The History of the Vancouver Dance Festival
The Vancouver Dance Festival is an annual contemporary dance event held in Vancouver, British Columbia. Produced by the Kokoro Dance Theatre Society, the festival originated in 1998 as the Vancouver Butoh Festival. In its first year, the event exclusively celebrated Butoh, a contemporary expressionist dance form that originated in postwar Japan. Two years later, the event expanded to include a greater range of styles and officially changed its name to the Vancouver International Dance Festival.
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Vancouver Butoh Festival
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The Vancouver Butoh Festival was held in August and November of 1998. It showcased performances and workshops by renowned Butoh dance artists and choreographers Masahide Ohmori, Yumiko Yoshioka and Gustavo Collini-Sartor. The art of Butoh is described by the Kokoro Dance Theatre Society as choreography that "illuminates the essence of quiet contemplation, and studied physical control."
Inaugural Vancouver International Dance Festival
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The inaugural Vancouver International Dance Festival was held in the year 2000. The name change corresponded with the event's expansion, an effort to include a greater range of styles of contemporary dance. Included in the inaugural festival were contemporary artists from local, national and international venues. Fujiwara Dance Inventions (Ontario), Kozensha Butoh Company (Japan), Jocelyne Montpetit Danse (Quebec), GooSayTen (Japan) and Tangentz Performance Group (USA) were among the groups that presented workshops and performances.
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2011 Festival
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The 2011 Vancouver International Dance Festival was held from March 1-19 at the Roundhouse Community Centre, the Shadbolt Centre for the Arts and the Vancouver Art Gallery-Offsite. World renowned artists Yvonne Pouget (Germany), Deborah Dunn (Montreal), Cruceta Flamenco (Spain), Ichigo-Ichieh (Nelson) and Marc Boivin (Montreal) performed on the main stage at the Roundhouse Performance Center. The Vancouver Art Gallery-Offsite and the Exhibition Hall stage hosted additional performances. The festival also showcased a past-to-present photo exhibition that chronicled 30 years of Vancouver dance through the eyes of photographer Chris Randle.
Attendance Rates
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Throughout the 2000s, the Vancouver International Dance Festival grew in size and popularity. In 2003, the paid attendance to the festival was 1,848. By 2009, the number more than tripled, drawing 6,364 people during the course of the month-long event.
Mission Statement
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The mission of the Vancouver International Dance Festival Society is to increase public appreciation for culturally diverse contemporary dance by presenting high quality performances and workshops. These performances and workshops are invested in advancing dance through experimentation, innovation and physical discipline.
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References
- Photo Credit Comstock Images/Comstock/Getty Images
