Author: Heather Close

Choreography:

Michèle Moss and the dancers – through a system of devising and being alive in the moment

Music (not including fragments):

Pink Dragon (Parov Stelar)
Shake Your Body – Down to the Ground (Hot 8 Brass Band)
Clap Your Hands (Parov Stelar)
Boxes and Squares (Tank and the Bangas)
La Pègre (Nicolas Repac)
Afro Drum and Bass (Glyn Bush)

Danced by:

Scott Augustine
Cassandra Bowerman
Sabrina Comanescu
Jason Owin F. Galeos
Catherine Hayward
Kaja Irwin
Natasha Korney

Dramaturg and Voice-over Artist:

Léda Davies

Rehearsal Director:

Laura Kleiner

Production:

Cameron Clowe- Production Manager
Ian Lane – Production Assistant
Marcia Liber- Stage Manager
Jackson Buchanan-Lighting Designer
Kim Creller-Lighting Technician
Teigan Blondin-Head of Wardrobe

Extra special thanks Pierre Marlow at Orange Frog and Dan Frerichs at Soundart.

Notes from Choreographer Michèle Moss:

The invitation to work with DJD on a short project produced in odd circumstances produced an immediate “YES’ from me.  The process was undertaken with masks and is now presented to you during the COVID lock-down as a drive-in experience. The artists are still in masks and you will be in your car with an appropriate cohort with your engine turned off and system on auxiliary so that you can tune in to the FM band, 104.7.

The ‘vignette style’ I landed on seemed appropriate and allowed the dancing mind/bodies to move in an exploratory style expressing something of themselves.

The dancers have choices. You, the audience, have choices. We don’t often give you split focus – an opportunity to choose what to watch and how to watch.

I have been imagining a new approach; a unique presentational style and well I got a challenge indeed. Hopefully, I have layered it enough in the very short working time to allow you to ‘take it in’ on many different levels.

These days the world seems off-kilter, my mind overcrowded, and current affairs amazingly discombobulating!

The music was chosen to provide some grist, some groove, and some atmosphere. The zeitgeist sure is providing lots to chew on.

If you are of a certain age you may not have ever had a drive-in experience… here we go!

Don’t get analysis-paralysis!  Just sit back, listen to the soundtrack and enjoy viewing the corporeal utterances expressed by the dancers. Take deep breaths just like the dancers will do and feel the connection.

Use your audio system to create an intimate experience. An iconoclastic moment of intimacy and proximity that seems in opposition to the circumstances of the day. These are wacky times, We tried to allow you more room to manoeuvre mostly for you to fashion your own narrative, to make use of binoculars – normally used to birdwatch or at the opera…whatever, dig it however it suits you!

THANK YOU:

Thank you for the invitation to create, Kim! What an unexpected pleasure.

And thanks to Léda who served both as dramaturg and as a voice-over artist.

Heartfelt thanks to intrepid rehearsal mistress Laura Kleiner!  

To the DJD company dancers, I say Thank you, there is so much joy for me to be in your orbit. Big (virtual) kisses and hugs!

Thank you, Super Cam, and your production team

And great big gratitude to Brad Struble for engaging with me in artistic discussion and brainstorming.

The post There is Something in the Details – Program appeared first on Decidedly Jazz Danceworks.

On August 10, 2020, an amazing team of BIPOC (Black, Indigenous, People of Color) contributors put forth a call to action to the Calgary Arts community called The 35//50 Initiative. This initiative is a response to the Black Lives Matter movement and asks all Calgary arts organizations to move towards a more equitable performing arts ecology.  We applaud this group and support this initiative. This is our current response, stay tuned for our next steps.

 

Dear 35//50 Team and fellow Arts Community,

Thank you so much for your hard work towards this crucial call to action.  We are inspired by this sea of change that is happening in our community and are aligned with this initiative.

As an organization that has been dedicated to a form based in Black American culture, born of African American roots, DJD has always recognized ourselves as guests in jazz and have tried to approach our work with respect and reverence to the history and people who have built this form we are dedicated to.  The current civil rights movement has inspired us to look closely at ourselves, to see where we have succeeded, where we have failed, and commit to equitable practices in all aspects of our work. We are dedicated Anti-Racism and Equity Diversity Inclusivity and Accessibility.

We are currently working on our 3-5-year Strategic Plan.  In preparing this important document which will guide DJD over the next years, DJD leaders and our Board will be having very frank and open conversations about how DJD can work toward being a diverse and inclusive organization in all our performance, school, operations, and volunteer roles, including Board leadership. We are excited about taking concrete steps toward these goals and making our commitment public so that others can see and measure our progress along with us.

We look forward to working consultatively with you and others leading the BIPOC conversation and to reporting our progress as we all strive toward true equity and diversity in the Arts in Calgary and beyond.  You have our philosophical commitment today.   Watch as we move our commitment to action in the upcoming months.

In solidarity,

Kimberley Cooper       Kathi Sundstrom         Pam Corbett
Artistic Director           Executive Director      Board Chair

 

If you have any questions or comments please contact Kimberley Cooper at kcooper@decidedlyjazz.com

 

The post The 35//50 Initiative appeared first on Decidedly Jazz Danceworks.

We are filled with pride and congratulations that our Founder in Residence Vicki Adams Willis, is receiving the UCalgary Alumni Association’s highest honour–the Distinguished Alumni Award for Lifetime Achievement.

This award recognizes a graduate who, over the course of their life, has made a notable contribution that’s improved their professional and personal success, and enriched the lives of others through their leadership, shared knowledge, creativity and innovation.

Click here to read more about Vicki

Watch a clip of Every Tap Show Needs a Soft Shoe performed in 2009 as part of the show twentyfive.  This piece was originally choreographed in 1996 by Vicki Adams Willis and Heather Cornell for DJD’s production Feet First.

Vicki will receive the Distinguished Alumni Award at a virtual ceremony hosted by U of C on September 10 at 7pm. Register to watch the event here.

The post Congratulations to Vicki Adams Willis! appeared first on Decidedly Jazz Danceworks.