You’re invited into our vision of the future. The world has been transformed through fire, revived through water, and humankind has been gifted the ability to experience Life through the Lessons of the Heart.

Maamawi (ᒫᒪᐏ): Together Through The Fire presents a deeply immersive and transformative experience that melds Anishinaabe cultural narratives, particularly the 7 Fires prophecies, with cutting-edge digital storytelling techniques. This innovative performance, envisioned through the guidance of elder Gloria May Eshkibok and creatively interpreted by choreographer Olivia C. Davies, with music by Michael Red, offers a profound exploration of Indigenous wisdom, future visions, and the power of collective healing and renewal.

The narrative structure, centered around the teachings and implications of the 8th Fire prophecy, uses the symbolic figures of the Wolf and the Eagle as storytellers. These characters, embodied by dancers with VR headsets, serve as the bridge between the past, present, and potential futures, narrating the unfolding of the prophecies against a backdrop of interactive digital environments.

Surrounding Wolf and Eagle, a circle of eight audience members, also in VR headsets, embodies the role of active participants within this virtual world. This circle forms a community of witnesses and learners, gathered around a central, ethereally suspended fire. This fire, a symbol of transformation, knowledge, and continuity, serves as a focal point for the narrative and the collective experience.

The introduction of a remote audience, represented by hummingbirds within the virtual environment, adds another layer of connectivity and interaction. This choice not only expands the accessibility of the performance but also weaves in the symbolism of the hummingbird, known for its resilience, joy, and the reminder that small actions can lead to significant impacts. The hummingbirds, visible to both dancers and the in-person audience, further enrich the narrative with their presence, symbolizing the far-reaching influence and interconnectedness of individual efforts and the broader community.

As the performance unfolds, the audience is guided through a vision of a future shaped by the outcomes of the 8th Fire prophecy, exploring themes of warning, wisdom, and the possibility of renewal. The refuge in the cave, with Joshua Mangeshig Pawis-Steckley’s projections, provides a contemplative space for the stories of the 7 Fires to be absorbed and reflected upon, connecting the audience with the ancestral knowledge and the urgency of heeding these teachings.

The climactic transformation brought by the rains and rising waters symbolizes a cleansing, a rebirth of the world into a state of peace and harmony. This renewal invites the audience to partake in a celebration of new beginnings, emphasizing the role of collective action and the shared responsibility in fostering a future that embraces the lessons of the past, the realities of the present, and the possibilities of a harmonious coexistence.

“Maamawi: Together through the Fire” is not only a performance but a communal ritual, a call to action, and a shared vision for the future. It encapsulates the essence of Anishinaabe teachings and the power of storytelling, blending tradition with technology to inspire, educate, and unite.

www.maamawi.dance

2023 World Premiere @ Matriarchs Uprising Festival

Upcoming Presentation: InFrinGing Dance Festival 2024

O.Dela Arts & Pepper’s Ghost New Media & Performing Arts Collective

Since its inception, O.Dela Arts seeks to develop audiences for Contemporary Indigenous dance and multidisciplinary arts. Under the leadership of professional dance artist Olivia C. Davies, the organization has built a solid foundation of peer exchange, professional development opportunities and performance series. Highlights include the creation of multiple Contemporary Indigenous dance works including residencies and presentations in Vancouver, Montreal, Calgary, Toronto, Prince Rupert, and Nanaimo, BC. Our Talking Truths series of circle conversations hosted by Olivia and featuring Indigenous choreographers from across Turtle Island, Aotearoa, and Australia have provided new ways to educate audiences to the nuances of Contemporary Indigenous dance practice and have been supported by partner organizations including DanceHouse Vancouver, Talking Stick Festival, Downtown Eastside Heart of the City Festival, and Dance West Network.

Pepper’s Ghost New Media & Performing Arts Collective was founded in Vancouver, British Columbia in the spring of 2014 by veterans of the theatre, dance, film, music and video game industries, along with leading academic researchers in new media, to explore the expressive potential of advanced computer graphics, digital audio and visual effects technologies, including real-time motion capture, stereo 3D projection, electronic sound synthesis and virtual & augmented reality, in the creation of live theatre, music and dance performances.

Artist Bios

Olivia C. Davies is a Contemporary Indigenous dance artist, choreographer, community-arts facilitator, producer, and emerging writer of Anishinaabe, French-Canadian, Finnish and Welsh heritage. Davies’ works often explore the emotional and political relationships between people and places. Her recent choreographic explorations are driven by a desire to explore neo-traditional aspects of her Indigeneity, story-weaving, and collaborative projects that bring about new awareness of the world around us.

Co-creative director & creative technologist, Athomas Goldberg, brings several years of experience in the creation of hybrid live/virtual performances through his work as a co-founder of both Pepper’s Ghost New Media & Performing Arts Collective, and Shocap Entertainment, and as a consultant to the interactive entertainment and virtual reality industries through his company, Lifelike & Believable Animation Design.

Gloria May Eshkibok is from the Wikwemikong unceded territory on Manitoulin Island. Currently residing on the Capilano unceded territory of the Squamish Nation, Eshkibok has been an actress, singer, writer and producer for more than 30 years and has collaborated with O.Dela Arts as cultural advisor since 2018.

Joshua Mangeshig Pawis-Steckley is an Ojibwe illustrator from Barrie, ON. He is a member of Wasauksing, FN and is currently living in the unceded territories of the Musqueam, Squamish and Tsleil-waututh peoples. His work aims to rejuvenate Ojibwe culture using a modern woodland art style.Visit his instagram @mangeshig for more of his work.

Michael Red is a Vancouver based music producer, composer, curator, performer and DJ. The founding member of the respected bass music collective Lighta! Sound, head of the Low Indigo leftfield music label, one half of LA FE, one half of Chambers, former curator for New Forms Festival for over ten years, Bass Coast Music Festival resident and curator, Shambhala Music Festival performer over ten years, former long term collaborator with throat singer Tanya Tagaq, and ambient/experimental artist under the alias Souns.

Raven John, artist, involuntary comedian and two spirit activist, is of Coast Salish and Stolo Nation decent. This Two-spirit Trickster is a  BFA graduate from ECU, with a major in visual art  and minor in social practice and community  engagement. Raven is a visual artist, cultural  consultant, mediator, storyteller, photographer and  sculptor. A jack-of-all-trades (and master of a few),  their practice covers a wide array of mediums from  provocation and humor, puppet making, ceramics, dressmaking, interactive electronics and indigenous technologies. www.ravenjohn.com

Treaty 1-born Sophie Dow is a multidisciplinary creative, inspired by dance, music, film, collaboration and Métis-Assiniboine + French/Ukrainian roots. An avid adventurer, Sophie exudes passions for busking, yoga and traveling on top of holding a degree in Dance Performance and Choreography from York University. Sophie is a freelance dancer/choreographer/sound designer and a puddle jumping trickster. www.sophiedow.com 

Daisy Thompson is a European settler who lives on the unceded territories of the Skwxwú7mesh, Səl̓ílwətaɬ and xʷməθkwəy̓əm First Nations. Through dance performance, teaching, and writing, she seeks to extend ideas of the dancing body as a key site for the questioning and interruption of logics of control in relation to culture and identity.