Older & Reckless February 28, 2008

This 14th edition of Older and Reckless features choreographers
Douglas Dunn, Keiko Kitano, Dan Wild and Bill James.

OLDER & RECKLESS, an informal performance series, features work from OLDER artists who continue to grow more RECKLESS as time goes by. OLDER & RECKLESS provides an opportunity for seasoned dance artists to perform short works and a chance for the audience to see some of Canada’s most celebrated senior choreographers.
Conceived as a twice-yearly event by Claudia Moore, artistic director of MOonhORsE Dance Theatre, OLDER & RECKLESS is “an intimate exchange for both the performer and the observer; exciting, terrifying, and lots of fun. The performances are followed by a party with music, refreshments, and a chance to talk with the artists about work, process, and whatever else comes up!”

In this 14th edition, Moore is thrilled to present New York dance luminary, Douglas Dunn “a dance man of prodigal invention. He puts more beautiful and unusual dancing into the hour than most [choreographers] can produce in several years.” (Deborah Jowitt, Village Voice). Dunn will be bringing his work, Tithonus to Toronto, a work originally performed at the Anseong Juksan International Arts Festival in South Korea (2004). Dunn, described as “a fluent, complex, eccentric mover” (Deborah Jowitt, Village Voice) continues to create and perform internationally and MOonhORsE Dance Theatre is honoured to feature this distinctive artist in OLDER & RECKLESS.

Kieko Kitano has been performing as a solo artist for over ten years, with a strong background in butoh and contemporary dance. Kitano is presenting an excerpt of her newest work On the Wings / Surrender, which explores the Japanese aesthetic concept of MA. Simply defined, MA is intervals in time and space, or a space between two objects in time. Kitano’s work investigates this concept as it relates to space, dance and music. Kitano is collaborating with Taiko drummer and Shamisen player Aki Takahashi and multimedia artist Rick Thomson. Thomson’s soundscape and video provide textures of old and new world, combining the three elements of dance, music and video.

Dan Wild has worked professionally on the stage for over 25 years. He danced with Dancemakers for 8 years, was a featured performer with Winnipeg's Contemporary Dancers, and performed and toured extensively with the Caravan Stage Company. He will be presenting an excerpt of his newest work A Simple Statement for this Mosaik, a solo performed by Marie-Josée Chartier. In this work, Wild creates a dialogue reflecting on life, love and loss, and the lifting of memories. It is a journey in creating and sharing these memories of internalized landscapes, feelings, descriptions and depictions of living grief.

Bill James is a dancer, choreographer, mentor and teacher. Former artistic director of Dancemakers, Singapore Fringe Festival and Atlas Moves Watching Dance Projects, James continues a long and exciting career in dance. Since 2006, James has been working with Old Men Dancing, an eclectic group of men from Peterborough who love to dance. In OLDER & RECKLESS, James will perform some of his “first-ever solo, wearing a ‘Tesla suit’ that responds to electro-magnetic waves.” James is collaborating with designer Shelagh Young and Doug Back (electronic gizmo artist) and we can’t wait to see the results!

O & R: Free Informal Showing
February 27 at 5 pm at York University, 4700 Keele Street in the McLean Performance Studio (244) Accolade Building East.

Official Website: http://www.danceumbrella.net/olderandreckless.htm