Jul 04 2019
Edmonton, AB — The planet is dying, but what do artists have to say as ethical witnesses to it? Mile Zero Dance’s (MZD) 35th season, Field Guide to Dance in the Anthropocene, reflects on an era predominately defined by humans and their transformative influence on the environment. This 2019/2020 season, MZD calls upon dancers to be champions for change on climate action.
“Our planet is pleading for a community of voices that will help proliferate climate action. Artists have to be willing to critique the society we live in to make it better in the future,” says Gerry Morita, Artistic Director. “If we hope to make art in 35 years from now, we all need to live, and work, more sustainably.”
This season features mesmerizing performances from artists across the nation, as well as special international guests: Montreal’s Jacques Poulin-Denis with Running Piece, a work for dancer and treadmill; Toronto’s Sara Porter in Sara Does a Solo, a multidisciplinary work that combines stand-up comedy with dance; Japan’s Mari Osanai with Oblivion that showcases noguchi taiso work; Edmonton’s Morita in Second-Hand Dances for the Crude, Crude City, which takes inspiration from punk band SNFU; and many more!
While some performances might not be explicit in their call to action for climate change, Morita assures that the artists in this season were selected for their ability to adapt and create community relevant in the Anthropocene.
Season subscriptions are $175 and MZD membership is $15/annually, which offers discounts on performances, classes, workshops, and studio rental. For more information, visit milezerodance.com.
2019/2020 MZD Season Announcement
Field Guide to Dance in the Anthropocene
Dance-A-thon Fundraiser
September 21
6 p.m. at Spazio Performativo (10816 95 Street)
Support Mile Zero Dance by dancing the night away at our annual Dance-a-Thon fundraiser. Dance for up to six hours and have friends, family and co-workers sponsor you by the hour, or as a single donation amount. Prizes for those who dance the longest and with the most style!
Dance Crush
$15 members, $20 non-members
8 p.m. at Spazio Performativo (10816 95 Street)
Evocative movement-based work that is indicative of the wide-ranging depth of the contemporary dance scene in Canada.
Ø Running Piece | Jacques Poulin Denis (Montreal)
November 1 at Westbury Theatre (ATB Financial Arts Barn, 10330 84 Ave)
Running Piece is a work for dancer and treadmill. On this confined yet infinite space, a man travels without leaving—constantly forced to go forward. He moves through the situations and moments that define us. Running Piece substantiates our proneness to constantly chase our tails and our pursuit for the divine sublimity of busyness.
Ø Sara Does a Solo | Sara Porter (Toronto)
December 13 and 14
After three decades as a dancer and a writer, Sara Porter stands at the collision of the two in her multi-disciplinary work, Sara does a Solo. Turning her writing on herself in a fearless account of what we all face—an aging body and a reflective mind—Porter creates a world where intimacy and pathos, hilarity and beauty co-exist in the physical stories she tells about life as an artist and a parent. Part memoir, part stand-up comedy, part dance performance, Sara does a Solo is unlike anything else. A bold and beautiful account of mid-life.
Ø PLACE/Is a city written on this body? | Rosanna Terracciano (Calgary)
February 28 and 29
I have Canada, Italy and Spain in me. And so, I have ghosts in many cities. I don’t like ghosts. And yet, I carry them with me…
Ø Silvering | Thea Patterson (Edmonton)
May 22 and 23
Silvering is a gently playful, tender and expansive choreo-sculptural dance-scape that traverses our shifting sensorial states as it delves into a performative assemblage between the human body and a collection of (mostly) silver things.
International Dance Crush
$20 members, $25 non-members
8 p.m. at Spazio Performativo (10816 95 Street)
Ø Oblivion | Mari Osanai with designer Shohei Yamashita (Japan)
October 25 and 26
I wore a mask, which made me nobody. I become free. A tightly closed mind is opened. From there something flows, warmly and coldly, into the body. The cells dissolve into flows, then vaporize and scatter.
Mile Zero Dance Salons
$15 members, $20 non-members
Curated, themed interdisciplinary events feature some of Edmonton’s most compelling performing artists rarely seen together.
Ø April 29 | Dance Blitz
8 p.m. at Chez Pierre (10040 105 Street)
An evocative range of dancers exploring short formats (3 min or less) in an infamous Edmonton venue.
Ø June 13 | Garden Party
8 p.m. at location TBA
A realistic fantasy of dance, flowers, and imagination.
MZD Mainstage
$20 general admission
8 p.m. at location TBA
Ø Second-Hand Dances for the Crude, Crude City | Gerry Morita (Edmonton)
February 7 and 8
An immersive work with a post-punk nostalgic lens. The piece is inspired by Edmonton’s greatest punk band SNFU and asks, can art still cause a revolution?
Dirt Buffet Cabarets
$10 or best offer at the door
8 p.m. at Spazio Performativo (10816 95 Street)
MZD’s signature variety shows feature an array of artists from various media and backgrounds, curated by artists with a distinct lens to performance practice in the city.
October 3: Tim Mikula
November 21: Isabelle Rousseau
December 5: Mackenzie Brown
January 23: Jordan Sabo
April 23: Paul Giang and Lucy Lu
MZD Co-Productions
$15 members, $20 non-members
8 p.m. at Spazio Performativo (10816 95 St)
Ø ReLoCate
January 10 and 11
Edmonton and Calgary-based independent mid-career choreographers share their latest works.
Ø Biblioteka | Ben Gorodetsky (New York)
March 20 and 21
Biblioteka is a duet for one performer and one musician, set within a spontaneously constructed library of 500 books. Situated at the intersection of movement, theatre, storytelling, literature, music, installation, and improvisational text-score. Biblioteka is a performance that investigates the intellectual, cultural, and emotional artifact of books.
April Residency
《逍遙遊》Free and Easy Wandering
For some, to be free is to be our true selves. But can one’s distinct identity constrain them from genuine freedom? This residency asks artists to reflect on how they navigate or negotiate their freedoms as it relates to their identities. Curated by Paul Giang and Lucy Lu.
Second Saturdays
$10 general admission
12 p.m. to 2 p.m. at Spazio Performativo (10816 95 Street)
Hosted by Thea Patterson, dance/art discussions attempt to merge or reconcile current trends in dancemaking and academic theory.
September 14
October 12
November 9
December 14
MZD Movement Intensives
$175 each
Accessible movement workshops taught by world-renowned instructors. For beginners and professional dancers.
Ø Fall Noguchi Taiso w/ Mari Osanai
October 27 – 30 | Sun, 10 a.m. – 6 p.m., Mon-Wed, 10 a.m. – 1 p.m.
Ø Winter Intensive: “Memoir & Movement- Building material toward performance” w/ Sara Porter
December 9 – 13 | 10 a.m. – 12:30 p.m.
Ø Spring Contact Improvisation w/ Andrew Harwood
March 6 – 8 | Fri, 7 a.m – 10 p.m. Sat-Sun, 10 a.m. – 5:30 p.m.
About Mile Zero Dance
Mile Zero Dance (MZD) is a fast-paced, broad-minded company that thrives on integrating contemporary and experimental dance into modern culture. The company works collaboratively with many of Edmonton’s best artists, and its work edges on multidisciplinary as it finds innovative ways of expression through the body.