Works in Progress
The Gwyn
The Gwyn is an immersive group piece that uses an imaginary animal as an allegory for the dehumanization we face as artists and queer people in a progressively hostile world. In this new creation, the dancers embody gwyns, a unique species with an original movement vocabulary based on an invented anatomy and lifestyle. They explore their environment, including depictions of eating, playing, and escaping predators. They also interact with the audience, inviting them to play or simply look at them. By confronting audiences with humans as gwyns, we hope for them to engage with dehumanization by actively witnessing humans in a zoo-like atmosphere. By exploring this idea through humorous animalistic dehumanization, we encourage audiences to consider the fullness of each person's experience.
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Development:
February 2026: Music Gallery Residency - Immersion development with five dancers
April 2025: Emerging Voices Creators' Lab - Duet exploration through the York Dance Ensemble
Performers in photos: Regan Baird, Averil Dubois, Amelie Mah, Grace Sokolow, Annie Spence, Hannah Surette
Photos by Drew Berry, Matt Hertendy
No Funny Business
No Funny Business is a whimsical absurdist contemporary piece with strong influences from theatre and clowning techniques. Through the various interactions between the five performers, they weave a dynamic narrative of conflict, compassion, and resolution. Our main point of exploration is relationships, and how they evolve based on individual actions. The work presents a fluid storyline, with enough plot points to keep audiences engaged, but few enough details to give viewers an opportunity to connect with the material and reflect on their own relationships. No Funny Business was created in an effort to make contemporary movement approachable to a wide range of audiences, particularly families and people with limited exposure to dance. By using humour, we aim to connect with viewers’ sense of play and curiosity, allowing audiences of all ages to interpret the movement easily.
Development:
Autumn 2024: First stage of creation, work-in-progress presented at Fall For Dance North's International Presenters Program
Left to right: Wai Liu, Neema Kahenya, Robyn Haines, Regan Baird, Annie Spence