Native Earth Reveals Programming For Weesageechak Begins To Dance

Native Earth Performing Arts has announced the 36th edition of Weesageechak Begins to Dance will return November 6-19, 2023 with in person performances at Aki Studio in Toronto and free online programming. This year's festival will gather over 22 artists from across Turtle Island to showcase contemporary Indigenous theatre and dance, plus excerpts from new work in development, music and comedy performances, book launches, an Accessibility in Indigenous Creation and Performance Panel, and more. 

Weesageechak 36 will present a celebration of new Indigenous theatre, dance, and multi-disciplinary creations with highlights including: who will save the night sky by Philip Geller, a one person show about gathering star stories for community, blending aspects of puppetry and clown with performances November 7 and 16; pieces by Animikiig Creators Unit artists Jennifer Alicia Murrin and Montana Adams on November 9, a theatre piece about the importance of intergenerational knowledge transmission; The Cave That Hummed A Song by Trina Moyan on November 11, a story birthed out of traditional oral story keeping with the late, great Lee Maracle about blood memory and women taking their rightful place in society; and Dreamer & the Turtle by Dakota Ray Hebert on November 15, a play about an outspoken and adventurous girl named Dreamer on a mission to save her tribe.

Free online events for Weesageechak will include OKIMAW ᐅᑭᒪᐤ by Aren Okemaysim, performing original music; Lax Yip by Raven Grenier, a multimedia piece exploring how the land informs movement; We Treaty People by Burnt Thicket Theatre, a new series of nine digital audio dramas and interviews from 49 artists asking the question, “What does it mean to embrace all our relations?”; and Staging Coyote's Dream, Vol. 3 by Monique Mojica and Lindsay Lachance, a digital book launch for the new anthology on the twentieth anniversary of its first volume.

Weesageechak will also include new work by Brefny Caribou, Damion LeClair, January Rogers, Lisa Nasson, Nova Courchene, Philip Geller, Sophie Dow, plus performances by Denise McLeod, Lacey Hill, Zachariah Highgate, and Lena Recollet.

Native Earth Performing Arts is Canada's oldest professional Indigenous theatre company. Currently in its 41st year, Native Earth is dedicated to creating, developing and producing professional artistic expressions of the Indigenous experience in Canada. Through stage productions (theatre, dance and multi-disciplinary art), script development, apprenticeships and internships, Native Earth seeks to fulfill a community of artistic visions. www.nativeearth.ca

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