Vancouver dance artist Tara Cheyenne Friedenberg explores being in her own skin in Body Parts, May 3 to 6

Humour and movement merge in the deeply personal solo about body image

Tara Cheyenne Friedenberg, Body Parts. Photo by Wendy D

 
 
 

The Cultch presents Tara Cheyenne Performance’s Body Parts from May 3 to 6 at the Historic Theatre as part of the 2023 Femme Festival

 

“DID YOU GET your body back?” It’s a question that some women have heard several months after giving birth. Vancouver dance artist Tara Cheyenne Friedenberg has been asked it, as she shares—in her signature hilarious, intelligent, honest, physical, and theatrical ways—in Body Parts.

In a society obsessed with impossible beauty standards for women, the Tara Cheyenne Performance founder’s solo is about taking power back. It’s about to have its live world premiere as part of The Cultch’s 2023 Femme Festival.

The work’s genesis goes back a few years, to a time when Friedenberg was becoming increasingly aware of her relationship with her post-pregnancy body. Self-criticism of her physical appearance was nothing new to the veteran artist, with her background in dance, a field notorious for its focus on idealized looks. She started interviewing women as well as female-identifying and non-binary folks throughout B.C. about their own feelings surrounding body image. It became crystal clear that talking about such issues was exactly what was needed. For Friedenberg, so was creating, choreographing, and performing in a multidisciplinary piece.

A blend of stand-up comedy and dance, Body Parts started as a group piece, but that was pre-COVID. The work morphed into a film that was accompanied by online circle discussions around body image. Now coming to life in-person, Body Parts features music by Marc Stewart, lighting design by James Proudfoot, and creative collaboration from Kate Franklin and Josh Martin (outside eye) and Melanie Yeats (dramaturge/discussion moderator). Contributing artists include Bevin Poole, Kim Steveson, Caroline Liffman, Justine A. Chambers, Jamie Robinson, Lisa Gelley, and the late Zahra Shahab,

 
 

Read more about Body Parts here and here. Tickets and more information can be found here. 

 
 
 
 
 
 

Related Articles

Articles
Hamlet, Prince of Denmark captures the inner turmoil of a man zeroed in on revenge
Hamlet, Prince of Denmark captures the inner turmoil of a man zeroed in on revenge

In a DanceHouse presentation, Guillaume Côté and Robert Lepage stage their tightly paced adaptation of Shakespeare’s story

In Fall(se) Circ(us), dancers embrace cycles of frenzied work and relatable exhaustion
In Fall(se) Circ(us), dancers embrace cycles of frenzied work and relatable exhaustion

At the Roundhouse, Little Room Productions’ inaugural piece draws on choreographer Isak Enquist’s lifelong experience in martial arts

Renowned choreographer Noam Gagnon performs a deeply personal solo live-scored by Stefan Smulovitz, March 11 to 14
Renowned choreographer Noam Gagnon performs a deeply personal solo live-scored by Stefan Smulovitz, March 11 to 14

The piece by Vision Impure, called being, comes to KW Studios courtesy of Kokoro Dance Theatre Society

In Show Gone, Ame Henderson and Matija Ferlin question the nature of endings
In Show Gone, Ame Henderson and Matija Ferlin question the nature of endings

The Dance Centre and Vancouver International Dance Festival coproduction concludes a triptych spanning over 15 years

Dance review: At Ballet BC's INFINITY, Jiří Kylián and Crystal Pite take viewers into strange, subconscious limbos
Dance review: At Ballet BC's INFINITY, Jiří Kylián and Crystal Pite take viewers into strange, subconscious limbos

Contemporary-art-like 27’52’”makes elaborate play with shadows and time, while Frontier reveals new narrative and thematic complexity

Little Room Productions premieres inaugural piece Fall(se) Circ(us), March 21
Little Room Productions premieres inaugural piece Fall(se) Circ(us), March 21

New Works copresents Isak Enquist's genre-defying fusion of martial arts and contemporary dance influences

Arts Umbrella Dance Company hosts Tempus Fugit: A Midseason Performance, February 26 and 27
Arts Umbrella Dance Company hosts Tempus Fugit: A Midseason Performance, February 26 and 27

Program features pieces by leading choreographers, including Anne Jung, Lukas Timulak, Rebecca Margolick, and Cyril Baldy

At Ballet BC’s INFINITY, Medhi Walerski pays tribute to two works that impacted his career
At Ballet BC’s INFINITY, Medhi Walerski pays tribute to two works that impacted his career

As a young dancer at Nederlands Dans Theater, the artistic director was in on the creation of both Jiří Kylián’s 27’52” and Crystal Pite’s Frontier

Dance community mourns Peter Bingham, father of contact dance in Vancouver
Dance community mourns Peter Bingham, father of contact dance in Vancouver

Based for decades at Western Front, long-time EDAM artistic director created more than 50 works and took part in hundreds of performances

DanceHouse hosts the B.C. premiere of Ex Machina and Côté Danse's Hamlet, Prince of Denmark, March 18 to 21
DanceHouse hosts the B.C. premiere of Ex Machina and Côté Danse's Hamlet, Prince of Denmark, March 18 to 21

With community partners Bard on the Beach Shakespeare Festival and Théâtre la Seizième, bold reinterpretation of the tragic play hits the stage

Dance review: Flowing forms and abstract storytelling in Royal Winnipeg Ballet double bill
Dance review: Flowing forms and abstract storytelling in Royal Winnipeg Ballet double bill

T’əl: The Wild Man of the Woods heralds an exciting new voice, while Carmina Burana strips the work down to its essence

Hoop dance and Métis jigging meet as Beany John and Sophie Dow take the stage at Matriarchs Uprising
Hoop dance and Métis jigging meet as Beany John and Sophie Dow take the stage at Matriarchs Uprising

The Dance Centre and O.Dela Arts present the piece that draws on the performers’ Indigenous ancestors

New Works hosts inaugural dance-focused Leadership in Practice Symposium, March 22
New Works hosts inaugural dance-focused Leadership in Practice Symposium, March 22

One-day gathering for artists, educators, and choreographers explores how leadership can be more responsive to the dance world

Royal Winnipeg Ballet’s T’əl: The Wild Man of the Woods braids Indigenous storytelling with classical dance
Royal Winnipeg Ballet’s T’əl: The Wild Man of the Woods braids Indigenous storytelling with classical dance

Rising Tla’amin choreographer Cameron sinkʷə Fraser-Monroe draws on a tale he heard growing up for a large-scale work that joins Carmina Burana on a double bill

Ballet Jörgen gives Shakespeare’s A Midsummer Night’s Dream a ’50s Albertan twist
Ballet Jörgen gives Shakespeare’s A Midsummer Night’s Dream a ’50s Albertan twist

Fun riffs on the classic include a moose-headed Bottom wearing buffalo plaid and an appearance by a royal couple

Dance review: Coregulation and calm, as Action at a Distance’s WAIL sculpts vocal sound and movement
Dance review: Coregulation and calm, as Action at a Distance’s WAIL sculpts vocal sound and movement

In this PuSh Fest, Music on Main, and Dance Centre premiere, humming songs, whispered words, and hypnotic movement bring a sense of serenity and connection to a chaotic world

In The Brutal Joy, Justine A. Chambers channels the overwhelming beauty of Black living
In The Brutal Joy, Justine A. Chambers channels the overwhelming beauty of Black living

With staging that evokes a Chicago jazz bar, the Dance Centre and PuSh Festival co-presentation draws on matrilineal fashion and line dancing

Ballet BC highlights masterful choreographers Crystal Pite and Jiří Kylián with INFINITY, February 26 to 28
Ballet BC highlights masterful choreographers Crystal Pite and Jiří Kylián with INFINITY, February 26 to 28

Program features Pite’s Frontier, a deep dive into the unknown, and Kylián’s 27’52”, an exploration of theoretical elements

Dance review: JEZEBEL challenges the stereotype of the booty-poppin’ backup dancer
Dance review: JEZEBEL challenges the stereotype of the booty-poppin’ backup dancer

In a riveting PuSh Festival and New Works copresentation, Belgium’s Cherish Menzo plays with repetition, chopped-and-screwed music, and flashing dental grillz

Review: Liquid limbs and mesmerizing visual magic at Recirquel’s Paradisum
Review: Liquid limbs and mesmerizing visual magic at Recirquel’s Paradisum

In DanceHouse and The Cultch co-presentation, the Hungarian company is full of flowing bodies and rippling fabric

At PuSh, Alan Lake Factori(e)’s mythologically driven Orpheus paints a visceral picture of loss
At PuSh, Alan Lake Factori(e)’s mythologically driven Orpheus paints a visceral picture of loss

In the deeply moving production, dancers embody the ancient tale of death and longing by tapping into their own experiences of tragedy

Stir Cheat Sheet: 5 shows to startle and spellbind at PuSh International Performing Arts Festival
Stir Cheat Sheet: 5 shows to startle and spellbind at PuSh International Performing Arts Festival

Productions that “push” forms include dance works that play with props and stereotypes, as well as ethereal odes to nature and the northern lights

Recirquel’s postapocalyptic Paradisum conjures visual worlds out of fabric and light
Recirquel’s postapocalyptic Paradisum conjures visual worlds out of fabric and light

Producer Natália Fábics says the Hungarian work, co-presented by DanceHouse and The Cultch, is as much a contemporary artwork and philosophical epic as a fusion of circus and dance

The Dance Centre and PuSh Festival present Justine A. Chambers in The Brutal Joy, February 5 and 6
The Dance Centre and PuSh Festival present Justine A. Chambers in The Brutal Joy, February 5 and 6

Choreographer’s latest creation is a dazzling blend of dance, lighting, and sound that draws on her Black matrilineal heritage

Dozens of musicians and dancers take the stage for Celebrate Africa! at BlueShore at CapU, January 30
Dozens of musicians and dancers take the stage for Celebrate Africa! at BlueShore at CapU, January 30

Big bands play West African music with guests Dawn Pemberton, Khari McClelland, and others

Cherish Menzo's JEZEBEL lands at PuSh Festival in copresentation with New Works, January 22 and 23
Cherish Menzo's JEZEBEL lands at PuSh Festival in copresentation with New Works, January 22 and 23

Electrifying performance reclaims hyper-sexualized “video vixen” of hip hop’s golden era

Matriarchs Uprising spotlights stunning contemporary dance by Indigenous women, February 16 to 21
Matriarchs Uprising spotlights stunning contemporary dance by Indigenous women, February 16 to 21

Festival brings live performances, conversations, and community workshops to the Scotiabank Dance Centre and Morrow

WHAT'S STIRRING, DANCEGail JohnsonTara Cheyenne Friedenberg, Femme Festival, The Cultch, body image