Vancouver’s Livona Ellis, Gabrielle Martin, and Kevin Fraser join other leading Black artists from across Canada for new collaborative dance film
TESSEL, a co-commission of Fall For Dance North and Harbourfront Centre, is a national show of unity
Livona Ellis. Photo by Erik Zennstrom
Gabrielle Martin. Photo by Jeremiah Hughes
Kevin Fraser. Photo courtesy the artist
TESSEL has its world premiere on June 1, livestreaming for free.
A NEW DIGITAL film project that’s national in scope features 14 Black dancemakers in a crucial conversation on what it means to be an artist right now.
TESSEL, a Fall for Dance North and Harbourfront Centre co-commission, was conceptualized by Dora-nominated choreographer and dancemaker Esie Mensah (Shades, A Revolution of Love) and will have its world-premiere on June 1, via a free livestream.
The date marks the one-year anniversary of Blackout Tuesday, when organizations around the globe publicly committed to institutional change to support the Black community.
The film seeks to amplify Black voices by providing a platform for the ensemble of leading dance artists to share their stories, lived experiences, and truths.
“2020 was a year of exhaustion, frustration, weariness and rage for so many,” Mensah said in a release. “It was a year where we were all forced to watch and absorb how horrific the circumstances have been and continue to be. I wanted to challenge this global discourse on race. I wanted to create a new pathway that didn’t always focus on our traumas but highlighted our victories. I felt compelled to take action.
“There is an honesty that is needed to push conversations into action,” said Mensah, who directed and performs in TESSEL. “It is my hope that the film will be a catalyst, sparking further conversation and opening minds and hearts towards empathy and understanding.”
Three Vancouver artists are part of the cast. Livona Ellis is an Arts Umbrella alumna, Ballet BC dancer, and emerging choreographer. Gabrielle Martin, a contemporary dancer who performs aerial circus and acrobatics, is festival manager at Vancouver International Dance Festival. Kevin Fraser, who specializes in contemporary and experimental dance, is artistic director of the multidisciplinary company Immigrant Lessons.
Joining them are Eugene "GeNie" Baffoe, a hip-hop dancer from Winnipeg’; Montreal street dancer Alexandra "Spicey" Landé; and Toronto’s Raoul Pillay (jazz, house, Hip Hop, Natasha Powell (jazz), Lua Shayenne (West African, contemporary); Ravyn Wngz (burlesque, waacking, vogue, contemporary), and Ronald A. Taylor, (contemporary, Afro Caribbean). From Halifax is African and contemporary dancer Liliona Quarmyne. Also performing are Ottawa street dancer Crazy Smooth and Calgary tap dancer Lisa La Touche.
Mensah initiated the creative process with a frank seven-hour conversation among all of the production’s creators, with themes such as ritual, rage, exhaustion, self-care, rest, and futurism coming to the fore.
From there, the dancers were encouraged draw from ideas that sprung from that intense and intimate discussion in their movement. Filmed independently, the artists come together on-screen through editing and overlapping footage.
“Last June, individuals and artists from around the globe — including my team at Fall for Dance North, our co-commissioners Harbourfront Centre, and so many of my colleagues — made a promise to be better allies. To use our position and our privilege to support the Black artistic community,” FFDN artistic director Ilter Ibrahimof said in a release. “This project represents one such action, as we use our resources and energies to showcase Black excellence in Canadian dance and support the work of Esie — a creator we esteem greatly.”
The creative team includes producer Wayne Burns, editor Sonya Mwambu, spiritual advisor Samson Bonkeabantu Brown, sound designer Meg Roe, composer Kobena Aquaa-Harrison, assistant director Kwasi Obeng, and facilitator Nicole Hamilton.
Among the work’s co-presenting partners are Nanaimo’s Crimson Coast Dance as well as dance Immersion, Canadian Stage, Citadel + Compagnie, Danse Danse, Live Art Dance, National Arts Centre, Ontario Presents Network, TO Live, The CanDance Network, dance: made in Canada/fait au Canada, DanceWorks, Dusk Dances, King’s Theatre, and Public Energy Performing Arts.
“We are grateful to Esie and her incredible team for their openness and excitement to engage in this work with us,” Nathalie Bonjour, director of performing arts at Harbourfront Centre said in the release, “and look forward not only to future artistic collaborations, but also to having honest conversations and acknowledging equity and inclusion blind spots in our systems, operations, and structures.”
More information can be found here.
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