The New Zealand Dance Company (NZDC) is thrilled to present a collection of its distinguished repertoire to Canada in October 2019 at the Fall for Dance North Festival in Toronto and The National Arts Centre in Ottawa. In Toronto, the riveting programme includes works created beneath the southern skies – speaking of time, ritual and the force of nature – from highly acclaimed choreographers KIM Jae Duk (Korea) and Louise Potiki Bryant (New Zealand). In Ottawa, Jae Duk and Bryant are joined by Stephen Shropshire (USA/Netherlands).
Māori choreographer Louise Potiki Bryant and composer/AV designer Paddy Free (Pitch Black) created In Transit — a “…tour de force of dance, music and light…” (DANZ), which is a vivid reflection of the traces left behind in the Māori ritual of encounter.
Korean choreographer KIM Jae Duk’s quartet Sigan, (Time) commissioned for NZDC, draws from the dual themes of meditation and attack, with a dynamic score created by Jae Duk himself featuring traditional Korean instruments: jang-gu (drum), kkwaenggwari (small gong) and jing (large gong) within a contemporary composition. The stunning dancers of NZDC shine in this work that is "...not only visually, but technically flawless." (DANZ)
American/Dutch choregrapher Stephen Shropshire's The Geography of An Archipelago is a striking trio set to a powerful, percussive score by composer Chris O'Connor that includes the haunting sounds of the taonga pour (Māori traditional instruments).
Powerful designs by Jo Kilgour (lighting), Kasia Pol (set and costume), Paddy Free (AV and sound), Elizabeth Whiting (costume) and Rachael Walker (set) create immersive and multi-disciplinary worlds for the audience to experience.
