Connections//Collisions: A New Cabaret
Connections//Collisions
A New Cabaret, curated by Josh Languedoc
LIMITED TICKETS AVAILABLE AT THE DOOR (DOORS OPEN AT 7 PM)
Get ready for the second showcase of a new cabaret series, curated by Josh Languedoc, this fall. Connections//Collisions features a variety of artists and art practices, and welcomes audiences to experience a series of multiple new art pieces.
CONNECTIONS//COLLISIONS | September Series features artists:
Marie McFarlane
Shrina Patel & Roya Yazdanmehr
Miranda Stahn
DJ: Shakina Ray
Event details:
$15
Doors | 7 PM
Show | 7:30 PM
Mile Zero Dance, 9931-78 Avenue
Get tickets in advance online! A limited quantity will be available at the door.
This show will be ASL interpreted.
CURATORIAL STATEMENT//Josh Languedoc
After the roaring success of the July 15 Movers and Shakers Cabaret at MZD, the journey continues with the September 23 Connections//Collisions Cabaret. A place where artists and artistic ideas can connect, collide, and create new opportunities. It is a space where artists can showcase new work as well as develop new artistic explorations. Audiences are invited to Mile Zero Dance to experience a series of art pieces.
In conjunction with Truth and Reconciliation Day, the September 23 Connections//Collisions Cabaret will explore the theme of “Land Relations.” The central idea is that land creates relationships to others and within the self. In this cabaret, there will be 4 new pieces explored and presented. The first, titled Grounded, is choreographed/produced by Marie McFarlane and the Three Points Dance Company. This large 14-dancer ensemble piece explores movement and the grounding effects we can have on our body. The second piece is titled S.H.E. : Rooted and combines choreography, dance, music, and composition. Co-created by Shrina Patel and Roya Yazdanmehr, this piece explores themes of cultural roots and the liminal space of living as two minority women on Treaty 6. The third piece is another large 10-dancer piece titled Life. It is choreographed by Miranda Stahn and explores the intersections of artistic expression and scientific inquiry. The fourth and final piece is a DJ set by emerging artistic liberator Shakina Ray (Woodland Cree First Nation). A somatic and spiritual healer by nature, Shakina is interested in developing her healing gifts through art, poetry, and music. Shakina wants to create DJ sets that increase artistic vibrations of communities and lift people to a higher conscious sense of self and spirituality. Shakina will be trialing her DJ sets in between performances at this event.
As the host, I will also be sharing some new writing of my own with the audience. In further conjunction with TRC Day I will be sharing excerpts from a new solo show of mine called Elon Muskrat that explores Indigenous exploitation by Settlers, greed, corruption, and the navigating of the business world as an Indigenous person.
While having a smaller number of pieces in this cabaret, the pieces are extremely large in scope and content. It is my vision and hope that this cabaret will be very powerful and will leave the audience reflecting on their own journey with Land Relations and how art can explore these difficult questions.
2023-24 dates:
September 23
November 25
December 31
March 2
April 27
“We’re in a pivotal time right now. So much history is whizzing by us at such a fast pace. So much our bodies are absorbing. There is no better time to create art and be a part of the change!
Mile Zero Dance is hosting a new incubation Cabaret called Connections//Collisions, curated by Josh Languedoc. In these challenging times, the body knows all and the body can express what text cannot.
Featuring a variety of artists, this exciting new series will welcome new audiences to experience a series of multiple new art pieces.”
Thank you to the Edmonton Community Foundation for supporting the new cabaret series at Mile Zero Dance.
Image credit: Movers and Shakers: A New Cabaret, launched July 15 at MZD. Photo credit: Mat Simpson.
Featuring
This series curated by Josh Languedoc
“Originally called The Dirt Buffet Cabaret, this new cabaret, is all about breathing new life into art and our current world. As we navigate a radically rapid changing landscape, art is the best way to respond to the world around us. Often, the body knows the truth. This new cabaret series, with alternating themes each time, showcases new and daring works by a variety of artists. Meant to be an incubation process for artists to explore themes of societal change and embodied empowerment, this cabaret will feature movement pieces, solo pieces, and cross-disciplinary explorations between artists."
Shrina Patel
Shrina Patel (she/they) is an artistic director, performing artist, actor and choreographer based in Amiskwacîwâskahikan. Her artistry is a fusion of grace, strength and innovation, driven and founded by her Gujarati roots. The recipient of the 2023 Elizabeth Sterling Award for Outstanding Artistic Achievement for Younger Audiences, Shrina has the ability to transform spaces into living canvases through her innate understanding of movement. As part of NextFest Festival 2023, she penned, produced and delivered a captivating performance in her first one-woman show titled ‘Draupadi’. Her role as artistic director of Shaktiflow Studios solidifies her leadership and creative prowess in storytelling. She is currently working with Alberta Musical Theatre Company to educate and mentor the next generation of theatre artists
Roya Yazdanmehr
Roya Yazdanmehr (she/her) is a performing artis of Persian and Ukrainian heritage with a passion for creative collaboration. Roya is currently exploring the transcendent role the arts play in individual and collective healing, inspired by the teachings of the Baha’i Faith. She is a graduate of the Canadian College for Performing Arts and holds a Bachelor of Music from MacEwan University. Roya is preparing to release her debut album Breath and Being on Bent River Records in 2024. She is honoured to perform at Connections//Collisions and would like to dedicate this performance to her family in Iran and Ukraine.
Miranda Stahn
Miranda Stahn is an emerging local choreographer based out of Edmonton, Alberta, a career STEM (science, technology, engineering and math) professional and part-time artist. Always divided between the arts and sciences, she obtained both a bachelor's and Master of Science but has moonlighted as a dance teacher since 2017 to help support her university studies. Growing up, she studied predominately ballet and Dance Theme Ltd., eventually joining the Orchesis Dance Society during her time at the University of Alberta. Presently, you can find her teaching at The Code Edmonton and guest faculty for several studios in Edmonton and Calgary.Â
After completing formal training in science communications and public outreach at the Banff Centre for the Arts, she was inspired to form the Fission 2 Fusion dance collective, which seeks to break down complex scientific concepts through movement. F2F has performed across Alberta, notably at Dance YYC’s showcase and Beakerhead.
Marie McFarlane, Director, Three Point Dance Company
mother
partner
sister
daughter
female
studio owner
choreographer
company director
three point founder
i am
marie mcfarlane
ShakinaRay
Misty Dawn aka ShakinaRay is Nehiyaw & European mix from Woodland Cree First Nations. Her love for music and the mystical arts has her making love with life as a DJ, Poetic Liberator, Dancer, Singer, Drummer and a Safe Space Creeator; Intuitive Guide, RMT, Neurofascial Reset Specialist, Quantum Healer and Light Worker. She is devoted to the mystical, cultural and healing arts and is now fully exploring her 'Artist' more passionately. She loves to create heart coherent spaces that fuel and ignite liberation, beauty and spirit. She is a catalyst into oneself, a promoter of self love and is surrendered to living life as a sacred ceremony.