Get Out and Dance! is a community dance event featuring free dance workshops, live music, and dance performances at Lampman Lane Park in Barrie this July 27-28, 2024!
We are very excited to unveil details about the six pieces that will be presented in Get Out and Dance 2024!
Becoming
Performer: Shelly-Ann Skinner
Choreographer: Shelly-Ann Skinner
Music: Love me JeJe by Tems
Shelly-Ann is sharing her artistry in a Afro-Caribbean Fan Dance.
InsatiABLE Or-bits
Performer: Sarah Kennedy
Choreographer: Sarah Kennedy
Music: Inner Shadows by O.I, Break Me Again by Meltone, Oversyncing and I Was Only Temporary (Slowed + Reverb) by My Head is Empty
Perception vs reality.
The world orbits around me… Do I move with it or stand on the outside? Day in and day out, stay afloat. Are you moving? One step forward or two steps backwards?
This piece was created from feeling stuck and fearful of the unknown in life. Working with the pressure society has naturally put on us all to succeed and always striving for greatness but not being happy with what is in front of you. It feels like a cycle sometimes, that can’t be broken. Sometimes you’re just trying to keep your head above water each day, so you don’t drown in the reality. Overarching themes that are present include pressure, survival, resilience, repetition and redefining oneself.
Belief
Performers: Brianna Maltais, Joe Adamick, and Sam Ierullo
Choreographer: Brianna Maltais
Musical accompaniment by Joe Adamick and Sam Ierullo
This piece holds profound personal significance for the choreographer. The music that accompanies the movement is a cover of the song “Belief” from the jazz album titled “Belief” by Leon Parker, whose percussion artistry has deeply inspired her.
Belief brings Parker’s works to life through tap dance and live music.
This piece aims to bridge the gap between music and dance that can sometimes exist. The choreography, incorporating both structure and improvisation, showcases dynamic exchanges among the trio of performers, and engages the audience by inviting everyone to join in the rhythmic celebration. Belief strives to reignite the joy of tap dance and live music collaborations for our community.
Forever a Wife
Performer: Alayna Molotkow
Choreographer: Alayna Molotkow
Music composed and recorded by Roberto Sapienza
Forever a Wife is a contemporary solo created as part of a trilogy, exploring the early days of dementia/Alzheimer’s. This piece considers our roles and archetypes throughout life and how deeply they become ingrained into the fibres of our identity. When our very being begins to slip, do these roles give us something to hold onto, or a generality to disappear into?
Untied
Performers: Eligh Zimmerman and Paul Moen
Choreographers: Eligh Zimmerman
Music: Inner Demons by Julia Brennan and This Place is a Shelter by Olafur Arnalds
This work explores the tenacity that it takes for someone to conquer their inner demons and is an exploration of how any barrier can be overcome.
Untied was originally choreographed as a trio but was recently reworked into a duet to emphasize the inner battles that people can be dealing with. The choreography demonstrates the dissonance that can occur between one’s brain and heart. The movement is heavy as well as smooth as the dancers explore physically how someone can continue to fight through their struggles even when they’re feeling pulled down by negative thoughts and emotions.
Intersections 交會
Performer: Hayley Ng
Choreographer: Hayley Ng
Music: Intersections, composed by Matthew Van Driel, performed by Toronto Chinese Orchestra
This piece is called ‘Intersections 交會’, which was inspired by Song Dong’s Communal Courtyard. It reflects how cities with old traditions and ways of life are continuously changing, as they are taken over by modern day society. This is a contemporary dance piece with musical accompaniment involving Chinese instruments.
The music begins with a melody based on traditional Chinese musical form, and as it progresses, this melody is taken over by more robotic rhythms. Similar to how a city’s old traditions and ways of life change over time, the music continues to change, influence, and fight against each other, creating harmonies and dissonances. These shifts in the music are reflected in the choreography, which demonstrates the push and pull between the desire to keep old traditions and the desire to integrate modern ways of living.
At the end of the piece, the original melody is still intact but is also changed and adapted to something new. This is reflected through a piece of the original choreography returning in a different form to emulate this ending of the music.