Artistic Director and Choreographer Santee Smith participated in a documentary series called Freedom, hosted by contemporary dance legend Robert Desrosiers who explores dancers, creators and companies in their own environments and cultures.
It is available for purchase through Amazon.
From the product description:
Episode Description: Santee Smith has one foot in the ballet world and the other firmly planted in traditional [A]boriginal dance. By combining the two disciplines she has created a hybrid of breathtaking choreography based on her passion for storytelling. Fueled by a musical fusion of modern and ancient, her work is deeply moving to observe.
Wherever dance takes shape and shapes culture – Freedom takes a candid behind-the-scenes, in-the-scenes and around-the-scenes look at the fresh ideas, forward thinking movements and the many faces that are shaping the modern dance world as it spins today.
Kehewin Native Dance Theatre will be performing the Dance and Storytelling show “TRICKSTER TRILOGY” at the Royal Ontario Museum as part of Harbourfront’s Planet IndigenUS Festival. Come out and listen to the stories, laugh with the Trickster, marvel at the Hoop Dance and join in Round Dance. It is fun for the whole family!
Rosa and Beany John of Kehewin Native Dance Theatre have just completed two weeks of workshops with our summer program…they thrilled everyone.
When? Saturday August 22 and Sunday August 23, 2009
Time? 1pm and 3pm
Hey!
More news and some photos from the summer intensive program (SADTI for short even though it’s quite happy) whose students have just completed Week 1 and taken a well-deserved one day break.
We are loving the enthusiasm of both instructors and students…throwing themselves into learning things as complex as hoop dancing this week.
Most of our students are returning for the second session (although there are a couple of spaces left) and the whole program will finish on a high note as we expect to attend Tanya Tagaq’s free performance on August 22 as part of Planet IndigenUS and Michael Greyeye’s wraps his Viewpoints workshop up on early Sunday evening.
Those at the SADTI may find themselves dancing with professionals at any moment….hush, hush.
KDT was in attendance at Planet IndigenUS‘s Opening Spectacles in more ways than one. I attended a reception and then sat on the lawn to catch excerpts of KDT’s Kaha:wi (simultaneously being performed at Dusk Dances’ new venue around Jane/Finch), as well as brief but interesting performances by Australia’s Doonooch Dance Company (they were amazing…) and Gaetan Gingras. Check out the photo gallery. Click on the photos once to open in a new screen, and one more time to get the large version. Enjoy!
366 • 25 • Coffee and news by Pragmagraphr on Flickr
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Featured topics:
>Planet IndigenUS opening spectacles (free!)
>Dusk Dances at Chalkfarm Park (free!)
>KDT’s Funding Session on Friday August 14th (tomorrow, free!)
And we’ve also signed up on BoardLink, created by Business for the Arts to link potential board members to not-for-profit arts companies like ourselves. Companies and individuals can create profiles and get matched…kind of like a dating service for not-for-profits. KDT likes long walks on the beach.
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I’m reposting this article about Six Nations/Brantford area events as part of Planet Indigenous.
Local events in orbit of Planet IndigenUs
Posted By SAL BOMMARITO, Expositor Staff
Posted 1 day ago: The Brantford Expositor
When Planet IndigenUs artistic director Janis Monture began working on the multi-disciplinary, international aboriginal arts festival a year ago, she had a specific goal in mind: to increase the contributions of local artists.
With just a few days to go until the opening ceremony, which has been choreographed by Six Nations dance artist and director Santee Smith, it’s safe to say that the Woodland Cultural Centre’s executive director has accomplished her goal.
“When I was asked to be part of it, we wanted to make sure there was more of a presence this time. We were involved the last time in 2004. But, when it was brought forth this time around, they asked me to take a leave of absence.”
Rosa and Beany John are teaching Pow-wow styles at KDT’s Summer Aboriginal Dance Training Intensive. I sat in on the class yesterday and took a couple of shots. Wish I could join in but someone’s got to take the photos! Their class is so excellent, however, and I think everyone enjoyed it. The stuff they’re teaching you would never learn any where else.
There’s still space in Week 2 of the Summer Intensive and next week Rosa and Beany will be teaching Hoop Dancing. Contact us if you want to join!
Santee has an interview with the Indigenous Arts Network on their cool website spotlighting Indigenous Artists across the country. She talks about artistic process and the meaning of success.
So, we are sitting around today thinking about two exciting projects in KDT’s pipeline:
1) A collaborative new creation between Kaha:wi Dance Theatre and Ainu youth, directly inspired by Ainu Aboriginal Culture of Hokkaido, Japan.
2) The mega-spectacular-fabuloso (if I do say so myself) work in progress inspired by Norval Morrisseau, the Anishnaabe shaman-magician-artist-painter-man.
We thought, wouldn’t it be great, so great, to have a short film work to show at the premieres of both of these works…something that documents some of the players, some of the cultural shifts, some of the themes, some of the dreams, some of the history, some of the something that is possibly so resplendent and very soon to happen? The explorations into cultures but also just hard information on the artists and the players put into context for the dance audience?
