The Festival of Dance Annapolis Royal, Atlantic Canada’s only summer contemporary dance festival, has launched the programme for its inaugural edition.
Performances from Company of Angels (based locally in Annapolis Royal, Nova Scotia), Halifax’s Mocean Dance and Toronto’s JD Dance form the line-up of the four-day event.
Teen Angel, a new work by choreographer and FODAR artistic director Randy Glynn, will open the festival on 21 August. Performed by Company of Angels, Teen Angel is an exploration of the similarities and conflicts between two different generations. The work features a community-based dance group involving a troupe of both teenage and senior dancers.
The senior dancers from the company (aged from 60 to 75) will also perform Glynn’s Dancing in the Third Act, a full-length work examining the theme of ageing. The choreography of the piece has been built around the histories and personalities of each dancer.
Performed by Mocean Dance, Ted Robinson’s Canvas 5 x 5 is a multimedia work involving a traditional maritime soundscape and oversized canvases manipulated by the ensemble.
JD Dance will perform two works: Jesse Dell and Jordana Deveau’s Army of Barbie, a look at ‘platicised’ cultural icons and the endless pursuit of beauty; and A Mark, a duet by Kate Franklin.
FODAR grew out of ARTs Unleashed!, an arts festival which took place for the first time last year in Annapolis Royal. Following a sold-out run of Glynn’s Dancing in the Third Act, organisers noticed the appetite for contemporary dance in the community and decided to build on the production’s success.
The festival runs from 21-24 August.
Main image: Canvas 5 X 5 by Mocean Dance © Holly Crooks
