Vancouver International Dance Festival names Deanna Peters and Victor Vân Tran as new codirectors
Annual fest’s founders, Barbara Bourget and Jay Hirabayashi, step down from leadership roles after more than two decades
Deanna Peters. Photo by Boris Khramtsov
Victor Vân Tran. Photo by Boris Khramtsov
Vancouver International Dance Festival has announced that it is passing on its leadership to newly appointed codirectors Deanna Peters and Victor Vân Tran.
Since its inception in 2000, VIDF has been helmed by its cofounders, Barbara Bourget and Jay Hirabayashi, who have also led their own Japanese butoh company Kokoro Dance since 1986. Partners in art and life, the pair built the locally held festival into an annual showcase of cutting-edge dance from around the world. Bourget and Hirabayashi’s son, Jo Hirabayashi, is facilitating the upcoming leadership transition.
Speaking to Stir amid the leadership transition, Peters and Tran agreed that the decision to have two codirectors came from a desire to maintain a collaborative staff structure at VIDF.
“I would say that there’s a lot of integrity to do the curation and the work that Barbara and Jay have brought,” Peters said. “It’s very raw, visceral, kinetic, experimental work, and some of my favourite shows I’ve ever seen in my life have been at the VIDF. I think a lot of that comes from the history of it, because it was a butoh festival at first—and having trained in butoh with them, that’s something that I’m excited to continue in their honour.”
Peters, who performed with Kokoro Dance for over 17 years and who produces art under the name Mutable Subject, is a creator, teacher, and advocate who brings more than two decades of contemporary dance-focused experience to the arts industry. Past projects range from creating the club-beat infused work Orange with street-dance artist Less San Miguel to performing in Métis contemporary dancer Jeanette Kotowich’s ensemble work BOLT. Peters is currently developing an homage to American postmodern choreographer Trisha Brown called not knot naught with collaborating performers Sevrin Emnacen and Luciana Freire D’Anunciação.
Tran, also known as Savage Rock, is a street-dance artist who specializes in breaking and hustle partner dance. His most recent project, GRAND SAUT, comprises three works—time-melding hustle piece u go, i go, shadow play-infused solo celestial beast, and pulsating duo The Enormous Room—which premiered at Left of Main in a presentation by plastic orchid factory. He splits his time between Vancouver and Montreal.
“VIDF, I think, has historically been known for more contemporary dance works that have production value in stage spaces,” Tran said. “So I’m really excited to learn being a presenter and supporting artists in that capacity, and then also seeing how where I come from as a street-dance artist and a social-dance artist can bring those kinds of values into the festival that I think are very community-oriented. For me, it makes sense with a festival that is about celebrating dance and celebrating gatherings. So I feel a strong alignment there.”
Peters and Tran have previously collaborated on a number of projects together, including The Enormous Room, which Peters jointly choreographed for Tran and Samuelle Auclair (a.k.a. Savage & Samuelle). The pair have coproduced the interplay_ festival of live online performance and CADA/West members unconference, as well as worked with the Now or Never Crew breakdancers and Hustle at Robson Square street-dance community. They are also both members of aka, a new production and curation collective they founded alongside Kotowich; earlier this year, the trio took part in the LEÑA artist residency on Galiano Island.
VIDF’s next edition will take place from March 5 to 15, 2025 at the Vancouver Playhouse, Annex, Roundhouse Community Arts & Recreation Centre, and Woodward’s Atrium. The lineup will be put together through an open call to artists, and selections will be made by Peters, Tran, and guest curator Michelle Olson, who is a member of the Tr’ondëk Hwëch’in First Nation and co-artistic director of Raven Spirit Dance.
“I think this open call to artists is a way that Victor and I are familiar with working,” Peters remarked. “The milieu of dance has changed a lot in the past 25 years—how it’s funded, especially, is a big concern in the community right now. And VIDF has a history of fulsomely supporting artists with very good artist fees. So we’re really excited that we can offer some of these opportunities to our local community by doing an open call to artists.”
Canadian artists with completed, production-ready dance works, installations, or community activations who are interested in performing at next year’s festival are encouraged to apply online by October 15. 
Related Articles
