The Dance Centre Podcast (The Dance Centre)

In our first episode of the 2022-2023 season, Claire French talks to multi-disciplinary iskwêw, independent dance artist, and choreographer Jeanette Kotowich about how she found herself as a professional dance artist, her journey with dance, the evolution of her first group work, Kwê, and her new piece, Kisiskâciwan, coming to Scotiabank Dance Centre September 30 and October 1, 2022.

https://thedancecentre.ca/event/jeanette-kotowich/

This month on The Dance Centre Podcast Claire talks to Davi Rodrigues, Artistic Director of Lamondance, about his life as a dance artist and choreographer, how he came to Vancouver, Lamondance’s role in the community and his relationship with students as a teacher and a mentor.

https://www.lamondance.com/

Welcome back to The Dance Centre Podcast. This month, Claire sat down with Dance In Vancouver 2024 curator Anthea Lewis and Freddie Opoku-Addaie, who has also been closely involved in the curatorial process.

Together they discuss the dance communities in London and Vancouver and the importance of hearing from multiple, different voices when curating. Plus Anthea shares her approach to curating DIV 2024.

Learn more about Dance In Vancouver 2024: https://thedancecentre.ca/event/dance-in-vancouver-2024/

Welcome back to The Dance Centre Podcast. This month Claire is joined by dance artist and choreographer Gaurav Bhatti. Together they discuss how dance chose him, his journey through dance genres, starting with Bollywood to his current work in Kathak, the relationship between Kathak and Contemporary dance and the evolution of his new piece Bulleh Shah: Seeker of Light.

See Bulleh Shah: Seeker of Light - March 28-29, 2025 at Scotiabank Dance Centre: thedancecentre.ca/event/gaurav-bhatti

In this episode of The Dance Centre Podcast, Claire French talks to dance artist and scholar Alana Gerecke about her history with dance and how it relates to her current studies with expanded choreography and site specific work. 

Alana's Member Profile

This month on The Dance Centre podcast Claire is joined by dance artists and choreographers Arash Khakpour and Emmalena Fredriksson who talk about their careers in dance, language and the journey their piece, You Touch Me, has taken over the past six years, evolving from a duet to an ensemble piece that can be seen at Scotiabank Dance Centre December 8-10, 2022.

https://thedancecentre.ca/event/arash-khakpour-and-emmalena-fredriksson-2022/

Welcome back to The Dance Centre Podcast. This month Claire talks to dance artist Sarah Hin Ching U about her dance career, moving from ballroom dance to contemporary, breaking and street dance, working as neurodivergent artist and her upcoming residency in Montreal as part of the Quebec BC Residency Exchange with Circuit-Est Centre Chorégraphique. 

sarah-u.com

In this episode of The Dance Centre Podcast, Claire is joined by returning guest Justine A. Chambers and Berlin based Canadian dance artist and choreographer Laurie Young who together, discuss the beginnings of their careers, the challenges they've faced as women of colour and as mothers, and their first collaboration, One hundred more, coming to Scotiabank Dance Centre October 13 and 14, 2022.

https://thedancecentre.ca/event/justine-a-chambers-laurie-young/

Welcome back to The Dance Centre Podcast. This month Claire talks to Kathak artist Fiana Kawane and Bharata Natyam dancer Shilpa Shankar about their histories and careers with their dance genres, how they came to Canada and found The Dance Centre, and how they view their dance forms in a contemporary time. 

More about Discover Dance! Classical Indian Dances in Focus: https://thedancecentre.ca/event/classical-indian-dances-in-focus/

In our inaugural episode, Claire French talks to bharatanatyam dance artist Arno Kamolika about her life in Bangladesh, her careers (both dance and architecture) and what the word contemporary means to her. 

See Arno in our Discover Dance! series on Thursday October 28 at 12 noon

Claire French talks to Dance In Vancouver co-curators Angela Conquet (Melbourne) and Starr Muranko (Vancouver): listen to this wonderfully rich and thoughtful conversation about curating during the pandemic, opening spaces for conversation, and engaging with dance as a journey.

More about Dance In Vancouver 2021: https://thedancecentre.ca/event/dance-in-vancouver-2021/

This month on the Dance Centre Podcast, Claire talks to DanceLab artist Tomoyo Yamada about her experiences (and the differences) dancing in Japan, Ohio and Vancouver, plus her MFA, her interdisciplinary work and how that led to working more in the theatre, and a preview of what she is working on during her DanceLab this year with The Dance Centre.

https://www.tomoyoyamada.com/

In the fourth episode of The Dance Centre Podcast, Claire French talks to Olivia C. Davies about her dance career and journey, the history and inspiration behind the Matriarchs Uprising Festival, plus details about the 2022 edition, happening February 14-19, 2022.

Learn more: https://thedancecentre.ca/event/matriarchs-uprising/

Welcome back to The Dance Centre Podcast. This month Claire welcomes dance artist and choreographer Tasha Faye Evans. Together they speak about community engagement, her house posts project In The Presence of Ancestors, and the evolution of her piece Cedar Woman.

Show Notes:

Website: tashafayeevans.com

Coast Salish Design Elements: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Kc3K-MyH3xg

Welcome back to The Dance Centre Podcast. This month Claire sits down with dance artist, choreographer and Artistic Director of Shakti Dance, Anusha Fernando. Together they discuss her history and career in Bharata Natyam, the creation of Shakti Dance as well as her role in the formation of the Jai Gavinda Dance Academy and Mandala Arts & Culture Society. Plus the evolution of Bharata Natyam as a dance form, supporting personal stories within Bharata Natyam and her new piece Sky Dancers and how it has evolved over time.

https://thedancecentre.ca/event/anusha-fernando-shakti-dance/

Welcome back to the Dance Centre Podcast. This month Claire talks to tap dancer Danny Nielsen about how he got started in tap and how he draws inspiration from his instructors as well as the elders and masters of tap. 

Join them as they discuss the complex history of tap, the future of art form and what to expect from his new show, In Conversation, premiering at Scotiabank Dance Centre May 23 & 24. 

Show Notes:

In Conversation: https://thedancecentre.ca/event/danny-nielsen/

Danny Nielsen Website: https://danonielsen.wordpress.com/

"Tap" Challenge Scene: https://youtu.be/5Zd6GnFCfck?feature=shared

In this episode of The Dance Centre Podcast Claire talks to dance artist and choreographer Shion Skye Carter about the beginnings of her career, her interdisciplinary duo Olive Theory, the importance of mentorship and her piece Residuals (住み・墨), which is coming to Scotiabank Dance Centre November 4-5, 2022.

https://thedancecentre.ca/event/shion-skye-carter/

Claire French talks to Naomi Brand and Harmanie Rose from All Bodies Dance Project about their careers in dance, the inspiration behind the all inclusive dance company, how they adapted during the pandemic and the world of inclusive dance.

See All Bodies Dance Project perform in Discover Dance! March 24 at 12 noon at Scotiabank Dance Centre.

https://thedancecentre.ca/event/all-bodies-dance-project/

In this episode of The Dance Centre Podcast, Claire French talks to Ziyian Kwan, Artistic Director of Dumb Instrument Dance, about her career, her journey to opening up Morrow, a cultural space and dance studio, her role in the community and how she creates.

Ziyian and Dumb Instrument Dance can be see May 12-14 with Rebel Grace at Scotiabank Dance Centre: https://thedancecentre.ca/event/dumb-instrument-dance/  

This month on the Dance Centre Podcast Claire talks to dance artist and choreographer Lee Su-Feh about her long career in dance, her work in voicework and her "long, slow dance" Touch Me, Hold Me, Let Me Go.

https://www.leesufeh.space/

Welcome back to The Dance Centre Podcast. This month Claire is joined by dance artist, choreographer and multidisciplinary artist Sophie Dow.

Join them as they discuss how Sophie got started in dance, the many hats they wear in their careers in dance and  bodyworks, plus their new piece Agrimony and it's journey through music and dance.

https://www.sophiedow.com/

In the third episode of The Dance Centre Podcast, Claire French talks to Justine A Chambers about her work, the Vancouver dance community, the importance of spaces for dance, and the installation she and Natalie Purschwitz recently created for our lobby.

Learn more: https://thedancecentre.ca/20th-anniversary/

Welcome back to another episode of The Dance Centre Podcast. This month Claire talks to Sammy Chien and Caroline MacCaull, Co-Artistic Directors of Chimerik, an award-winning interdisciplinary collective, about finding a happy balance with technology in their work, mentorship, mediumship and creating a healthy community within their collective.

You can see a studio showing of their piece We Were One on July 31 at Scotiabank Dance Centre: https://thedancecentre.ca/event/chimerik-2023/

Chimerik's Website

Welcome to the Dance Centre Podcast a new monthly podcast coming from The Dance Centre!

As we celebrate the 20th anniversary of our building Scotiabank Dance Centre we also launch this podcast, extending ways to explore the synergy between bodies, spaces, ideas and conversation.

Our first episode is October 20th, be sure to subscribe wherever you get your podcasts.

Music composed by James B. Maxwell.

Welcome back to The Dance Centre Podcast. This month Claire talks to dance artist, choreographer and Co-Artistic Director of Dance//Novella, Racheal Prince. Join them as they discuss Racheal's journey through dance including her time with Ballet BC, her work teaching and guiding young dance artists, the creation of Dance//Novella and the inspiration behind their new work, Night is the Mother.

See Night is the Mother at Scotiabank Dance Centre April 25 at 12 noon: https://thedancecentre.ca/event/discover-dance-dance-novella/

https://www.dancenovella.com/

This month on The Dance Centre Podcast Claire talks to dance artist, teacher and choreographer Ralph Escamillan about his life in dance, how he balances all his various career paths and the inspiration behind his new work, PIÑA which premieres May 4-6 at SFU Goldcorp Centre for the Arts.

More about PIÑA: https://thedancecentre.ca/event/fakeknot-2023/

More about Ralph: https://www.ralphescamillan.com/

Keep up to date with dance with our bi-weekly enews

In the fifth episode of The Dance Centre Podcast, Claire French talks to choreographer Daina Ashbee about her journey from a dance artist to a choreographer, her new piece J'ai pleuré avec les chiens (Time, Creation, Destruction), and how she ended up premiering a new group work during the pandemic.

See J'ai pleuré avec les chiens (Time, Creation, Destruction) at Scotiabank Dance Centre March 9-12, 2022 | 8pm

Presented with Vancouver International Dance Festival

Learn more: https://thedancecentre.ca/event/daina-ashbee/

In this episode of The Dance Centre Podcast, Claire talks to Yvonne Chartrand, Artistic Director of V'ni Dansi, about combining traditional and contemporary choreography, creating Mitchin di Mitchif (Mitchif Medicines), in collaboration with Santa Fe’s Dancing Earth, and the journey she took to get this work to the stage.

Mitchin di Mitchif (Mitchif Medicines) premieres at Scotiabank Dance Centre June 19-21, 2022: https://thedancecentre.ca/event/vni-dansi/2022-06-19/

Welcome back to the Dance Centre Podcast. This month Claire is joined by dance artist, choreographer and Artistic Director of Action at a Distance, Vanessa Goodman.

Together they discuss Vanessa's journey with dance, how she make dance a communal experiences as well as her relationship with music and sound - and how to listen to dance. 

Vanessa also speaks about creating dance and sound with her collaborators, group work and creating dance for non-traditional spaces. 

Show Notes

-International Dance Day 2025: https://thedancecentre.ca/event/international-dance-day-2025/

-Claire and Vanessa's conversation in 2020 as part of our International Dance Day Virtual Edition: https://youtu.be/Y8p5z2TJdiw

Welcome back to The Dance Centre Podcast. Today Claire talks to interdisciplinary artist Nellie Gossen about Nellie's work with fashion, including the previous iterations of their piece Returns, as well as their experience with dance both in Vancouver and Germany.

See Returns from January 7 - February 3 at Scotiabank Dance Centre, details and full viewing scheduled here: https://thedancecentre.ca/event/nellie-gossen/

Returns is presented in partnerships with PuSh International Performing Arts Festival.

In this episode of The Dance Centre Podcast, host Claire French talks with dance artist and choreographer Kirsten Wicklund about highlights of her storied career including her time with Ballet BC, her current position at Opera Ballet Vlaanderen and her experience on So You Think You Can Dance Canada. 

https://kirstenwicklund.com/

Welcome back to The Dance Centre Podcast. In the first episode of the 2023-2024 season, Claire talks to Isaac Gasangwa, founder and director of Afrobeats Van, about his relationship with dance, the differences between African and Western dance, and the inspiration behind his upcoming show, The African Dream. 

See the African Dream September 16 at Scotiabank Dance Centre: https://thedancecentre.ca/event/izo-dreamchaser/

More about Afrobeats Van: https://sites.google.com/view/afrobeatsdancevan/home

Welcome back to The Dance Centre Podcast. This month Claire chats with Jessica Jone, principal and artistic director of the Lorita Leung Dance Academy. Together they discuss Jessica's journey with Chinese and contemporary dance, the different chapters of her life in dance and her relationship with the Dance Centre.

Jessica also shares the correlations she sees between Chinese and Contemporary dance and gives us a brief overview of Chinese dance.

Show Notes

-Lorita Leung Dance Academy: chinesedance.ca

-Stand like a Pine with a Helium Helmet: The Influences of Qi and Chan Buddhism in both Chinese Classical Dance and Modern Dance: https://www.chinesedance.ca/en/news-media/publications/%E2%80%9Cstand-like-a-pine-with-a-helium-helmet%E2%80%9D

This month on The Dance Centre Podcast Claire talks to Julia Taffe, Artistic Director of Aeriosa Dance Society about how she came to vertical dance, the challenges and differences in choreographing and performing vertical dance and Aeriosa's collaborations with Butterflies in Spirit and Croatian choreographer Marija Šćekić.

https://aeriosa.com/

This month on The Dance Centre Podcast, Claire talks to Margaret Grenier, Executive and Artistic Director for the Dancers of Damelahamid. Join them as they discuss the lifting of the potlach ban, Margaret's life in dance, the history of Dancers of Damelahmaid and their work with other Indigenous people across Canada and the world.

https://damelahamid.ca/

https://thedancecentre.ca/event/discover-dance-dancers-of-damelahamid/

Welcome back to The Dance Centre Podcast. This month Claire sits down with interdisciplinary artist and scholar Dr. Ayasha Guerin. Together they discuss Ayasha's journey and connection with dance, her current work at UCLA, and the importance of dance and moving the body.

Claire and Ayasha also talk about the Liberated Planet Studio, diving into the creation of the project and how it has evolved and changed over its different iterations in the past few years.

Show Notes:

Website: https://www.ayashaguerinworks.com/

Liberated Planet Studio on Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/liberatedplanetstudio/

Welcome back to The Dance Centre Podcast. This month Claire talks to Dr. Alina Sotskova, Founder and Artistic Co-Director of Voirelia Dance Hub. Join them as they discuss Alina's dance career as well as her work in clinical psychology and how she balances the two. Alina also shares her journey to contemporary dance, why she started Voireila Dance Hub and how literature inspires her work including the piece De/Formed Revival which you can see on February 29 as part of our Discover Dance! series at Scotiabank Dance Centre. 

https://thedancecentre.ca/event/voirelia-dance-hub/

https://voirelia.com/

Welcome back to The Dance Centre Podcast. This month Claire is joined by dance artist and choreographer Rebecca Margolick. Join them as they discuss Rebecca's dance journey including her time in New York and her experience working in both Canada and America. She also shares what inspires her, the importance of collaboration, the closeness she feels to her collaborators and how she connects the people she's worked with together through dance.

You can see a studio showing from Rebecca and Hannah Epperson on July 25 at Scotiabank Dance Centre:

https://thedancecentre.ca/event/rebecca-margolick-2024/

https://www.rebeccamargolick.com/

Welcome back to The Dance Centre Podcast. This month Claire chats with interdisciplinary artist, choreographer and performer Erika Mitsuhashi. Together they discuss Erika's journey with dance, evolving from a dance artist to making dance, exploring other disciplines and materiality, as well as her collaborations to create and produce dance

Erika also shares about her current project: putting together a dance work within spiritual spaces, something she will explore more of as part of her upcoming residency in Montreal as part of the Quebec BC Residency Exchange with Circuit-Est Centre Chorégraphique. 

ttps://www.erikamitsuhashi.com/

Welcome back to The Dance Centre Podcast. This month Claire talks to dance artist, choreographer and Artistic Director of The Falling Company, Marissa Wong. Join them as they discuss Marissa's career journey and how it led her to The Falling Company, the importance of facilitating inclusive and sustainable art spaces, time management and the personal inspiration behind her new piece, Family Room.

See the world premiere of Family Room April 19-20 at Scotiabank Dance Centre: https://thedancecentre.ca/event/the-falling-company/

The Falling Company's website: https://www.thefallingcompany.com/

Welcome back to The Dance Centre Podcast. In today's episode Claire talks to dance artist, choreographer and founder of Stand Up Dance, Meagan O'Shea, about why and how she does a "slow tour" model, the importance of community and creative engagement, the improvisation and ensemble work that led to their show Anatomalia and the generosity of saying no. 

See Anatomalia from Stand Up Dance November 16-18 at Scotiabank Dance Centre: https://thedancecentre.ca/event/stand-up-dance/

https://www.standupdance.com/

Welcome back to The Dance Centre Podcast. This month Claire welcomes Anya Saugstad, dancer, choreographer and recipient of the 2023 Iris Garland Emerging Choreographer Award. Together they discuss Anya's dance and choreography journey, how she is inspired by nature and uses it in her work, and why she enjoys working with a team. 

Claire and Anya also talk about her piece, Paper Mountains and it's journey leading up to it's world premiere on November 23 at Scotiabank Dance Centre as part of Dance In Vancouver 2024. 

https://thedancecentre.ca/event/anya-saugstad/

https://www.anyasaugstad.com/

Welcome back to The Dance Centre Podcast. Today Claire talks to dance artist, choreographer, and founder of Co.ERASGA, Alvin Tolentino.

Join them as they discuss Alvin's beginnings as an independent dance artist, the creation process and how that has changed over his long career, his collaboration with dance and interdisciplinary artists and the cultural shift happening in the dance world today.

Learn more about Co.ERASGA's and their new show Accumulation here: https://www.companyerasgadance.ca/

In this month's episode of the Dance Centre Podcast, Claire talks to co-founders of Corporeal Imago (Ci), Gabrielle Martin and Jeremiah Hughes, about their history with Cirque du Soleil, failure, where their company is now and their new piece, Throe, which premieres at Scotiabank Dance Centre November 17-19, 2022.

https://thedancecentre.ca/event/corporeal-imago/