At Vancouver International Dance Festival, street dance expands "beyond the concrete"
From We All Fall Down’s Papillon to BRKFST Dance Company’s STORMCLUTTER, artists bridge the gap between contemporary and street styles
Mecdy Jean-Pierre in We All Fall Down’s Papillon. Photo by Do Phan Hoi
Vancouver International Dance Festival takes place from March 5 to 15; We All Fall Down’s Papillon is at the Annex on March 6 and 8 at 8:30 pm
TO VANCOUVER INTERNATIONAL Dance Festival codirectors Deanna Peters and Victor Vân Tran, the terms “contemporary dance” and “street dance” aren’t so far removed from one another.
There are often misconceptions surrounding what defines contemporary movement, say the pair; but they align with a relatively new way of thinking, ascribing to the idea that dance in any form, culture, or tradition that is presently being innovated is therefore contemporary. By that logic, street dance can then be considered a form of contemporary dance, with its own unique subset of styles.
One presentation at VIDF that’s pushing boundaries in this way is The Xchange: Street Dance Crew Exhibition Battle, which will feature festival artists and local break-dance crews in an exchange of movement backed by beats from the legendary DJ Static of WEFUNK Radio. Speaking to Stir by Zoom over a joint call with Peters, Tran says that the free event is ultimately designed to foster new community connections.
“It’s so rare for street dance to be programmed in this way where you can see artists performing and pushing their dance beyond what they’re normally doing in their cultural practice,” Tran says, “but then also coming back home to its roots in the context of regions and local neighbourhoods, and just participating in the lineage of where the dance comes from. And by platforming it through the program, there’s an educational component to it that I feel we’re very proud of, which is to help bridge audiences—and also help them appreciate the very special characteristics of street dance as a culture, but also as an art form on-stage, beyond the concrete.”
This year, VIDF takes place from March 5 to 15 across various venues, with a lineup that was put together through an open call to artists (a first for the long-running fest, previously helmed by Barbara Bourget and Jay Hirabayashi until a leadership transition last fall). Several themes emerged within the applicants, including street dance expanding beyond its traditional setting.
Among the other commonalities are women in leadership roles and the pairing of dance with live music. One such artist working within all three of those realms is Helen Simard of Montreal-based company We All Fall Down, which is bringing Papillon to the Annex on March 6 and 8.
Simard began the research phase of Papillon in 2017, when her B-girl career of more than 20 years came to a halt due to chronic injuries. She began the long process of reorienting her dance practice with an eye toward the research side of her artistry, investigating the interactions and differences between contemporary and street-dance improvisation styles.
Papillon started as a solo project, and then evolved into a work for three dancers—Nubian Néné, Mecdy Jean-Pierre, and Maude Laurin-Beaulieu—who have diverse street-dance backgrounds in popping, hip hop, waacking, house, and breaking.
Helen Simard. Photo by Roger White
Over a separate Zoom call, Simard shares that the three artists’ different perspectives brought new life to the piece. They began focusing on the concepts of chaos theory and the butterfly effect—but then the pandemic hit, launching them into a whirlwind of Zoom rehearsals and performances in empty theatres.
“Papillon through this process became the show that’s always about adapting to the reality of today, adapting to what is possible instead of focusing on what isn’t,” Simard says. “It really became this reflection through the notion of chaos theory of how as humans, we’re always looking for balance finally. So we tip too far one way, we tip too far another way—how do we come back to something that’s stable, something that’s sustainable?”
Papillon features a score by Simard’s partner in art and life, Roger White, which he will perform live alongside musicians Rémy Saminadin and Ted Yates. Though the work draws from the artists’ street-dance backgrounds, stylistically it leans toward Peters and Tran’s definition of contemporary.
“The notion of bringing street dances to stages, or stage dances into non-theatrical spaces, has always been part of the aesthetic that I’m working in,” Simard says. “But I think what’s exciting about seeing so many street-dance artists programmed in this festival first of all is knowing that Victor and Deanna themselves have an investment and practices in the street-dance scene. So that’s people moving into curating positions who aren’t just curating from outside those practices, they’re understanding them from the inside and wanting to make space for that in stage-dance spaces.
“I think it’s important because it allows a new generation of audiences to see themselves on-stage, to see themselves in works, and to have a desire to go into more conventional, institutional dance spaces,” the choreographer continues. “I think we’re at a time really where there’s a lot of questions about how to bring audiences back to the theatre after the pandemic. And recognizing that, we have to see a plurality of forms being given space and we have to see actual diversity within how different street-dance artists take on stage-dance practices.”
BRKFST Dance Company’s STORMCLUTTER. Photo by Adam Adolphus
Tran, also known as Savage Rock, is a street-dance artist who specializes in breaking and hustle, while Peters, also known as Mutable Subject, has worked across a multitude of styles within the contemporary scene. Tran and Peters have collaborated with the street-dance community on a number of projects over the years, with such artists as the breakers of the Now or Never Crew and the Hustle at Robson Square dancers.
For Tran to become a dance presenter given his background as a B-boy is incredibly rare, Peters notes. It’s an important move toward bridging dancers and presenters.
“That’s what we as a coproducing duo can offer the community in a way that isn’t appropriative, or siloing, or tokenizing these forms,” Peters says. “It’s through genuine connection. As practitioners ourselves, we have direct links to the community, so I think that makes the work that we’re doing quite relevant.”
Among the other street-dance productions showing at VIDF is Montreal-based dancer Elie-Anne Ross’s intimate popping-influenced solo, FLUX. There’s also STORMCLUTTER from the U.S.-based BRKFST Dance Company, a futuristic break-dance exploration of relationships that touches on misunderstanding, compassion, resentment, egoism, love, loss, and betrayal.
“Presenting work like this is a great opportunity to showcase and emphasize the artistry of breaking to the public,” Tran says. “And then inwards towards the community, it’s a really great opportunity to show my fellow breakers that there are other avenues to expand the practice. You don’t have to go the competitive sport route through competitions—although I definitely endorse it as a practice—but you could also create works and collaborate with other artists. I think it’s a very meaningful, enriching, and fulfilling avenue for breakers.” 
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