From Nov. 22 – 24, fourth-year dance majors present their choreography in Dance Innovations 2023: Infinite Corners. As a culmination of the fourth-year choreography course, the students have the opportunity to present and explore their artistic identity choreographically.
“My piece is deeply inspired by affluent leaders (like Elon Musk, Jeff Bezos, etc.) and how they control the population through media/political aspects,” explains Victoria Kuronen, a fourth-year dance major. “In this piece the affluent leaders are seen as gingerbread men, the dancers being the consumers/creators of the cookies.”
For Travis Keith, also a fourth-year dance student, his choreography is inspired by the recent forest fires in British Columbia. “My family, especially this past summer, is scarily close to the flames, so it is a topic that is close to my heart and soul. I felt inspired by the inherent beauty of the fire and flames contrasting with the destructive and disastrous outcome.
“I am grateful to speak on such important topics through my art and to raise awareness to issues that are personal to who I am as a human being,” adds Keith.
This performance is divided into two sections — Series A: Continuous, and Series B: Unbounded. While the performance will present the recent choreographic endeavours of the fourth-year students, it also hosts a performance opportunity for other dance majors.
“My creative process has been a lot of trial and error,” says Jenica Boutilier, a fourth-year dance student. “Most of the sections of the piece started out as individual sections that focused on a task. Throughout these tasks, the dancers were able to incorporate their own movement into the sections. Eventually, I pieced all the sections together to create the piece.”
Boutilier’s piece will explore the results of the butterfly effect and the ways in which relationships, both platonic and romantic, evolve and leave their lasting impact on a person’s life.
“Throughout the semester it has been really amazing to witness each piece as they have evolved throughout the process. I feel really lucky to have been able to work alongside so many brilliant artists, and I look forward to celebrating with everyone,” adds Boutilier.
Reflecting this sentiment, Kuronen says: “I am looking forward to seeing the amazing works of my fellow classmates, as well as the integration of lighting effects. This show is surely going to be one for the books!”
To learn more about this performance and to purchase tickets, click here.
