CLOSE REACH Success and Upcoming Summer Festival Presentations
Mocean’s winter season was abundant with activity focused on creation and presentation centered around our 9th home season presentation of
CLOSE REACH. The magic and brutal strength of
Sable Island, choreographed
by Serge Bennathan,
won the hearts and critical acclaim of our home audiences, while Rhonda Baker, told a new familiar story of cynicism and vulnerability in her portrayal of a disheveled rock star in the re-presentation of
Live from the Flash Pan by Cory Bowles.
Moving into the summer months we are thrilled to be participating in four summer festivals in Ottawa, Vancouver, and Annapolis Royal, Nova Scotia.
Magnetic North Festival
Kicking off our festival presentations, Mocean Dance is participating in two exciting projects this week in our nation's capital.
Mocean's Artistic Associate,
Sara Coffin paired up with Anthony Black, Artistic Co-Director of
2b theatre company, to present a new collaborative duet,
how short it is, at the
Magnetic North Theatre Festival. The premiere of
how short it is was wildly received by both the Magnetic North Theatre Festival and the Canada Dance Festival audiences. Congratulations to
Anthony Black who surprised his theatre colleagues in his
seamless transition between theatre and dance!
photo credit: Amy Mackintosh
Canada Dance Festival - This weekend!
On Saturday, June 13 at 2pm,
Canada Dance Festival patrons will spot Mocean Dance en route during Kaeja d’Dance’s
Porch View Dances, happening in Ottawa's Westboro neighbourhood.
Photo Credit: Cameron-MacLennan
Dancers
Jacinte Armstrong, Ruth-Ellen Kroll Jackson, Gillian Seaward-Boone, and Artistic Director
Susanne Chui joined
Sara Coffin in Ottawa for a wild creation frenzy for a new a site-specific work commissioned by the Canada Dance Festival as part of
Porch View Dances. We are thrilled to be working alongside our national dance colleagues
Kaeja d'Dance and
Tara Luz Danse for this unique production that engages everyday people as creators, storytellers and performers.
Dancing on the Edge - Vancouver, BC
In July, Mocean Dance will travel to Vancouver, BC to present
Body Abandoned by
Sara Coffin. Mocean last performed in Vancouver in 2006 and Artistic Associate, Sara Coffin last presented her work there in 2011.
Jacinte Armstrong, Rhonda Baker, and Sara Coffin will reunite with the BC production design team, composer
Phil Thomson and media designer
Andrew Hawryshkewich, to
bring Coffin's new signature work to her old stomping ground. Look for Mocean Dance in
Edge 4 at
Dancing on the Edge on June 8th and 10th, 2015 at the Firehall Arts Centre.
photo credit: Michelle Doucette
Festival of Dance Annapolis Royal - Annapolis Royal, NS
In August, Mocean Dance will return to Annapolis Royal for our second presentation at
FODAR - Festival of Dance Annapolis Royal. This year we will be working with Festival Director, Randy Glynn in a special heritage project to remount Randy's iconic work
After Godot, choreographed in 1984. This new incarnation will be performed by
Rhonda Baker, Olivia Aubrecht, Susanne Chui and
Randy Glynn. Also featured at the festival will be Danny Grossman's 1973 duet,
Higher, and new works by Toronto's
Coleman Lemieux and Co. and Belinda McGuire (Toronto/NY).
Introducing Mocean's New Administrative Associate Simone MacLennan
Mocean is pleased to welcome our new Administrative Associate
Simone MacLennan. Originally from Sydney, Cape Breton, Simone is a graduate of King's College's Theatre Studies program. An avid dance and theatre goer, she has worked and volunteered with Live Art Dance Productions, 2b theatre company, Shakespeare by the Sea and the Magnetic North Theatre Festival.
A big thank you to our past Administrative Associate, Susan Malmstrom for her contributions to Mocean over the last three years. We wish her all the best in her new adventures in California.
CLEaR Forum - May 10-15, 2015
Mocean's 3rd annual choreographic lab
CLEaR Forum (Choreographic Lab, Exploration and Research) welcomed regional choreographers
Jalianne Li (Moncton, NB) and
Candice Pike (Corner Brook, NFLD) for a week of choreographic inquiry at the picturesque
Ross Creek Centre for the Arts. This year's curatorial focus drew from the abundance of emerging and regional creative energy that is building in the Atlantic dance scene. Supporting the ecology of discovery and questioning was guest choreographic mentor
Larry Lavender from Greensboro, North Carolina, with program director Sara Coffin. Joining Candice and Jalianne in the studios, were Halifax-based dancers
Olivia Aubrecht, Kara Friesen, Georgia Skinner, and
Michele Slattery .
Mocean Dance 2014-2015 Season Sponsors
Header photo: Gillian Seaward-Boone with Jacinte Armstrong, Photo by Holly Crooks.
