Native Earth and DanceWorks to Present Indigenous Dance Double Bill

Two transformations; two dramatically different outcomes. Native Earth Performing Arts, in partnership with DanceWorks CoWorks, presents an evening of Indigenous dance that explores a community's influence on youth development. Featuring original works with distinctly different styles by Montreal-based Lara Kramer (Ojibwa/Cree) and Vancouver's Gitxan-rooted Dancers of Damelahamid, the Indigenous Dance Double Bill runs Thursday April 21st to Saturday April 23rd in Native Earth's Aki Studio.

The evening begins with a vibrant exploration of a traditional Pacific Northwest upbringing in the Gitxsan nation. Dancers of Damelahamid's signature piece Luu hlotitxw: Spirit Transforming tells the story of a young Indigenous man who passes through trials and emerges transformed thanks to the assistance of the ever-present ancestors. Choreographed by Margaret Grenier, in collaboration with Nigel Grenier and the Dancers of Damelahamid, Spirit Transforming weaves traditional Gitxan masked dance and contemporary practices with modern technology to tell a story of re-birth. This transformative performance places animation and multimedia next to elaborate regalia and intricately-carved masks to lead us on a universal spiritual voyage.

The evening continues with the hard-hitting and very personal NGS (Native Girl Syndrome), an original work by Ojibwa/Cree dancer and choreographer Lara Kramer. NGS dives into street culture, as enacted in a raw theatrical performance by Karina Iraola and Angie Cheng, the interpreters instrumental in developing the piece. Iraola and Cheng's drug-filled, disassociated personas take the audience on a dynamic journey of addiction, loss, and alienation. Inspired by the experience of Kramer's grandmother who migrated from a remote First Nations community into an unfamiliar urban environment as a young woman, this powerful work explores the effects of cultural disorientation, assimilation, and the self-destructive behavior she endured.

Kramer's contemporary and theatrical depiction of youth in a destabilizing urban environment hits even harder thanks to the striking interpretations by Bolivian-Spanish and Asian-Canadian dancers Karina Iraola and Angie Cheng (respectively). Developing NGS with Iraola and Cheng pushed Kramer to go beyond the story of her grandmother, and explore the far-reaching impact of colonialism and cultural displacement.

Contrastingly, Dancers of Damelahamid's traditional movement, performed by dancers of Gitxsan and Cree decent in button blankets and cedar and alder masks, demonstrates the powerful transformation one can experience in the hands of a centuries-old culture from the Pacific Northwest coast of Canada. The juxtaposition of these two pieces in one evening highlights the potentially drastic and different outcomes for Indigenous youth in Canada.

Native Earth Performing Arts and DanceWorks CoWorks
present
An Indigenous Dance Double Bill

Luu hlotitxw: Spirit Transforming
by Dancers of Damelahamid
Nightly at 7:00 PM

NGS (Native Girl Syndrome)
by Lara Kramer
Nightly at 9:00 PM

Aki Studio, Daniels Spectrum
585 Dundas Street East
Run Dates: April 21 - 23, 2016
Thursday to Saturday
Tickets are $25 per show or $40 for a Double Bill Package.
Tickets can be purchased online at www.nativeearth.ca or by calling 416.531.1402

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