TransFoRM
Friday, Nov. 24 & Saturday, Nov. 25, 2023
University Theatre, University of Calgary
$22 (adults) /$17 (students*/seniors)
*UCalgary students can book their FREE ticket online with Claim Your Seat.
WELCOME!
Welcome to the inaugural UCalgary Movement Research Festival, intentionally named so that we could use the acronym, MoRF. It’s clever with serious underpinning. MoRF, as in research that leads to transformation, or an evolution that leads to a positive change in the lives of dancers and/or the discipline itself. The festival is curated by, and in conversation with, the Division of Dance and myself. We are delighted to host a festival that connects the university to the wider dance community.
The 12-day festival welcomes choreographers from Calgary, as well as researchers involved in groundbreaking projects around the globe. It also presents dance filmmakers from across the country. MoRF launches on Friday, November 24 with our evening program TransFoRM, and then continues with the 10th iteration of the Dance Research Conference, followed by a brand new evening of dance film (MoRFlix). The festival concludes with choreographies from the 3rd year BFA Dance students in Dance@Noon. We invite your enjoyment and your focused gaze.
I am the Artistic Director for the whole festival, but this is a project that involves a huge team from within the Division of Dance and the School of Creative and Performing Arts (SCPA). The creative thrust of the program came from Dr. Melanie Kloetzel and creative team member, Alèn Martel. I have deep gratitude for their lighthouse leadership. I want to extend my appreciation to the SCPA Production Team led by Andrew North and David Fraser for their patience as I navigated the project and the myriad details so that MoRF could come to life. The Front-of-House team puts a nice ribbon around the whole festival. Come and join me at MoRF’s Opening Night reception to offer your own thanks and to dive into the conversation.
Dance is a live and performing art form and we need you to support these events. So, my biggest thanks is to you, the audience. Thank you for coming, I hope you will reach out and ask questions and connect with the choreographers, the dancers, the creative and production teams. Let’s have the conversation that celebrates the depth and breadth of movement research on campus and throughout the globe. We would love to talk to you.
With warmth and creative tingles,
Allara Gooliaff
A dance introduction, n’est pas
Credits
Performers: Emily Fonda, Sophia Frenette, Jordan Gilby-Hiltz, Andriy Isayenko, Christine Lucko, Gracie Mills, Keira Purdy, Caitlin Towers, Allison Vliet
Guest appearance: Kevin Fraser
Music: Electricity by Osunlade
The healing power of nature, specifically rivers, is juxtaposed with the absurdity of capitalism.
Credits
Performers/collaborators: Kalyna Howell-Matwichuk, Rebeka Krest, Sierra Oszust, Lane Sayer, Sarah Vander Ploeg, Lavender Wong
Choreographic assistant: Stephanie Jurkova
Costumes: Hannah Fisher
Music: Movements 4 (Live), All Love by Mree
The work is an evolution of the Indian classical dance form, Bharatnatyam, and takes the audience on a historical journey through the pre-colonial, colonial, and post-colonial periods. The viewers will move from witnessing traditional reverence in temples, then despair from being cast out by imperial powers, and finally a revitalization following the Indian independence movement.
Credits
Performers: Rachel Merchant, Nhu Tran, Liz Bibby, Zoe Isabela Alcocer Iturriza, Abigail Johnson, Emily Sadler, Rachel McKinnon
Music: Indian Raga
Audience advisory
Haze and fog
Effect8 delves deep into the mysteries of the human subconscious. It unveils the intricate dance of hidden influences that propel our movements, charging our realization about the world and our place in it. The performance serves as a mesmerizing mirror to our innermost thoughts and desires, with dreams serving as vivid reflections of this subconscious power.
Credits
Performers: Jolie Che, jo dickau-duguay, Dorothée Tölgyesi, Lindsay Rosenblood, Jenna Wadden, Kiki Roberts, Madeleine Graham, Avery Graham-Wiseman
Music: Travis Lake, Forest Sword, Ran Bagno
Audience advisory
Haze and sensory – loud music and pulsating light
The Nights We Fight Best is an homage to remembering intercultural ways of loving and seeing oneself in the other.
Credits
Performers: Emily Fonda, Sophia Frenette, Jordan Gilby-Hiltz, Andriy Isayenko, Christine Lucko, Gracie Mills, Keira Purdy, Caitlin Towers, Allison Vliet, Zoe Isabela Alcocer Iturriza
Abbi Graham, Maria Mercedes, Katherine Burrowes, Abby Skaug
"House Of Galore"
Eunice Dionisio, aka Empress Galore
Bohlale Lloyd Bam, aka Ava Galore
Additional live music performances by: MOSS, Natasha Korney, and Ava Galore
Music: I’m Every Woman – Tinashe (Tokimonsta remix), Lady, Hear Me Tonight – Modjo, Alien Superstar (Vogue Remix) by Song Seoyoon (original – Beyonce)
Audience advisory
Haze and mildly explicit language
ALLARA GOOLIAFF: Artistic Director
MELANIE KLOETZEL: Dance Division Lead
ALÈN MARTEL: Venue - Facilities, Equipment and Production Coordinator
CALUM MAUNIER - Light Designer
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Staff
Director BRUCE BARTON
Associate Director ALLAN BELL
Dance Division Lead MELANIE KLOETZEL
Drama Division Lead CHRISTINE BRUBAKER
Music Division Lead JEREMY BROWN
Production Manager ANDREW NORTH
Performance and Artist Coordinator ALIDA LOWE
Communications and Marketing Advisor SATOKO (TOKIE) ONODA
Department Operations Manager MARY LOU MENDYK
Administrative Assistant ALEXANDRA LYONS
Academic Program Specialist ROSABEL CHOI
Academic Program Specialist CONSTANTINA CALDIS ROBERTS
Graduate Program Advisor ALISON SCHMAL -
Theatre Services
Venue & Client Relations Manager DAVID FRASER
Venue Business Administrator ABIR BACHIR
Booking Administrator CATHERINE ROULEAU
Front of House Manager KRISTINE ASTOP
Audio Technician ALEX BOHN
Lighting Technician JASON SCHWARZ
Scenic Carpenter SCOTT FREEMAN
Stage Technician IAN WILSON