Show # 6
Saturday, July 31, 2021

Show # 6

Featuring: Gary Varro, I-Ying Wu, Kathryn Ricketts, Krista Solheim, Linda Yablonski, Marcus Merasty, Marie-Véronique Bourque, Roderick T. Johnson, Skyler Anderson, Tessa Rae Kuz and Vuyo Ginindza.

Tickets:
Adult: $20.00
Child: $10.00
Free for children 6 years and under

Show Time:
7:00 PM (CST)

Show Date:
Thursday, July 29, 2021

Show Location:
NDH Secret Garden Summer Stage
New Dance Horizons Backyard, ​2207 Harvey St, Regina, SK

Please note shows are planned to be held outside weather permitting. If weather conditions are challenging the shows will be moved inside to New Dance Horizons studio where we have a limited capacity per show.

A confirmation email will be sent to you for your tickets. Please bring this confirmation to the Show.
For more information email info@newdancehorizons.ca or call us at (306) 525-5393.

Show Program

• Marcus Merasty — Monument
  by Edward Poitras and Robin Poitras
  
  
• Kathryn Ricketts - Land(ing)
  by Kathryn Ricketts, Ian Campbell, and Loscil
  
  
• Skyler Anderson - Passing the Rock
  
  
• Linda Yablonski - Belly Dance
  
  
• Roderick T. Johnson — How to be a person
  Created and performed by Roderick T. Johnson to poem of the same title by Shane Koyczan
  
  
• I-Ying Wu, Marcus Merasty, Tessa Rae Kuz and Vuyo Ginindza - Square Dance
  Created and directed by Marcus Merasty
  
  
• Marcus Merasty - & (excerpt)
  by Edward Poitras and Robin Poitras
  
  
• Krista Solheim - Flowers
  by Edward Poitras and Robin Poitras
  
  
• Gary Varro — Adonais
  Adonais: An Elegy on the Death of John Keats by Percy Bysshe Shelley
  
  
• Marie-Véronique Bourque - Swan Lake & Bird Parade
  with robin, bird friends and the Anansi spider

About Artists

Gary Varro is a curator and visual artist based in Regina, Saskatchewan, Canada where in 1996 he established and continues to present Queer City Cinema Festival and Performatorium Festival of Queer Performance. Since the mid 90’s, Gary Varro’s visual art practice has proposed critical relationships with the architectural and social spaces they occupy and reference. Areas of interest include: queer identities; public/private domains; self humiliation and vulnerability; spectacle and transgression; humour and pathos, endurance and the creative process itself.

Photo credit: Dima Lavrentiev

I-Ying Wu is an improvisation practitioner and researcher. She was awarded her PhD from the University of Northampton, UK in 2014 and completed her postdoctoral research at the Improvisation Studies Centre based in the Faculty of Media, Art and Performance, University of Regina during 2016-2017. Her PhD practice-led research employed a Daoist understanding of qi to develop a system of improvisational movement. Informed by ancient texts on Chinese traditional qigong and Daoist philosophy, her improvisation practice focuses on subtle awareness of the very moment when an improvisational phenomenon emerges.

Photo credit:
Valerie Triggs and Michele Sorensen

Kathryn Ricketts, is an Associate Professor and Chair of Dance, University of Regina. For 35 years Ricketts has been researching and practicing dance and visual arts and has articulated the methodology Embodied Poetic Narrative. Her work is focused on developing ‘voice’ through performance with vulnerable populations using artifacts and personal narratives. She runs The Listening Lab, a visual and performing arts ‘incubator’ and presents exhibitions and performances in her loft in the John Deere Tractor Building. She is chair of the dance area of the Arts Ed program and Director of Professional Development and Field Experience in the Faculty of Education.

Krista Solheim is an independent dance artist and movement teacher based in Regina, SK. She received her early dance training at the Youth Ballet Company of Saskatchewan, then completed a BFA in Contemporary Dance from Concordia University in 1998. In 2014, she became STOTT PILATES® certified instructor. Over the past 20 years, Krista has pursued an independent creative and performative dance practice. As choreographer, Krista has been active in developing her voice as a soloist. As performer, she has worked with a range of choreographers from across Canada. Since 2017, Krista has been working with New Dance Horizons (NDH) Creation Base, NDH/ Rouge-gorge; dancing in the creations of Robin Poitras and Edward Poitras.

Linda Yablonski loves everything about flowers and gardening.  She looks forward to dancing in the Secret Garden Tour each year.

Linda and Maitland met at NDH in a voice class with Traci Foster,  they shared a powerful healing summer of movement and vocalizing. 

Linda is deeply honoured to be dancing in celebration of Maitland’s life.

Music used in Linda's performance: Aad Guray Nameh by Deva Premal

Photo credit: Daniel Paquet

Marie-Véronique Bourque, an extremely talented artist from Saskatchewan, is not afraid to think and act outside the box. Her original songs and unique interpretations of jazz standards (by flute and voice) pair beautifully with her hard-to-define music genre.

Born and raised in Québec, she studied classical music at the Conservatoire de musique de Québec where she was awarded First Prizes un flute and chamb.

Marie-Véronique is a member of the Regina Symphony Orchestra. She is also part of the Quarter Tones Flute Ensemble and they released an album, “Combine” in 2015. MV has toured throughout Switzerland, France, as well as in Québec, Manitoba, Alberta and Saskatchewan.

Marie-Véronique Bourque's Website

Photo credit: Neil Sawatzky

Marcus Merasty is a dance artist from Pelican Narrows, Saskatchewan and is of Cree descent, Assin’skowitiniwak meaning “People of the rocky area”. His interest in dance began with learning traditional Métis jigging in 2013. A year later, following the invitation to perform in a contemporary dance work by Edward Poitras and Robin Poitras he began to pursue a life in dance. This was also the beginning of an on-going mentorship with artists Robin Poitras and Edward Poitras. Since then Marcus has received training in theatre from the Gordon Tootoosis Nīkānīwin Theatre and participated in the Indigenous Dance Residency (2016) and the Indigenous Choreographers Creation Lab (2019) at The Banff Centre, and has toured across eastern Canada with The Dancers of Damelahamid. Marcus recently completed the 4 year Professional Program at The School of Contemporary Dancers and is working toward his BA. (Hons) in Contemporary Dance from the University of Winnipeg. He is currently employed with New Dance Horizons with a major focus on archiving the organization’s 35 year history.

Photo credit: Edward Poitras

Roderick Johnson was born in Nassau, Bahamas where he received his early training with the New Breed Dance Company under the direction of Alex Zybine. He earned a B.F.A in Dance Teaching and Therapy followed by a Masters in Dance History and Ethnology at York University.  
Through his career, Roderick has trained, performed and conducted numerous workshops, lectures and seminars throughout the United States, across Canada, Europe, South America and the Caribbean. Best known as a technical dancer and teacher with a creative mind and the ability to work with professional choreographers and theatre personals, Roderick has extensive experience coaching and supporting the development of dancers for examinations and competitions. Physically fit with knowledge of Hip-Hop Street and competitive dance, Roderick is a certified Royal Academy of Dance Teacher and ADAPT educator who practices all codes of conduct and professional practices.

Roderick’s performance experience includes dancing with Ballet Folk of Moscow Idaho, Les Ballet Jazz de Montreal, Theatre Ballet of Canada Ottawa and Opera Atelier, at Canada’s Baroque Opera Company. He has received choreography awards from the Canada Council, The Dancers Transition and Resource Center, York University and the E. Clement Bethel Performing Arts Award for best choreography. In 2010 Roderick received first place in The Bahamas National Arts Festival. In 2011 he was invited to Jakarta and Surabaya, Indonesia where he taught all levels of ballet and Jazz classes, conducted workshops, co-choreographed and performed.
In 2013, he was invited to Trinidad & Tobago to choreograph a contemporary dance “Which Way Is up?” and in 2016 Roderick was invited by the Saskatchewan Caribbean-Canadian Association as the key note speaker for the Saskatchewan Caribbean-Canadian Association’s Black History Month Event “Beyond the Rhythms”.

As a professional dancer in transition, Roderick continues to embrace opportunities to serve Canada in promoting the arts and this season embraces and appreciates the invitation to perform with the New Dance Horizons in a number of their community dance performance events including: a tiny world’s fair and Rare Blue Moon Halloween Howl. Anansi marks Roderick’s debut performance with New Dance Horizon's and first collaborative dance creation with Robin Poitras, Edward Poitras and Nimone Campbell.

Skyler Anderson is a proud father of 2 handsome boys who he dedicates all of his work to. While taking classes at the First Nations University of Canada/University of Regina and creating his own work, he is also a theatre and indigenous art instructor for SUNTEP at the University of Regina. In fall 2020, Sky created and performed a piece with Pete Kytwayhat, as well as performed in a piece with the Curtain Razors, for the National Arts Centre Grand Acts of Theatre. This year, he developed an outdoor walking show alongside Greg Ochitwa titled, Holdin' on to What's Golden. Most recently, Sky curated, directed, and acted in a play reading series for the Globe Theatre, where he works as both Artistic Associate and Indigenous Liaison. Skyler was born and raised in Regina and he is nêhiyawak, from Treaty 4 Territory.

Photo credit: Francesca Chudnoff

Hailing from Regina, Saskatchewan Tessa Kuz is a dance artist and teacher. She completed her Bachelor of Fine Arts at Ryerson University majoring in Performance Dance. Throughout her time in Toronto, she performed in work by Canadian choreographers James Kudelka, Heidi Strauss, Kate Hilliard, Marie-Josée Chartier and Louis Laberge-Cote.