Feb 14: Matriarchs Uprising, Olivia C. Davies
Class Description:
I believe that our bodies hold the potential for powerful story-telling. Movement and gesture can connect our bodies to the world around us and facilitate the sharing of our lived experience. In this class, I share a Contemporary Indigenous dance methodology that is intended to open new ways of experiencing the world with breath, impulse, and shape guided by imagination and our connection to earth and sky. We will tap into the material of bone and muscle, mind and body, and presence work to explore the space within our body and surrounding us. Guided improvisations generate intentional gestures sourced from our imaginations and our blood memory. Set sequences will apply basic movement fundamentals and take us into momentum with reach, push, pull, yield, and spiralling action.
Olivia C. Davies is a Contemporary Indigenous dance artist who honors her mixed Anishinaabe heritage (Algonquin, Finnish, French-Canadian, Welsh) in creating across choreography, film, sound design and writing. Her work seeks to traverse boundaries and challenge social prejudice, conveying concepts and narratives that open different ways to experience the world. Current projects include curation of Matriarchs Uprising Festival, Talking Truths Circle Conversations, and collaborations with Peppers Ghost Collective and with Moonseed Collective in hybrid VR/AR live performance events. Davies is the founding Artistic Director of O.Dela Arts. Her work has been presented across Canada in Ontario, Quebec, and BC since 2004.
*Photo credit: Dayna Szyndrowski