Talking Truths: Circle Conversation extends new ways of viewing Indigenous and Community art as an act of healing, political assertion, and cultural continuation. These events are curated by O.Dela Arts, Artistic Director, Olivia C. Davies to engage audiences in new learning about the nuances of Contemporary Indigenous other Culturally Diverse forms of creative performance, storytelling, dance and song. These events were first curated as part of our Matriarchs Uprising Festival and continue to be an important part of our community engagement and audience development.
About the format: In this circle conversation setting, we invite audiences to co-create and hold space for women artists to talk our truth about the ways our creative acts connect us to community. Topics can range from dance as sacred act, art as living embodiment of community, and the necessity of kinship and relational accountability. Audiences are invited to sit in (live or virtual) circle with us and listen as we speak to each other, with open hearts, and open minds.
NEXT EVENT:
Friday, April 23rd, 2021
11am PDT
Speakers: Maura Garcia (Maura Garcia Dance), Jessica McMann (Wild Mint Arts), Michelle Olson (Raven Spirit Dance), Santee Smith (Kaha:Wi Dance Theatre)
Co-facilitators: Olivia C. Davies (O.Dela Arts), Starr Muranko (Raven Spirit Dance)
Free to the public
Running time: 75 minutes REGISTER
Speaking of Dance
Women Weaving Stories of Transformation
Presented by Matriarchs Uprising in partnership with DanceHouse and SFU Woodward’s Cultural Programs
Matriarchs Uprising festival was launched in 2019 by O.Dela Arts as a way to center Indigenous women who are creating and producing contemporary dance. In this conversation hosted by Olivia C. Davies (O.Dela Arts) with Matriarchs Uprising artists Michelle Olson (Raven Spirit Dance), Maura Garcia (Maura Garcia Dance), Jessica McMann (Wild Mint Arts), Santee Smith (Kaha:Wi Dance Theatre), and Starr Muranko (Raven Spirit Dance) we consider how contemporary choreography by Indigenous women from across Turtle Island considers our collective responsibility to land, to self, and to one another. At its core, our contemporary Indigenous dances require that artists are accountable to their traditional values while asserting their place in the present as dreamers of potential futures that can be communicated through movement. Defining this reality through dance can reveal the ways our Indigenous worldview strikes a balance between old and new ways of being, thinking, and reacting to the world around us.
Audiences are invited to sit in circle with us and listen as we speak to each other, with open hearts, and open minds.
History of Presentations:
June 2019 – The first conversation was presented at Matriarchs Uprising 2019 and was supported by Made in BC – Dance on Tour. The conversation featured the voices of Contemporary Indigenous choreographer Maura Garcia, Jessica McMann, and community activists Tsatassaya White and Cassandra Blondin-Burt. You can read the essay written by Daisy Thompson documenting the event here.
July 2019 – A follow-up conversation was presented at inFringing Dance Festival 2019 in partnership with Crimson Coast Dance. You can hear the full podcast of this event here: circle conversation Curated by Olivia C. Davies and featuring Cree scholar and choreographer, Jessica McMann, Tsatassaya White, B.A., event planner and community mobilizer of the Snuneymuxw (Nanaimo) & (Opetchesaht) Nuu-chah-nulth Nations, and “In’thot Cassandra Blondin-Burt, a Dené/Canadian performance artist, studying Philosophy (VIU) from within an Indigenous paradigm.
October 2019 – The third Talking Truths: Circle Conversation was presented at Fluid Fest 2019, curated by Olivia C. Davies featuring Ayla Modeste and Jessica McMann following solo performances by all three Indigenous choreographers.
June 2020 – The fourth Talking Truths: Circle Conversation was presented as part of a celebration of the one year anniversary of Matriarchs Uprising Festival on June 20th, 2020 with Louise Potiki Bryant (Founding Member of Atamira Dance Company and independent choreographer), Jessica McMann (Founding Artistic Director of Wild Mint Arts), independent choreographer, Maura García, Starrwind Muranko (Artistic Associate at Raven Spirit Dance Society), Mariaa Randall (Artistic Director of DubaiKungMiyalk), Henrietta Baird, and Michelle Olson (Artistic Director at Raven Spirit Dance.
October 2020 – The fifth Talking Truths: Circle Conversation was presented in partnership with the Dance Studies Association Digital Conference and Peter Dickinson | SFU School for the Contemporary Arts with Jeanette Kotowich, Margaret Grenier, Starr Muranko, and Yvonne Chartrand.
November 2020 – The sixth Talking Truths: Circle Conversation was presented in partnership with the Downtown Eastide Heart of the City festival with Dalannah Gail Bowen, Diane Roberts, Rosemary Georgeson, and Savannah Walling.
These conversations can be curated as part of a community engagement strategy for organizations that present Contemporary Indigenous dance performance. Contact Olivia to find out more.
