Dance@Noon

Dance@Noon is a tradition at the School of Creative and Performing Arts: for many years, the series has been presenting what our dance majors in their third semester of composition have accomplished as choreographers and directors. This iteration, however, stands out in exciting ways, as it marks two firsts and a landmark anniversary. Indeed, dance students are performing to a live audience on campus for the first time since the pandemic’s onset– welcome back, dear guests! Also for the first time, Dance@Noon is presented in December rather than April, this change allowing for dancers at all levels in our programs to perform with more regularity throughout the academic year. Lastly, 2021-22 marks the 25^th year of dance education being offered through stand-alone post-secondary degree programs at the University of Calgary. Such academic programs are rare in Canadian Universities, and we are very proud of this anniversary.  

This fall, the student choreographers for Dance@Noon have dedicated themselves to the creative process, focusing on crafting their first group works in a small window of time. Happy viewing!

-Marie France Forcier

NEW GAME!

To what extent do we make our own decisions? How much free will do we have in this society?

Dancers:
Kaitlynn Kassner (she/her)
Shaïna Jean-Baptiste (she/her)
Mackenzie Cook (she/her)
Jenna Magrath (she/her)

Choreographer:
Cameron Bouvier (they/them)

Music:
I’ll let you know, David Hazeltine from The New Classic Trio


I dedicate this piece to myself. Thank you for surviving in this unnatural world.

Sonder

The realization that each passerby has a life as vivid and complex as one’s own. Our own take on the human condition. The elaborate cycle we face in our everyday lives and the new shift we begin to shape. A realization of our true human nature.

Dancers:
Elexie Tracy
Maia Stothert
Olyvia Hoban
Kimberly Wuraftic

Choreographer:
Rebecca Huber

Music:
Mushroom Cave, Jamie Nord

I wanna dedicate this to those closest to me and the dancers that helped me bring this image to life.

Petrichor

Is there a tangible way dance and sound can heal embedded traumas and unify people on a larger scale? Petrichor’s aim is to create a space for healing, love, and serenity. By utilizing healing frequency music such as 432 hertz, Petrichor cultivates a movement vocabulary, complimented by an intentional soundscape, in the hopes of initiating the healing process on a subconscious level in every viewer and dancer alike.

I dedicate this piece to a dear friend I love very much, who has experienced a lot over the past two years. It is my hope with this piece to give them a resting place, where they can heal and find their own place of serenity through dance and frequency healing.

Dancers:
Kayla Tiller
Morgan Lawrence
Shayla Waschuck
Abigail Dunn

Choreographer:
Katrina Finnigan

Music:
Remove All Negative Blockages Wipe Out Subconscious Negative Patterns, Release Your Mind – Jason Stephenson

I would like to thank my family, friends, colleagues, mentors, and of course my lovely dancers (my kids at this point really), for helping me to realize this artistic dream I have had for a very long time. This piece could not have come to fruition without their love, guidance, and continual support.

An Ending is Not the End

Once embedded within a cocoon, the caterpillar hangs upside down until ready to emerge, as a butterfly. Its chrysalis’ discarded may be seen as an ending, but should it not rather be viewed as an ongoing process of its own, continuing as it disintegrates into its surroundings? Do we ever disappear, or do we move on to another place? An ending is never really the end.

Dancers:
Jolie Che
Kate Doxey
Emilie Field
Dorothée Tölgyesi

Choreographer:
Laura Lindgren

Music:
Like a Butterfly - Cesare Picco and Leonardo Sapere

I would like to thank the dancers, Jolie Che, Kate Doxey, Emilie Field and Dorothée Tölgyesi, for their commitment to my creative process, as well as my DNCE 433 classmates and Marie France Forcier who helped me shape my piece and advance my choreographic practice.

rǝˈklām

The process of taking back something that was previously lost, stolen, or taken away.

Dancers:
Cindy Ansah
Cameron Bouvier
Maddy Graham
Julia Tourond
Sarah Vander Ploeg.

Choreographer:
Jenna Magrath

Music:
Cello Drone F; Cello Drone G; Cello Drone A; Cello Drone Db; Cello Drone Bb; and Cell Drone F#/Gb by Musician’s Practice Partner

Special thanks to Marie France Forcier for her help and guidance with this process, my peers near and far for their encouragement and support, Anna-Karina Opdahl for understudying this work, and lastly, my wonderful cast for their contributions and commitment to the entire Dance@Noon process.

À Table  

A look into what happens when an individual shifts a group dynamic. When an internal struggle starts manifesting outwardly. How does such a shift affect those closest to us? How can one carry on with life as normal?  How can we lean on one another while each contends with their own struggle? 

Dancers: 
Laura Lindgren
Emily Sadler
Jillian Sanborn 

Choreographer: 
Dorothée Tölgyesi 

Music: 
The Four Seasons - Spring in E major, RV 269. II. Largo and Winter in F minor, RV. 297: I Allegro non Molto by Antonio Vivaldi directed by Adrian Chandler and performed by La Serenissima  

Skinnamarink (1978) performed by Sharon, Lois & Bram 

I would like to say thank you to my peers, Marie France Forcier and Julian Beairsto for their constant feedback, helping my piece to become what it is. I also want to thank the amazing dancers who have worked tirelessly with me over the course of the semester.   

The Collection

We live in a world built on rights-and-wrongs and dos-and-don’ts, ever compiling in telling us who to be, and how. As we rely on sources and systems outside of ourselves to tell us ‘How to be Human’, we simultaneously move farther away from that very thing.

What stories, labels, and expectations are you collecting into your identity bank?

Is it possible that the more we search for information about who we are outside of ourselves, the more unclear and distant the self becomes?

Dancers:
Eva Chilafoux
Halle Foster
Olivia Carmelo
Rebecca Huber

Choreographer:
Kimberly Wuraftic

Music:
Seasons (Winter) I: Allegro Con Molto and Seasons (Winter) III: Allegro - Antonia Vivaldi

Thank you's: I'd like to thank Marie France Forcier for her feedback and support during the creation of this piece, my fellow classmates for their encouragement and input, the SCPA for creating a space for artists and creators, my sister for gifting me these beautiful masks, and the incredible dancers with whom I collaborated, who worked hard, adapted to changes and invested themselves in this process from beginning to end.

A Pale Imitation

The imagination imitates. It is the critical spirit that creates - Oscar Wilde

Inspiration can be fleeting, hard to grasp and even harder to hang on to. How do artists find their own authentic voice to put into the creative process? How do you not become a shadow of someone else when you feel lost in the dark?

Dancers:
Jenna Wadden
Julya Yoxall
Katrina Finnegan
Kiki Roberts

Choreographer:
Abigail Dunn

Music:
Dialogue - Akin Sevgör

Thank you to my family, colleagues, and mentors who helped guide me through this artistic process.

School of Creative and Performing Arts

Director BRUCE BARTON

Associate Director JOELLE WELLING

Dance Division Lead MARIE FRANCE FORCIER

Drama Division Lead CHRISTINE BRUBAKER

Music Division Lead ROD SQUANCE

Performance and Artist Coordinator KATHY RACE

Communications and Marketing Advisor SATOKO BRIDEAUX

Department Operations Manager MARY LOU MENDYK

Academic Program Specialist STEPHANIE VAHAAHO

Academic Program Specialist CONSTANTINA CALDIS ROBERTS

Receptionist and Administrative Assistant ELIZABETH VIOLO

University Theatre Services

Venue & Client Relations Manager DAVID FRASER

Venue Business Administrator ABIR BACHIR

Booking Administrator GILLIAN WEBSTER

Front of House Manager LIZZY EVASHKEVICH

Audio Technician ALEX BOHN

Lighting Technician JASON SCHWARZ

Production Assistant NIRAD MENON

SCPA Production Manager ANDREW NORTH