Good Women Dance Collective’s annual showcase, Convergence, highlights three unique works including a performance from Saddle Lake Cree Nation fancy dancer Dustin Stamp and a new solo performance from Montréal’s Karen Fennell.
Good Women Dance Collective is performing a new work by Montréal-based choreographer Sasha Kleinplatz called The Conditions. The collective consists of Ainsley Hillyard, Alida Kendell, Alison Kause, Rebecca Sadowski and Kate Stashko.
“This dance is really for us, the dancers,” says Sadowski, the newest member of Good Women Dance Collective. “In my own words, it’s a duality between digging into our dance history and our memory of this dance technique we’ve been brought up in and throwing that out, and being curious about surprising ourselves with dance movements that we would normally not do.”
Sadowski says the best part about the piece is that it’s about improvisation and making decisions based on how the dancers are feeling in the moment. “It feels very alive and the dance is never the same.”
The dance was choreographed socially distanced and the dancers don’t have any contact with each other in the piece. They are protected by giant colourful inflatable balls that act as barriers between them.
Comfort is important to the members of Good Women Dance Collective which is why they introduced relaxed performances to make the performance more accessible. This includes soft seating and standing seating so that people are comfortable and can move around freely if they need. Audience members can also leave the theatre at any time. ASL interpreters will be provided for the Nov. 12 performance.
“What I really appreciate about the Good Women is that we’re very thoughtful in our accessibility and we try to give lots of options for folks who are coming to see our show.”
Convergence runs from November 12 to November 13 at La Cité Francophone Theatre. Tickets are $28 and a portion of tickets each night are pay what you will.
