Connections//Collisions Cabaret
Connections//Collisions
New interdisciplinary works curated by Josh Languedoc
A limited quantity of tickets will be available at the door!
Doors open at 7 PM, arrive early to get your spot.
MZD’s CONNECTIONS//COLLISIONS Cabaret, curated by Josh Languedoc, features a variety of artists and welcomes audiences to experience a series of new art pieces.
Cabaret Theme
For this upcoming cabaret artists will work with the theme: Transports: Travelling, journeying from one space to another, public transportation, the grey area that happens while someone/something is in transition from one point to another!
Featured artists
Janita Frantsi
Viktoria Grynenko
Charlee Queen
Jacqueline Ohm
Marynia Fekecz
Jason Romero
Cydnee Chaulk
Deanna Ketsa
Good Women Dance Collective
Claudia Kulay
Hebert Poll Gutierrez
CURATORIAL STATEMENT//Josh Languedoc
Movement is a curious thing. The idea of a body, person, or item travelling from one space to another. And what happens in between? As someone or something travels from one point to another, there is an infinite number of possibilities that could happen within that journey. For this cabaret, we are exploring this idea. For the Transports version of Connections//Collisions, you will see bodies in motion. Objects and people being shifted from one space to another. A series of moments that happen in between. And you may even see an exploration of sound and movement connected to public transit! As our weather gets warmer and we begin to move more, come witness the beauty of transports and the “in-between.”
Event details:
April 27
$25 | $20 MZD Members
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.
“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 | Connections//Collisions Cabaret, December 2023, Photo: Mat Simpson
Featuring
Josh Languedoc
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."
Janita Frantsi
Janita Frantsi is a contemporary dance artist originally from Finland and now based in Amiskwacîwâskahikan. During her time in Edmonton, Janita has worked as a dancer with several companies, such as KO Dance Projects, Mile Zero Dance, and Edmonton Opera. She has created works for the SkirtsAFire Festival, Good Women’s Creative Incubator, MZD’s Magpie Collection, Nextfest, Orchesis Dance, Madrigal Singers, and Choir Alberta and has also performed at the Edmonton Fringe, Play the Fool, and Walterdale From Cradle to Stage festivals. Some of Janita’s latest work has been with dance and film, with her most recent film, One With, receiving the Best Edmonton Film Award at the International Festival of Winter Cinema 2023. Janita has a Master of Arts in Dance from the University of Alberta that continues to inspire her to explore new spaces and ways for dance to exist in our world.
Jacqueline Ohm
Jacqueline Ohm, a dedicated visual and sound artist, has cultivated her practice over the past two decades. Although not formally trained, she has carved a path in both mediums, guided by a commitment to remain curious in her work and authentic in her approach. Jacqueline is inspired by the mundane and profound, harvesting ideas from daily life and her philosophical conversations with friends. Prior to becoming a mother in 2012, Jacqueline collaborated with numerous photographers across North America and Europe, and since motherhood she exclusively works with local film photographer, Sandy Phimester. Under her musical guise, Conjvr, she explores the realms of electric guitar and loop pedals, writing songs about her work in academia, archetypes and her travels. Recently, she's rediscovered her musical roots through classical piano, finding delight in spontaneous composition. In the past year, Jacqueline has been building on her illustration portfolio by experimenting with animated shorts to accompany recent musical work.
Hebert Poll Gutierrez
Hebert Poll Gutierrez is a Cuban author, storyteller, poet, and playwright with 19 years of experience currently based in Calgary. He believes in the power of stories and theater to shape reality. Art is his strategy to defend his triple cultural identity: His identity as an artist, a Cuban, and Afro-descendant. Some of his writings appear in magazines and more than 20 anthologies from Cuba, Venezuela, Canada, Spain, the United States, Mexico, Germany, and other countries. Companies from Latin America, Europe, and Canada have represented his theater scripts. He is a member of several cultural organizations in Canada and was named Calgary’s Artist of the Month in December 2021 by the Immigrant Council for Arts Innovation (ICAI).
Viktoria Grynenko
Viktoria Grynenko is a multifaceted Ukrainian-born artist based in Edmonton. She performs in various genres as a soloist, in chamber groups and large ensembles. Continuing on her PhD thesis (University of Alberta, 2021) which explored the relationship between violin and dance, Viktoria is actively involved in multi-disciplinary projects with dancers. In August 2023 Viktoria released her debut album “Violin in Movement”. Currently she is working on four musicological publications, recording an album of contemporary Ukrainian music, various chamber projects, and teaching of her violin studio and YONA Sistema.
Claudia Kulay
Claudia Kulay (she/they) is a queer, franco-bilingual playwright and multidisciplinary artist based in Amiskwaciwaskahikan, colonially known as Edmonton, AB. Selected works include, Headhole (Edmonton Fringe Festival, 2023), GOOD GRIEF (Nextfest, 2023) and happy now (New Works Festival, 2020). Their play, happy now, is also the 2020 winner of The Wildfire National Playwriting Competition as supported by the Major Matt Mason Collective. Claudia’s poetry has been published in the Hungry Zine and Folklore for Resistance Zine. Additionally, she writes and produces satirical video essays for the internet about film and popular media with a focus on an audience’s active voyeurism and the role they may play in affecting an existing creative work. For the past year Claudia has been slowly writing and developing their first solo- show, recently taking part in the Creative Incubator workshop kindly supported by the Good Women Dance Collective. With this new project, Claudia has been prioritizing a slower and more care-focused process in the spirit of fostering a more sustainable way of creating. As this is reflected within the themes of her solo-show, she hopes to continue this exploration of how creative labour lives in the body as a healing force. Photo credit | Mat Simpson
Charlee Queen
What happens when a Queen reclaims her inner kingdom by swaying her hips and flowing magic through her lips?! Poetry in motion baby. A sonic experience of style, sass and substance. A compelling exploration of the human experience, Charlee Queen XO’s performance leaves you feeling not only inspired, but activated and empowered straight from your soul to your crown. Find her musical gifts on Apple Music or Spotify. Photo credit | Eva Wonders Photography
Marynia Fekecz-Mangan
Marynia Fekecz-Mangan is a Canadian-Polish performer, choreographer, teacher, and producer based in Edmonton, Alberta, Canada. She has collaborated with several dance ensembles and festivals including Kokyu Studio of the Grotowski’s Institute, Calgary’s W&M Physical Theatre, Alberta Dance Festival, Edmonton’s Good Women Dance Collective and Harcourt House Artist Run Centre (project “Transportation” for the Harcourt House’s Alberta Culture Days 2022 with Kate Stashko, Tatiana Warszynski, and Shawn Pinchbeck), as well as individual artists and choreographers. Photo credit | Armand Bladon
Good Women Dance Collective
Good Women Dance Collective (GWDC) is a creation-based company committed to supporting a vibrant, sustainable and inclusive dance community in Edmonton. The collective's artists focus is on creating, commissioning and producing innovative new contemporary works that simultaneously challenge and expand audiences. GWDC strives to provide consistent training, performance, professional development and community building opportunities to the Edmonton dance community, More information about upcoming calls and events can be found on goodwomen.ca
Image credit | Alison Kause and Deviani Andrea, photo by Armand Bladon
Jason Romero
Jason Romero is performing artist born in Canada to Latin America immigrants. Jason has worked in both film and stage reaching audiences across many audiences. Jason’s successes span a multitude of mediums and is recognized for his versatility within his crafts. Working nationally and presenting works internationally Jason has most recently worked with The Jen Mesch Dance Conspiracy, Three Point Dance Company and Diaspora Diaries choreographing their play El Funeral for Found Festival 2023.
Deanna Ketsa
Deanna Ketsa has trained at multiple studios across Edmonton, including Marr Mac, since the age of 3. She has trained in multiple styles including ballet, tap, jazz, lyrical and contemporary. She has also completed many RAD, ISTD, AL Gilbert Examinations.
Deanna has trained with multiple instructors across the globe including the Institute of Arts- Barcelona, Liverpool Institute for Performing Arts and Point Park University.
Cydnee Chaulk
Cydnee Chaulk was born and raised in so-called Edmonton where she began dancing at the age of 3 at Marr Mac Dance. She trained and competed in many styles and completed her Advanced ISTD ballet exam.
She has also trained at different pre-professional programs across including Ballet Divertemento (Montreal) and is a graduate of ITP through Harbour Dance Center (Vancouver.) Cydnee has also traveled to St. Petersburg, Russia to learn from various Ballet Masters in the Russian Vaganova Ballet Technique.