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York is going to experience a tidal wave of fresh, contemporary dance March 19-22 at Dance Innovations: A Choreographic Festival. Headlining the festival is the York Dance Ensemble (YDE), the dance department’s impassioned young repertory company featuring twelve exceptional performers on the cusp of their professional careers.
The festival also features York”s dance students, as well as works by professional guest artists, including Danny Grossman and Andrea Nann.
Under the intriguing names of Star Fruit (third-year repertory & new works), Dragon Fruit (fourth-year choreography) and Passion Fruit (York Dance Ensemble – new works), performances will run at various times during the four-day event. All performances are at the Joseph G. Green Studio, Centre for Film & Theatre.
Guest choreographers include professional artists with a special links to York’s dance department. Prof. Danny Grossman has contributed his 1976 work Triptych, a “harrowingly beautiful study in desolation” (Freda Crisp, The Hamilton Spectator) set to the music of Darius Milhaud.
York dance alumnus, Montreal-based choreographer Motaz Kabbani, explores cultural displacement via his exquisite virago-fuelled Le Sacre du Levant. Alumna Andrea Nann, a Grossman Company member and independent dance artist, has created a fractious and kinetic new work for the Ensemble, titled CHAK!
Another highlight is Fragments of Light, a subtle conceptual work choreographed for
the YDE this season by its artistic director, York dance professor Donna
Krasnow, Faculty of Fine Arts, in collaboration with YDE member, composer Taylor Rankin.
Rounding out the program are original works by two of York”s impressive up-and-coming young choreographers: YDE members Lucie Grégoire who debuts her haunting and delicate Echoes, and Julye Huggins who stages Charly Age 8, a multi-layered piece inspired by the concept of evolution.
Tickets are $6, available one hour prior to the shows. For more information about the event, call ext. 53090.