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Poster for Emergency 12

Emergency #12

Works by Robyn Abbey, Jill Battson & D.A. Hoskins & A.M Allcott, Darinka Blagaj, Allyson Booth, Sheelah Brouwer, Jessica Moya Brown, Beverley Brown-Chislett, Darcy Conroy & Zoe Greenwood, susan dalton, Barbara Dametto, Curtis Driedger & Kate Story, Joe Erikson & Tina Staplin, Anna Gartshore, michael hermiston, Kris Keating, Charlotte Kennedy, Beth Lifeso, Susie Magyari, Meghan Leadbeater, Karolyn Newby, Rob Steinman & Old Men Dancing, Jessica Rowland, Anne Ryan, Maureen Shea, Nicolas Sternsdorff, SWAG, Brion Wagner

March 31 – April 3. 2004

Market Hall Theatre, 336 George St. N

Program A: Wed @ 8PM, Fri @ 9:30 PM
Program B: Wed @ 9:30PM, Thurs @ 8PM
Program C: Thurs @ 9:30 PM, Fri @ 8PM
Program D: Sat @ 4 & 8PM
Program E: Sat @ 5:30 & 9:30PM

View Program

View Poster

Performances:

March 31, 2004 - April 3, 2004

8:00 pm

Tickets:

 $7 for admission to one program,
$5 for each addtional program, Festival Pass (all 5 programs): $20.
Available at the door or by reservation, call PND (705) 745-1788

Peterborough’s twelfth Emergency brings you twenty-eight brave new works of dance and performance. Programs A, B and C feature Emergency veterans (and some exciting newcomers); Programs D and E present the work of artists who have never before appeared in the festival, in a special one-day-only gala presentation with a matinee and an evening performance.

At locations to be announced
Artspace presents DUORAMA, a series of site-specific performance art works by Paul Couillard and Ed Johnson. Info: call Artspace at 748-3883 or go to www.artspace-arc.org

Wed. March 31
A – 8:00 pm
B – 9:30 pm

Thurs. April 1
B – 8:00 pm
C – 9:30 pm

Fri. April 2
C – 8:00 pm
A – 9:30 pm
with Ottawa guest artist Maureen Shea     

Sat. April 3
D – 4:00 pm
E – 5:30 pm
D – 8:00 pm
E – 9:30 pm

PROGRAM A features a delightfully varied combination of new performance from Darinka Blagaj; a well-honed creation from Anna Gartshore; and the return of the ever-popular Old Men Dancing. Newcomers include a collaborative work by poet-performer Jill Battson with Toronto-based dancer and choreographer D.A. Hoskins directed by AM Allcott; Susie Magyari brings the energy of hip hop and street jazz to the stage. And on one night only (Friday April 2 at 9:30 pm) Program A will feature the work of Ottawa’s rule-breaker Maureen Shea (part of a special Peterborough-Ottawa dance exchange).

PROGRAM B delights with new work by Beverley Brown-Chislett; a choral and dance ensemble directed by Joe Erikson and Tina Staplin (with the haunting music of Arvo Pärt); an improvisational cycle Coal Dust Ventilation by the tirelessly creative michael hermiston; the return of super-powered and ever-exciting troupe SWAG; and the latest in Anne Ryan’s inspired cycle of the elements (presented in Ottawa on a PND-sponsored Ottawa-Peterborough dance exchange).

PROGRAM C kicks off with Barbara Dametto’s twisted creation Luminous Squid and Other Marine Phenomena; a work by a new and exciting addition to the local dance scene Allyson Booth; the latest creation from Peterborough eccentrics Curtis Driedger and Kate Story Tonight the Bottle; two hilarious new works from veteran Kris Keating; a comedic physical theatre piece from the innovative Charlotte Kennedy; and an exciting new work from artist Jessica Rowland.

PROGRAMS D and E
 feature work from edgy newcomers to Emergency, including Darcy Conroy, Zoe Greenwood, Chad Irwin, Beth Lifeso, Karolyn Newby, Brion Wagner, Robyn Abbey, Sheelah Brouwer, Susan Dalton, Nicolas Sternsdorff, Mari Kumada, Sherisse Tan, Zhihong Cui, Fai Wechayachai and The Trent Dance Club.

ImagePROGRAM A Wednesday March 31 at 8:00 pm, Friday April 2 at 9:30 pm

Emergency fans will be thrilled to discover new work by performance artist Darinka Blagaj, toot c’est gut. A vocal sound score, hand drumming, and the manipulation of light describe the whole which is the sum of its parts.

Performer Anna Gartshore, graduate of the acting program at Ecole Philippe Gaulier International School of Theatre in London, UK and Paris, France, presents Surrender, a work about a woman struggling to find the balance-point of sanity while enwrapped in ropes.

And after last year’s lighthearted frivolity, the ever-popular Old Men Dancing return with Bus to Enigma, directed by Rob Steinman with original music by michael hermiston. It is a piece about an intense spiritual quest, based on vast hours of research of a recently discovered text The Emperor’s Tome – Legends of Ancient Urbania. Masked figures enact a modern interpretation of the three-thousand-year-old sacred Umbrella Ritual. A world premier, the piece exposes this ancient myth to a modern audience for the first time, complete with the discovery of the paradoxical transformation to the holy kingdom of Nerf.

Newcomers to the festival include:

Jill Battson, an internationally published poet and poetry activist, performs her multi-disciplinary work Ecce Homo with Toronto-based dancer/choreographer D.A. Hoskins, dancers Neil Sochasky and Gerard Reyes and musician Jeremy Mimnagh, directed by A.M. Alcott. It is a sweltering summer night in New York’s Greenwich Village in 1984. From encounters with a dancer at the club, to a chance voyeuristic experience on the street, to a new slant on his own boyfriend, our protagonist Charlie’s path is repeatedly littered with icons and images of Jesus.

Susie Magyari with Jessica Moya Brown combine hip hop and street jazz in the energetic and fast-paced number Beat Mix.

And performing on Friday April 2 at 9:30 pm ONLY, rule-breaking Ottawa dance artist and founder of the Grasshoppa Dance Exchange Maureen Shea performs her work City project. This innovative performance has been seen in Ottawa, Montreal and Toronto, and now, Peterborough.

ImagePROGRAM B Wednesday March 31 at 9:30 pm, Thursday April 1 at 8:00 pm

Beverley Brown-Chislett brings her work Sunday to the stage, exploring separation, re-connection, ecstasy and descent. Performed with dance artist Anne Ryan.

Joe Erikson
 and Tina Staplin, creators of Lesson for the Day, present a curious and conflicted multi-performer dance-work with the haunting music of Arvo Pärt performed live.

The tirelessly creative michael hermiston performs an ever-evolving improvisational work of dance and music Coal Dust Ventilation with Ryan Cartwright , andEsther Vincent.

Fearless performance troupe SWAG returns with More rehearsals needed, a comedic reflection on their past endeavours. Through their mastery of the dramatic arts they defeated the evil BOREDOMOR and retired, but today they have come back to fight the same evil, which they were created to destroy. Choreographed and performed by Molly Conlin, Matt Keast, Ryan McLeod, Rodney and Sidney Pinto, Mary Kate Whibbs.

Anne Ryan performs her latest work inspired by the elements with Elemental: Water, a moody, atmospheric piece that evokes the ever changing view of a sea-scape. One body echoes the other, moving from wave to wave, supported by haunting notes from the clarinet and subtle washes from drums and cymbals. Elemental: Water is the third piece in a suite of four elements, performed with musicians Kirsten Addis and michael hermiston, and dancer Kate Story.

ImagePROGRAM C Thursday April 1 at 9:30 pm, Friday April 2 at 8:00 pm

Barbara Dametto presents her new work Luminous Squid and Other Marine Phenomena with performers Allyson Booth, Tanya Elchuk, Karen Gowanlocke, Carrie Hoskins, Chad Irwin, Charlotte Kennedy, Tiina Kivinen, Ryan McLeod, and Karolyn Newby. Bizarre yet poignant, this glimpse of unknown things, of the conversation deep in the ocean, is sure to leave you squirming with delight. Warning: not recommended for the squeamish. Original score composed and performed by Justin Hiscox, with Mark Hiscox and michael hermiston.

Allyson Booth, a new and exciting addition to the Peterborough dance scene, presents her moving expression of grief and hope Bound. It is a piece about being alone in a crowd, grieving, and childhood longing. Breath, fluid technical dance, and rhythmic pedestrian movements are enhanced by live a cappella music and poetry (featuring the works of Theresa McKay, Bernie Martin, Dennis Lee and Leonard Cohen). Performed by dancers Allyson Booth, Stephanie Booth, Barbara Dametto, Briagh Hoskins-Hasbury, and Nadia Petraroja, with vocals by Nauni Parkinson and Jill Staveley.

Two of Peterborough’s most eccentric performers, Curtis Driedger and Kate Story, are back with their new collaboration Tonight the Bottle, featuring “Earl Merle McBurl” and “Rose Budde” with the Juanita O’Dang Singers. The bar room clock in Rudiger’s Roadhouse is ticking towards two, and for the next few minutes the spotlight of the universe is shakily beamed on the two lonely and broken denizens of the joint, the hard bitten has-been piano player and the once-glamourous saloon vivante. A ghostly choir appears in the murky light, a host of mock-redemptive guardian losers. All is suspended in a state of pitiful bewilderment, apparently even into the nebulous world beyond …

Emergency veteran Kris Keating is sure to tickle the audience with her two new works Art and Politics. Suited figures puritanically attempt to keep a woman’s body covered, with hilarious results; performers mingle in a comedic examination of power over and under.

Charlotte Kennedy 
delights with a short, comedic physical theatre piece Splenderatti in Concert that explores object animation and distinctive movement. The unsurpassed Splenderatti attempts to bring impeccable virtuosity to this gala performance of Handel’s Water Music. Music performed by Josh Fewings.

Jessica Rowland’s exciting new work Contact employs innovative costume, props, and multi-media elements with improvised music in a way that redefines performance.

ImagePROGRAM D Saturday April 3 ONLY, at 4:00 pm and 8:00 pm

Darcy Conroy performs the multimedia Hush, a duet with Zoe Greenwood about silencing. Film, photo essay, monologue and movement take us through an exploration of the voice lost and found.

Chad Irwin gathers dancers and musicians together in the energetic and trance-like improvisational Circum’s Dance, featuring Tanya Elchuk, Harris Ivens, Tiina Kivinnin, and others.

Choreographer Beth Lifeso presents Point Form, a piece combining text and weather sound effects with the music of Beethoven to create an eerie, yet familiar environment. Dancing through a storm, both literally and emotionally, the two pairs of dancers create, challenge, and ultimately destroy trusting relationships with each other. Performers Jodi Hawkins, Jill Macdonald, Ashley Rivington, Elise Rowan; costume designer Elizabeth Varty; sound editor Gavin McDonald.

Karolyn Newby
 presents Vend’or, a work that could leave you never looking at weddings in the same way again.

Brian Wagner’s 
multi-media work Evolver features multiple slide projectors, live deejayed music, and movement, carving the space with biological and technological forms.

PROGRAM E Saturday April 3 ONLY, at 5:30 pm and 9:30 pm

Robyn Abbey 
animates her original script Someone to Hold in a poignant and often humourous examination of the four emotions of dance, expressed through ballet (romantic), jazz (bold), hip-hop (angry) and modern dance (shy). Performed with Jodie Ferguson, Mandie Pfoh, and Charlotte Halka.

Choreographer Sheelah Brouwer’s Timeline depicts a chronological journey through four distinct periods of a woman’s life, from childhood, through adolescence, into motherhood, and finally reaching the years of wisdom. Performed by Robyn Alfonso, Diana Westley, and Jamie Wilder.

Susan Dalton’s Your Face Goes Here examines our participation in the gendering of our own bodies, through a Chaplin-inspired political physical comedy involving the silhouettes on public washroom doors.

Nicolas Sternsdorff
 presents Dreams, an exploration of sleep and dreaming: war and peace, a nightmare, and a dream of desperation.

The newly-formed Trent Dance Club (April Alanen-Condelli, Leah Bally, Meghan Leadbeater, Susie Magyari, Stacey Maloney, Kerith Paul, Elizabeth Pecchia, Lisa Roszel, Jenny Riel) perform The question of U, a jazz/modern/hip hop interpretation of the Prince song on the theme of love.

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