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DANCE AT CHUTZPAH! A focal and eagerly-anticipated highlight of the City’s annual dance calendar, the Chutzpah! Festival’s Dance Series never fails to excite, stimulate and inspire audiences. The 2012 festival’s offerings again present the highest calibre dance, and cover a broad range of substance, vision, geography and sensibility. The Dance Series, sponsored by the Georgia Straight and Prospera Credit Union, simply delivers innovative and breathtaking performance. Chutzpah’s Artistic & Managing Director, Mary-Louise Albert says, “What a thrilling year for dance at Chutzpah! I’ve been hoping to bring Holland’s Noord Nederlandse Dans to the festival for years, and am delighted that it has all come together. I know Vancouver audiences will love this extraordinary company of contemporary dancers. Presenting Barak Marshall’s powerful work, Monger has also been a long-time dream, and L.A.’s BODYTRAFFIC brings such energy and depth to the piece. And of course, with the incomparable Noam Gagnon performing on the same bill, audiences are in for an unforgettable night of dance.” “Chutzpah! Is honoured to have Donald Sales and Cherise Barton, not only performing, but also In Residence at the Norman and Annette Rothstein Theatre from January 9 to February 21, 2012. I can’t wait to see the result of the collaboration between these two acclaimed artists’ vision, talents and energy at the world premiere performances of their new work. And to have them also perform the work of one of North America’s leading choreographers, Aszure Barton, can only be described as sublime.” Dance at Chutzpah! 2012 features two World and two Canadian premieres.
— Monger Canadian Premiere The full-length Canadian premiere of the multi-faceted work MONGER is choreographed by one of Israel’s most celebrated choreographers, Barak Marshall and performed by the vibrant Los Angeles-based contemporary dance company, BODYTRAFFIC. An innovative dance work that has been performed worldwide for 9 dancers, MONGER tells the emotive, visual and theatrical story of a group of servants, trapped in the basement of the house of an abusive mistress. It explores the dynamics of hierarchy, power, free will and the compromises one makes in order to survive. MONGER’s narrative draws from several sources, including the life and work of Bruno Shultz, Jean Genet’s play The Maids and Robert Altman’s film Gosford Park. This powerful piece features a dramatic musical score that combines elements of Gypsy, Balkan, classical and rock music. “A highly original work …The power of the piece lies in its original movement language and theatricality ...The result is unique, refreshing and powerful.” Ruth Eshel, Ha’aretz Thank You, You’re Not Welcome is dancer and choreographer Noam Gagnon’s newest full-length work. This madcap tale ushers audiences deep into a wild storybook world in the tradition of the Brothers Grimm. The work employs Gagnon’s signature choreographic language of fierce, hyper-speed movement that combines humour, pathos and absurdity. Ottawa Xpress named it “Best Dance Performance in 2011”. BODYTRAFFIC is a leading-edge contemporary dance company founded by Lillian Barbeito and Tina Finkelman Berkett. In the company’s short history – and with a core of classically trained, highly established dancers – BODYTRAFFIC has performed at numerous dance venues in Los Angeles, around California and in New York to mounting acclaim. “[BODYTRAFFIC] has surged to the forefront of the Los Angeles dance scene, pairing sophisticated choreographies with top-run dancers.” LA Times Barak Marshall: Since his entrance into dance in 1995, choreographer Barak Marshall has established himself as one Israeli dance’s most innovative and unique voices. His movement is physical, sharp, fast, contains ethnic-contemporary motifs and is known for being highly emotive, visual and theatrical. Marshall was Batsheva Dance Company’s first-ever house choreographer and has created works for the Philadanco Dance Company, MDT Dance Company, Austria’s ABCD Dance Company, the Suzanne Dellal Centre, the Israel Festival, Habima National Theater of Israel and was resident choreographer at the 1998 and 1999 American Dance Festivals. MONGER is being performed in Israel, Europe, the US and now Canada.
Noam Gagnon: For 16 years Gagnon was the Co-Artistic Director and Choreographer of The Holy Body Tattoo, a critically-acclaimed multimedia dance company. With this company, Noam performed in more than 17 countries, winning the inaugural Alcan Performing Arts Award (for Circa) and the Dora Mavor Moore Award among many other accolades. He started Compagnie Vision Selective in 2005, and continues to perform and choreograph with some of the world’s preeminent dance artists and companies.
Performance details: Thursday February 23 @ 8pm; Saturday February 25 @ 2pm & 7pm;
— Noord Nederlandse Dans (NND) (Holland) Canadian Premiere NND’s 14 dancers present a mixed repertoire of new works by Artistic Director Stephen Shropshire and Israeli choreographer Emanuel Gat. Established in 1997 by the Dutch Ministry of Culture, Noord Nederlandse Dans (formerly known as NND/Galili Dance) based in Groningen, Holland, is one of the country’s top contemporary dance companies. NND has long been known for its athleticism, musicality and virtuosity. Under Shropshire’s Artistic Director and choreographic leadership since 2009, the company has built a multi-faceted repertoire of intellectually and emotionally challenging works. In-demand internationally, they have been frequent guests at festivals and venues in Brazil, Germany, Austria, Switzerland, Italy, Israel, Spain, Finland, Japan and Russia. This is their first visit to Canada. Stephen Shropshire trained at the Juilliard School, New York City. In 2003, his work The Piper's Progress was awarded the Grand Prize and the Public's Prize at the 8th international choreographic competition 'Tandances' in Luxembourg. Shropshire spent many years studying music, and that history plays a vital role in how he crafts new works in dance. He has been a much sought-after choreographer, creating original new works for Scapino Ballet Rotterdam, Station Zuid, Iceland Dance Company, NorrDans, National Dance Company of Wales and the Holland Dance Festival in The Hague. Israeli-born Emanuel Gat established his own company in 2004. He has received Israel’s Minister of Culture Award for outstanding dance performances and was named a chosen artist of the Israel Cultural Excellence Foundation, one of Israel's highest artistic honours. Since 2007, Emanuel Gat Dance has been based in France. Gat is regularly invited to set his work and create new choreographies for dance companies around the world including: The Paris Opera Ballet, Sydney Dance Company, Le Ballet du Rhin, Tanztheater Bremen, Le Ballet du Grand Théâtre de Genève, Ballet de Marseille and the Polish National Ballet among others.
Performances: Wednesday February 15 @ 8pm; Thursday February 16 @ 8pm;
— Donald Sales and Cherice Barton Two World Premieres Dancers/choreographers Donald Sales and Cherice Barton are Chutzpah! 2012’s Dance Artists in Residence. Performing together, they’ll present two world premieres with lighting designed by Vancouver’s James Proudfoot. They’ll dance Chapter Three; Collaboration, a new duet created for them by world-renowned choreographer Aszure Barton (Cherice’s sister). This piece has an original score by composer/violinist Lev "Ljova" Zhurbin and A new 45-minute work Donald and Cherice will co-choreograph during their 6-week Chutzpah! 2012 Residency, and perform with fellow dancers Lara Barclay, Leon Feizo-Gas, Jennifer Welsman, Cori Caulfield, Kevin Tookey and Billy Bell. Cherice Barton is an internationally-acclaimed dancer, choreographer, director, actor and creative force in the entertainment and performing arts. She most recently joined Julie Taymor, Bono & The Edge as resident choreographer for Spider-Man, Turn Off the Dark and was also the resident choreographer for the Cirque aquatic spectacle, Le Reve in Las Vegas. Cherice has collaborated with such notable organizations and companies such as Dragone Entertainment Group, Aszure Barton & Artists, Les Ballets Jazz de Montreal (BJMDanse), American Ballet Theater, Jacob’s Pillow Dance Festival, Montreal Jazz Festival and many more. Donald Sales’ stunning career in dance includes performing with Dance Theatre of Harlem, many years dancing principal roles with Ballet BC and touring this past fall with Aszure Barton & Artists. One of his most recent choreographies, Moth, had its world premiere in Ballet BC’s 125th Anniversary Gala at the Queen Elizabeth Theatre in April 2011. Donald often creates and composes the soundtracks for his choreography and has created numerous soundtracks for EA sports video games. Aszure Barton is one of the most celebrated and respected choreographers on the scene today. In addition to her own company, she has created works for Mikhail Baryshnikov, Hell's Kitchen Dance, The National Ballet of Canada, American Ballet Theatre, Hubbard Street Dance Chicago, The Martha Graham Dance Company and Netherlands Dance Theatre among others. Aszure Barton’s own company, Aszure Barton & Artists, has been presented three times by the Chutzpah! Festival since 2005. The Chutzpah! Creative Residency For six weeks in early 2012, Donald Sales and Cherice Barton will create new work together as Dance Artists in Residence at Chutzpah! Visionaries and innovators, Sales and Barton collectively have an expansive background in varied mediums such as dance, music, theatre, circus arts and film. In providing the time and space for these extraordinary dancers and choreographers to collaborate and create new work, fresh and exciting possibilities in dance emerge. “Cherice Barton used her amazingly arched and articulate feet to grand effect, and with just the pointed walk of her fingers across the table, demonstrated that every appendage has great potential for expressiveness.“ Chicago Sun-Times “Like his musical sensibilities, Sales’s physical vocabulary is ultrahip, with a witty, edgy, street-savvy style.” Gail Johnson, Georgia Straight “The brilliant New York-based Aszure Barton produces delectable works that are quirky, deep, cheeky, and poignant. Her quicksilver, unpredictable movement always astonishes the eye.” Globe & Mail Performance details: Sunday February 19 @ 7pm; Monday February 20 @ 8pm;
— Shalom and Surrey India Arts Club Dancers Community Dance and Music Show with JCCGV’s Or Chadash, Or Atid and Shalom Dancers, Surrey india Arts Club, Perry Ehrlich’s ShowStoppers and Israel’s Hora Goel (Canada / Israel) At Chutzpah’s annual community dance and music show, youth, creativity, enthusiasm, friendship and teamwork share the spotlight. Perry Ehrilich’s ShowStoppers, the JCCGV’s Or Atid, Or Chadash and Shalom Dancers, the Surrey India Arts Club and Israel’s Hora Goel take centre stage. Or Atid and Or Chadash are made up of committed and talented dancers (grades 7 – 12) who celebrate Jewish and Israeli culture through music and dance. These groups have become our youth ambassadors of Israeli culture and representatives of our local Jewish Community. They are pleased to share the stage at Festival Ha'Rikud 2012 with visiting groups from Miami, Mexico, L.A. and Israel. The groups will also be performing in Miami's Festival Yachad in June 2012. Teen Israeli performance group Hora Goel first visited Vancouver in 2005 and have developed a strong relationship with Or Chadash. Their home base is Beit Vancouver in Kiryat Shmona, Israel in the Galilee Panhandle. The groups meet yearly with the support of the Jewish Federation’s Partnership Together Gesher Chai – Living Bridge initiatives, which create deep, meaningful, people-to-people connections between Canadian and Galilee Panhandle residents. JCC Shalom Dancers, the JCC’s adult performing group, is made up of trained dancers who share a passion for Israeli dance. Shalom Dancers have had the pleasure of working with different choreographers from Mexico and Israel, and are part of a special Israeli/Bhangra collaborative project with the Surrey India Arts Club. They have performed at the Vancouver International Bhangra Celebration. The Surrey India Arts Club has been devoted to preserving its Punjabi culture since 1975. The club is home to award-winning dance groups, and is one of the most popular and respected Bhangra teams in North America. ShowStoppers, a dynamic group of young performers who love to sing, dance and entertain, have appeared in concert, on TV and radio, and at numerous conventions, awards dinners, galas, and corporate and charitable events throughout BC. They perform under the direction of Perry Ehrlich. Performance details: Sunday February 26 @ 11am
TICKETS Tickets will also be available in-person starting January 9, 2012 at the Chutzpah! Box office at the JCCGV: 950 W. 41st Ave – just 2 blocks west of the Oakridge Skytrain Station. Single tickets are available for all shows. All ticket prices add HST and nominal service charge. Chutzi Packs enable patrons to see 4 different shows of their choice for just $72 (not valid for Idan Raichel and Vieux Farka Toure Quartet or off-site productions at the Commodore Ballroom and The Electric Owl, with the exception of the River Rock Theatre and Firehall Arts Centre).
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