Online Press Kit
Jaberi Dance Theatre – No Woman’s Land and Artist’s Residency
Presented by Public Energy Performing Arts
No Woman’s Land is an evocative new work that explores real stories of women in refugee camps. Conceived and directed by Roshanak Jaberi and created with a powerhouse artistic team and an ensemble of six performers, this interdisciplinary production integrates dance, theatre and multi-media – taking audiences on a journey that reveals the plight and resistance of refugee women.
Media Release
Contact
Eva Fisher, Administrator and Marketing Director
Phone: 705-745-1788 / Email: admin@publicenergy.ca
Photos
Photo: Zahra Saleki
Photo: Zahra Saleki
Photo: Zahra Saleki
Headshots
About the company
Jaberi Dance Theatre (JDT) is a contemporary and inter-disciplinary performing arts company based in Toronto. Incorporated as a non-profit organization, the company is committed to exploring socially and politically relevant content that highlights the stories and lived experiences of racialized women, while providing a platform for intercultural collaboration and exchange.
Jaberi Dance Theatre (JDT) aspires to create thought-provoking and innovative performances to engage, inspire and mobilize audiences towards social change. The company strives to develop unique collaborations with professional Canadian and international artists, organizations, educators and activists who share a common vision.
About Roshanak Jaberi
Roshanak Jaberi is an Iranian-Canadian performer, choreographer, producer, and the Artistic Director of Jaberi Dance Theatre (JDT). She creates inter-disciplinary work that focuses on the intersection of art and social justice. Jaberi has a research informed artistic practice that values collaboration, community, experimentation, risk-taking and knowledge sharing. She holds a Bachelor of Fine Arts from York University and has presented her work in Canada, US, and Europe.
Jaberi currently serves on the board of directors of the Dance Umbrella of Ontario (DUO) and the Toronto Arts Council Dance Committee (TAC), and is the resident artist with the project Political Prisoners: The Art of Resistance. Past highlights include: Associate Producer of Expect Theatre, member of the Canadian Dance Assembly Pluralism Committee, Juror for the Dora Mavoor Awards, guest lecturer at the University of Toronto, finalist in the Soulpepper Theatre Dance Awards (Community Arts), and co-host of Evi-Dance Radio.
About No Woman’s Land
No Woman’s Land is an evocative new work
that explores real stories of women in refugee camps. Conceived and directed by
Roshanak Jaberi and created with a powerhouse artistic team and an ensemble of
six performers, this interdisciplinary production integrates dance, theatre and
multi-media – taking audiences on a journey that reveals the plight and
resistance of refugee women.
The project has been developed in collaboration
with the Institute for Research and Development on Inclusion and Society (IRIS)
and is based on research conducted by Doris Rajan (IRIS) and Dr.
Shahrzad Mojab (University of Toronto)
WHAT IS PUBLIC ENERGY PERFORMING ARTS?
Celebrating our 25th Anniversary year, Public Energy Performing Arts supports the creation, touring, and presentation of innovative contemporary performing arts. Public Energy presents a season of contemporary dance, theatre and interdisciplinary performance, while hosting workshops, talks and professional development opportunities for local artists. PE is dedicated to providing inclusive spaces where risk-taking artists and diverse audiences meet. Our vision is to be a cultural catalyst which inspires and empowers people through performance.
WHO ARE WE?
BILL KIMBALL, EXECUTIVE DIRECTOR
Since graduating from Trent University in 1980 with a degree in Cultural Studies, Bill Kimball has been involved in many aspects of the Peterborough arts community, particularly in the areas of contemporary dance and theatre. He has contributed to the creation of live performance spaces in Peterborough, beginning with City Stage, a performance space operated by Artspace in the early 1980’s and continuing to the present with various renovations and improvements to the Market Hall. In 1994, Bill created a nationally recognized dance presenting program called Peterborough New Dance, and later expanded the mandate to theatre and other forms of performance while changing the name to Public Energy, a name which reflects his desire for the arts to be integrated into public life as much as possible. Bill is currently the Artistic Producer at Public Energy.
VICTORIA MOHR-BLAKENEY, PERFORMANCE CURATOR & ASSOCIATE DIRECTOR
Victoria Mohr-Blakeney is a curator and writer with a focus on curating contemporary dance and performance. She has curated/ co-curated performance work in gallery, theatre, and site-specific settings including Harbourfront Centre, CB Gallery, Edward Day Gallery, Artspace, Art Gallery of Ontario, The Citadel, George Brown School of Design, Scotiabank Studio Theatre, Nuit Blanche, and Artsweek Peterborough. Victoria has worked alongside Bridget Moser, Ame Henderson, Peggy Baker Dance Projects, and Dance Collection Danse. She holds an MFA in Criticism and Curatorial Practice from OCAD University. She has published work in Kapsula Magazine, The Dance Current, Toronto Standard, Volume, Peterborough This Week, and the Literary Review of Canada. Victoria is the recipient of the 2015 President’s Medal in Criticism and Curatorial Practice from OCAD University. She has presented her research on performance in Canada, India, and New Zealand.
EVA FISHER, ADMINISTRATOR & MARKETING DIRECTOR
Eva Fisher is Public Energy’s Administrator and Marketing Director. She also works as a food columnist for kawarthaNOW.com. She comes to us with a love of performance first fostered in the role of “Jamie at 6” in the 4th Line Theatre’s 1993 production of The Moodie Traill. Nowadays she is more comfortable in front of a spreadsheet than an audience. Eva has honed her management and event production skills through her role as General Manager of Kawartha Country Wines and the Kawartha Store. She holds a BScH in Earth Systems Science with a minor in English from Queen’s University.
PEYTON LE BARR, ARTISTIC PRODUCTION INTERN (Metcalf Foundation Performing Arts Internship )
Peyton joins us as our Artistic Production Intern, a position made possible by the Metcalf Foundation Performing Arts Internship. Peyton is a theatre artist with a background in performance and independent production. Following a decade long career as a professional actor both in Canada and across the UK, Peyton became the co-producer of Spiel Players, a Toronto based theatre collective. Peyton has been a guest artist instructor at Humber College and in 2016 she was identified as an emerging female leader in the arts, receiving an apprenticeship in artistic direction through the Ontario Trillium Foundation. Peyton is particularly interested in physical theatre, immersive performance, and site-specific works. She is also a passionate activist, using her artistic voice as a platform for social awareness and change. Peyton has a BFA in Acting from the University of Windsor and an MFA from East 15 Acting School in England. We are happy to welcome her to the PE team!
PATTI SHAUGHNESSY, GUEST CURATOR/ARTS & COMMUNITY CONSULTANT
Patti Shaughnessy is a proud activist, actor, director, and artistic producer of a range of theatre and multi-arts projects over the past decade. With an academic background in Indigenous Studies at Trent University (Peterborough) and formal theater training from the Centre for Indigenous Theatre (Toronto), Patti is co-founder of the O’Kaadenigan Wiingashk Collective (OKW) – a Peterborough-based Indigenous arts collective that has presented and organized workshops and master classes with several internationally acclaimed Indigenous artists as part of an annual Ode’min Giizis (Strawberry Moon) Festival (2008-2012). International theatre directing credits include, Ananna A/S (Casa Matriz); Rosa Marie-p tiquartikkaluarnera (The Occupation of Heather Rose); and Arnatsialaat, The Rez Sisters – all part of Patti’s work over the past 5 years as director, instructor, and tour leader for the National Theatre of Greenland. Patti will be making her Canadian directing debut with Drew Hayden Taylor’s play, Cottagers and Indians, commissioned by Tarragon Theatre. Hailing from the great nation of the Mchi Saagiig Anishnaabe of Curve Lake First Nation #35, Patti is also born 5th generation Irish. Patti currently lives part-time in Douro-Dummer township, where she rejuvenates and creates at her ancestral home and research laboratory.
