and award-winning dance film director and choreographer, who has created over 160 stage works and choreographed for 27 films. Allen is co-founder of the CanAsian Dance Festival. His awards include the prestigious Clifford E. Lee, K.M. Hunter, Bonnie Bird, a UNESCO citation and the Kathryn Ash Award.

This year's choreographers include Aria Evans (Mi'kmaq/Black/settler heritage), who is an award-winning Toronto-based interdisciplinary artist working in dance creation, performance, and film. Aria is Artistic Director of Political Movement where collaboration is the departure point to the work that she creates. Shannon Litzenberger's work has been presented across Canada and the US, in collaboration with some of Canada's leading artists and companies. She was the first ever Arts Innovation Fellow at the Metcalf Foundation, and is the recipient of the Jack McAllister Award for accomplishment in dance and a twice-shortlisted finalist for the prestigious KM Hunter Award. Mateo Galindo Torres (GUETCHA GUARITCHA) is a Colombian born multidisciplinary dance artist based in Toronto. He started his dance training in Bogota at an early age, and deepened his studies in the USA, Cuba, and Canada. His work is highly influenced by his Latinx American background, often politically charged, and inspired by social subject matters.

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