Grad Show ‘23
SCA Dance Performance
April 21 + 22, 2023 | 7:30 PM
Studio T – SFU Goldcorp Centre for the Arts
149 W. Hastings St., Vancouver
Tickets: $5 SFU Students / Underemployed | $10 SFU Staff / Faculty / Alumni | $15 General Public
This student-led showcase returns, featuring original works from the graduating class of the SCA’s Dance area. 17 diverse and playfully exploratory pieces are presented as a culmination of the work, makings, and growth alongside each other during their university experience. In this heartfelt sendoff, this final presentation is put together in celebration of all the joyous memories and bonds made during the past 4 years, as well as the exciting journeys in what is to come.
Performers / Choreographers
Anna Albini-Wang, Tiffany Au, Sydney Bluck, Natasha Dennison, Brooklyn Fowler, Desirée James, Carson Keller, Natalia Martineau, Myah McCarthy, Jessica McKeown, Emma Miebach, Quinn Muylaert, Jullianna Oke, Paris Pelan, Elyza Samson, Shäolin Temrick-Young, Emma Tweedie
Credits
Co-Producers: Shäolin Temrick-Young, Desirée James, Sydney Bluck & Elyza Samson
Production Manager: Emily Neumann & Gillian Hanemayer
Production Coordinator: Shäolin Temrick-Young
Faculty Support: Rob Kitsos
Stage Manager: Zhengyi (Joy) Wu
Production Assistant: Vivien Dang
Lighting Designer: Alexandra Caprara
Budgeting: Sydney Bluck
Communications: Desirée James
Marketing: Elyza Samson, in collaboration with Tiffany Au
Photography / Programs & Posters: Mikela Vuorensivu
Photography / Performances: Jordon Richardson
Archival Videographer: Noah Wylie
The School for the Contemporary Arts recognizes that we are on the uninvited, unceded and occupied territories of the xʷməθkʷəy̓əm (Musqueam), Sḵwx̱wú7mesh (Squamish) and Səlilwətaɬ (Tsleil-Waututh) peoples.
SCHEDULE
Zaltz
A combination of all of our childhood universes, Zaltz holds our love for our favourite shows and characters growing up. It is a semi-chaotic collage of our memories, all those happy yet nostalgic moments we carry with us but may never get to return to again. Zaltz is a ‘typical’ grad show piece where we both look back at ourselves while dancing into the future, hopefully bringing our friends along.
Choreographer: Anna Wang-Albini
Dancers: Sydney Bluck, Natasha Dennison, Desirée James, Natalia Martinea, Jullianna Oke, Elyza Samson, Anna Wang-Albini
Music: Samples from Lujon by Henry Mancini, Shadow of Love/The Enchanted Reef by Les Baxter, Souq by Viken Arman, and Once Upon a December by Liz Callaway
Grains of Paradise
The enigma of the ether: sought to harness otherworldly properties in the pursuit of flight, a curiosity in the realm of alchemy – how long has fascination prevented the transposition of creation?
Beyond the universe, you know no end. The palette of dreams withholds a wilder gaze; its oddity welcomes, rejects, and questions.
Choreographer: Carson Keller
Dancer: Carson Keller
Music: Dear Leo – Your Door, Mallrat – Wish on an Eyelash, Arca – Crown
a VERY serious duet
TWO FRIENDS. A GOOD GOOFY TIME. JUST BOPPIN' – but not really lockin'. THAT'S ALL YOU GOTTA KNOW BECAUSE THAT'S ALL WE KNOW.
Choreographer: Jessica McKeown & Anna Wang-Albini
Dancers: Jessica McKeown & Anna Wang-Albini
Music: Missy Elliott ft. Ciara & Fat Man Scoop – Lose Control, JP the Wave & YZERR – Gila Gila, Missy Elliott – Work It
Mother’s House of Wax
Waxy skin and rubber bones
Muscle protein synthesis at hyperspeed
A vacuum sealed skin suit with the ability to morph you into something new
Choreographer: Natalia Martineau in collaboration with Desirée James
Dancer: Desirée James
Music: The Beatles – Something
To Behold and Be Held
Choreographers: Julianna Oke in collaboration with Natasha Dennison
Dancers: Natasha Dennison & Jullianna Oke
Music: The Platters – Smoke Gets in Your Eyes
I Think I’ve Lost My Taste for Television
Choreographer: Quinn Muylaert
Music: Funkadelic – Maggot Brain
Vibrant Petrichor
Vibrant Petrichor is a playful exploration of trust within relationships. Stemming from conversations of how our own friendships/relationships came to be, this piece aims to convey the push and pull of navigating the proximity of others to oneself and finding common ground.
Petrichor: a pleasant smell that frequently accompanies the first rain after a long period of warm, dry weather. "other than the petrichor emanating from the rapidly drying grass, there was not a trace of evidence that it had rained at all"
Choreographer: Brooklyn Fowler in collaboration with the dancers
Dancers: Anna Wang-Albini, Desirée James, Natalia Martineau, Sydney Bluck
Music: WILLIS – I Think I Like When It Rains, Dr. Dog – Where'd All the Time Go?
Liebling
Drama! Sensitivity! Indulgence! Celebration! Catharsis! A love letter to a creation period. A bittersweet resurgence of memory.
Choreographer: Natasha Dennison
Dancer: Natasha Dennison
Music: Perfume Genius – Otherside, Santo and Johnny – Sleepwalk, Cosmo Sheldrake – Hocking, The Books – Getting The Done Job, Mark Korven – The Sea King's Fury, Chaucer Gilson – Pastiche.
~ INTERMISSION ~
shapes of space in between (Saturday evening performance only)
annnnd all good things come to an end! will you help me fill the space between?
Choreographer: Tiffany Au
Dancer: Tiffany Au
Music: Son Lux – In Another Life
Space Rocks
Eager to explore the unknown? Hope for a brighter future? Look no further!
Give into the desire to explore and discover the new space age!
Sydney loves the experience of floating languidly through the galaxy, she’s felt euphoria like never before!
*it may feel hypnotic and otherworldly.
*beware losing your orientation
Choreographer: Desirée James & Sydney Bluck
Dancers: Sydney Bluck & Desiree James
Projections: Jullianna Oke
Music: The Tornados – Telstar, The Beatles – Flying, The Bob Crewe Generation Orchestra ft. The Glitterhouse – Barbarella
Should be Fine
Dedicated to the ones I love and have lost. An exploration and celebration of what their lives meant and how it will continue. A realization that life will move on and mostly likely everything Should be Fine.
Choreographer: Jessica McKeown
Dancer: Jessica McKeown
Music: Joyful Joyful – Marrow, Weval – Should be Fine, Nick Leng – Morning / Midnight
3
Choreographers: Emma Tweedie, Natasha Dennison & Quinn Muylaert
Dancers: Emma Tweedie, Natasha Dennison & Quinn Muylaert
Music: Unknown Mortal Orchestra
Trading Time
Trading Time is a tap jam curated by the performers to give the audience a glimpse into tap improvisation. Accompanied by classic jazz standards such as Take the A Train, Sing Sing Sing, and Take Five, the performers invite you to enjoy them trading time and sharing their love for tap.
Choreographers: Brooklyn Fowler & Jullianna Oke
Dancers: Brooklyn Fowler & Jullianna Ok
Music: The Dave Brubeck Quartet – Take Five, Sonny Rollins – St. Thomas, Benny Goodman – Sing, Sing, Sing, Joan Chamorro & Sant Andreu Jazz Band – Cute (Live), Duke Ellington – Take The A Train
Propensity
Choreographer: Paris Pelan
Dancer: Paris Pelan
Music: Sevdaliza – Hero
hello, goodbye, see you soon
hello, goodbye, see you soon is an ode to my journey of being a dance artist. Recovering from an injury, I made the difficult decision to step away from dance. This piece reflects my emotional cycle of grief, perseverance, and resilience. Thank you to my dancers for diving into my work and process, and thank you to my friends and family for guiding me through this unfamiliar terrain. Though this is not goodbye, it is farewell for now, and I will see you soon.
Choreographer: Shäolin Temrick-Young (in collaboration with the dancers)
Dancers: Sydney Bluck, Desirée James, Emma Miebach (Friday evening), Jullianna Oke, Elyza Samson
Music: Cristobal Tapia De Veer – Renaissance (Main Title / The White Lotus: Season 2). Edited by Cosimo Albione.
BIOGRAPHIES
Tiffany Au (she/they)
Tiffany is a multi-disciplinary artist interested in showcasing the intersection of movement and design in her works. With inspiration from the world around her, she draws from shapes and objects as well as the bright colours that surround our everyday lives. The child of immigrants, she is based in so-called Vancouver, on the unceded, ancestral and traditional territories of the Musqueam, Squamish, Tsleil-Waututh Nations. Tiffany is completing a BFA in dance as well as a minor in print and publishing. latelytiffany.cargo.site
Sydney Bluck (she/they)
Sydney Bluck was born and raised on the Indigenous lands of the Mississaugas of the Credit First Nations in the place now known as Guelph, Ontario. Currently, she centres her practice around patterns and relationships between performers aiming to build her choreographic and creative abilities. In the future, she aspires to continue with this art form by pursuing opportunities that will allow her to train, perform, choreograph and teach.
Natasha Dennison (she/they)
Natasha Dennison is from the traditional territory of the Anishnabek, Huron-Wendat, Haudenosaunee, Oneida and Haudenosaunee people, also known as North Augusta, Ontario. In Natasha's 6th and final year in the Contemporary Dance program, they are interested in working with emotinal and physical ferocity, and intricacies in movement in relation to sound and music. Alongside dance, she is also a visual artist, working with linocut printmaking, illustration, textiles, and painting.
Brooklyn Fowler (she/they)
Brooklyn Fowler is a queer, Indigenous, emerging dance artist born and raised in Lethbridge, Alberta on the traditional lands of the Ktunaxa, Michif Piyii (Metis), Niitsítpiis-stahkoii (Blackfoot), Očhéthi Šakówin, and Tsuu T’ina. Brooklyn is deeply invested in using her body and physicality to explore and exploit the notions of perfection and self within dance and performance.
Desirée Keresztes James (she/they)
Desirée Keresztes James was born and raised on the Indigenous homelands of the Mississaugas of the Credit First Nation which is part of the Anishinaabe First Nation, now known as Oakville, Ontario. Currently she is focusing on indulging her explorations of the choreographic process by queering the lens and investigating the presentation of camp. Desiree would like to continue her work within this art form to pursue a path that allows her to strengthen and adapt her technical and choreographic practices.
Carson Keller (he/him)
Carson Keller is a multi-medium contemporary artist based in Vancouver, BC. In his artistic practice, he researches the combination of dance, music, and visual media in an effort to innovate practical approaches to art. He is a strong advocate for mental wellness and inclusivity - both of which bring a healthy focus to the emotional expression in his work. He is inspired by a constantly evolving society, its counterparts, and he wishes to leave viewers with a glimpse of the edges of our era.
Natalia Martineau (she/her)
Natalia Martineau is an emerging dance artist based in Vancouver, on the unceded Coast Salish territories of the xʷməθkwəy̓əm (Musqueam), Skwxwú7mesh (Squamish), and Səl̓ílwətaɬ (Tsleil-Waututh) Nations. Pursuing her BFA in contemporary dance at Simon Fraser University’s School for the Contemporary Arts, Natalia is in the process of expanding the sensory and physical bounds of her dance practice. Interested in how thoughts, feelings, texts, sounds, and images can be converted into dance, Natalia hopes to investigate how the body can reveal inarticulable truths about identity.
Jessica McKeown (she/her)
Jessica McKeown is a dance artist residing and working on Vancouver Island on the traditional lands of the Ligwiłda'xw people. Finishing her BFA at SFU this past December, she has continued to explore her excitement for teaching and choreography at Studio North Dance Academy. She also has found a new passion in arts administration as she finishes her internship with the DTRC this April. Jessica is currently working towards completing her diploma at NIC in Business Administration to support her dance career.
Emma Miebach
Emma Miebach is an emerging contemporary dance artist studying at Simon Fraser University located on the unceded territories of the Skwxwú7mesh (Squamish), Səl̓ílwətaɬ (Tsleil- Waututh), and xʷməθkwəy̓əm (Musqueam) Nations. Emma’s practice has become greatly centered around sensation and embodiment of movement. She would like to focus her research and explorations on the interconnectedness of touch and emotions, and the roles they play in society.
Quinn Muylaert
Quinn Muylaert is an emerging contemporary dance artist originating from Port Perry, Ontario on the traditional territory of the Mississaugas of Scugog Island First Nation. For the past four years, Quinn’s focus has been to interpret and absorb as many different qualities as possible in hopes to push the limits of her technical foundation. Ultimately, her goal is to continue performing and sharing her love the art for as long as she can. Quinn is extremely thankful for her time spent in the program but It is with mixed emotions that she performs as an SFU dance major for the final time.
Jullianna Oke (she/they)
Jullianna is an emerging artist based in Vancouver on the traditional, unceded lands of the Musqueam, Squamish and Tsleil-Waututh Nations. As she finishes her BFA Honours in Dance from Simon Fraser University, her interests lie in the passage of information and non-verbal communication expressed from one body to another through movement, sound, and media.
Paris Pelan (she/her)
Paris Pelan was raised in Victoria, British Columbia, on the traditional territories of the Lkwungen (Esquimalt and Songhees), Malahat, Pacheedaht, Scia’new, T’Sou-ke and W̱SÁNEĆ (Pauquachin, Tsartlip, Tsawout, Tseycum) peoples. As Paris finishes her BFA she is continuously looking for ways to find new and exciting opportunities to embrace contemporary and commercial dance techniques. Paris is currently working on exploring the interconnections of contemporary art and commercial performance allowing her choreography to encompass the movements she admires, with no bounds for one particular aesthetic. As a dance artist, she aspires to pursue a professional career in dance performance and acting and continue paving her way for future opportunities to grow as an artist.
Elyza Samson (she/her)
Elyza Samson is an Vancouver-based emerging artist who resides on the traditional, unceded territories of the Musqueam, Squamish and Tsleil-Waututh First Nations. Prior to attending SFU's School for the Contemporary Arts she graduated from Arts Umbrella Dance Company with a diploma in Dance. Elyza wishes to continue her explorations in interdisciplinary art while she works toward completing her BFA with SFU.
Shäolin Temrick-Young (she/her)
Shäolin Temrick-Young is an Canadian Dance Artist and Performer. Adopted from Quảng Ninh Province, Vietnam, Shäolin has grown living, learning and working in Vancouver, British Columbia on the traditional, unceded lands of the Musqueam, Squamish and Tsleil-Waututh Nations. Shäolin trained with Arts Umbrella Dance Company for 10 years and is currently, working towards finishing her BFA with SFU’s School for the Contemporary Arts.
Emma Tweedie
Emma Tweedie is an emerging Vancouver-based artist on the traditional territories of the Musqueam, Squamish, and Tsleil-Waututh First Nations. By immersing herself in movement languages belonging to different communities, Emma continues to cultivate her artistic identity as she moves forward in her dance career.
Anna Wang-Albini (she/they)
Anna is an emerging contemporary dance artist based in Vancouver BC on the unceded territories of the Musqueam, Squamish and Tsleil-Waututh First Nations. Anna approaches choreography and the body as a way to hold texture, various subtexts, and knowledge. As they wrap up their BFA Honours in Dance, they continue to explore how to integrate other artistic mediums in their research, choreographic process, movement generation, and/or the form/presentation of their work.
