Kathak, pop-up dancers, Tentacle Tribe, and more as New Works unveils 2024-25 season

Residencies, studio showings, and other presentations fill the roster at multifaceted organization

NEW WORKS HAS just unveiled a program of collaborative performances, pop-up dances, and residencies for 2024-25.

As part of BC Culture Days, it will kick off the season with Pop Up Dances from September 20 to 22, with site-specific dance hitting unexpected spaces across Granville Island and at the Central Library branch of the Vancouver Public Library.

Its ticketed presentation series this year launches with a copresentation of Prism by Montreal’s Tentacle Tribe with The Cultch from October 23 to 27.

In the New Year, New Works will collaborate with PuSh International Performing Arts Festival to present Andrea Peña & Artists’ BOGOTÁ (January 30, February 1). An ode to Peña’s Colombian home city, it’s described as a “post-Andean Baroque, performative event”, featuring nine dancers. It explores death and resurrection and cultural transformations inspired by the metropolis.

In March, New Works will partner with The Dance Centre to present the world premiere of Punjab-born, Ontario-based kathak artist Gaurav Bhatti’s newest work on March 28 and 29.

As ever, New Works’ programming is multifaceted, with a continuing resident-artist series. This summer, dance artist Tin Gamboa came into the studio for a two-week creative residency in partnership with Out Innerspace Dance Theatre. In October, Vancouver’s danielle Mackenzie Long will explore and share a new XR work-in-progress at the Roundhouse Performance Centre. And in January, Foolish Operations continues its research into a work for very young audiences. Watch for public studio showings.

New Works also forges ahead with educational and support programs like Cohort, NWXR, Share Dance, In Practice, Help Desk, and various workshops throughout the season.

And in a special project, New Works partners with The Dance Centre and Plastic Orchid Factory to present Sunday Sampler on November 24 as part of Dance In Vancouver, a biannual celebration, showcase, and marketplace. It will include a mix of excerpts by various artists alongside a pitch session.

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Janet Smith

Janet Smith is founding partner and editorial director of Stir. She is an award-winning arts journalist who has spent more than two decades immersed in Vancouver’s dance, screen, design, theatre, music, opera, and gallery scenes. She sits on the Vancouver Film Critics’ Circle.

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