High-energy show BENCHED comes to the Vancouver International Children's Festival, May 26 to 31
Production by Denmark’s Uppercut Dance Theater features breathtaking physicality and inventive humour
SPONSORED POST BY Vancouver International Children's Festival
BENCHED. Photo by Salih Üstündağ
The Vancouver International Children’s Festival presents BENCHED, produced by Denmark’s Uppercut Dance Theater, at Performance Works on Granville Island from May 26 to 31.
Audiences won’t want to sit down for this high-energy dance show that transforms the everyday bench into a stage for humour, honesty, and breathtaking physicality. In BENCHED, five fearless dancers push the limits of movement, exploring what it means to take space, share space, and sometimes fall right off the edge.
With playful choreography, bold athleticism, and a spark of mischievous fun, BENCHED invites viewers to laugh, reflect, and marvel at the sheer joy of bodies in motion. This is dance at its most daring, dynamic, and delightfully unexpected.
Uppercut Dance Theater was founded in 1982 by Cher Geurtze and Ann Crooset. As one of the first modern companies in Denmark, it received public funding from the Danish Arts Council, and has now been creating shows for both adult and young audiences for more than 40 years.
BENCHED. Photo by Salih Üstündağ
The company’s performances demonstrate a dynamic intersection of dance movement and theatrical elements. Stories are served with a twinkle in the eye and with the raw physical expression of the whole body. Stylistically, the company offers a fresh fusion of different dance styles, which is illustrated by its individual performers’ different backgrounds in capoeira, break, acrobatics, and contemporary.
Uppercut Dance Theater is currently led by Stephanie Thomasen and Mark Philip, who represent the third generation of artistic directors in the company. In recent years, they have garnered several prestigious awards, nominations, and grants for their works, which include PANIC DAY, SAMBA, and most recently, LIMBO.
Thomasen is the mind behind the concept and choreography for BENCHED, which runs 45 minutes long and is suitable for viewers ages seven and up. Q&As with the artists will take place after the performances on May 26 at 10:30 am and May 31 at 12 pm.
Tickets to the show are available for the general public and for school groups (with curriculum connections available online for grades 2 to 12).
Purchase tickets and learn more through the Vancouver International Children’s Festival.
Post sponsored by Vancouver International Children's Festival.
Related Articles
Featured
