Trails of Light

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À propos

For one night only! Nuit Blanche Winnipeg welcomes the roving stiltdance program, Trails of Light, to the Exchange District on Saturday, September 28, 2024.

About the program

"Trails of Light" is a stiltwork program performed by 3 artists from across the Prairies: Allara Gooliaff from Three Left Feet (Calgary), Emily McDougall, from Pegs City Stilts (Winnipeg), and Marcia Tofer from DreamDance Circus (Grande Prairie). Each artist brings their own unique flair to the program. LED costumes designed by Marcia Tofer and activated by each of the women add a special glow to the festivities from 6pm-Midnight at Nuit Blanche 2024. Festival-goers will enjoy the other-worldly stilt creations of the non-speaking, yet fully animate, tall dolls. There are 2 stilters (Allara and Emily) and 1 ground performer (Marcia). Each stilter wears 4 stilt extensions—1 for each limb. Ground performer will be using a dragon staff, lit by LEDs.

When: Saturday September 28

Time: 6pm-Midnight

Where: Throughout the Exchange District

The program is free to all festival-goers. Catch us if you can!

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Organisateur

Tangy Lime Dance Projects

Tangy Lime Dance Projects brings together artists on a project-by-project basis. There are 3 performers from across the Prairies bringing their talents and breadth of artistic experience to Nuit Blanche Winnipeg.

Allara Gooliaff - Artistic Director from Three Left Feet (Calgary)

By emphasizing and exaggerating commonly acknowledged aesthetics of dance, I find that stilt-based movement reveals an inherent awkwardness, a humour that echoes our own vulnerabilities. My work closely examines the body as it is challenged by unexpected cues: rhythms that jolt the inert body to awareness, the close proximity of another human being, the physicality of being propelled through the air, the semi-successful attempts at a graceful landing, and the jagged uneven slide to the ground. At once, interactive and engaging, the performative illusion is uniquely achieved in concert with the audience.

Emily McDougall - Artistic Lead and Principal Instigator from Pegs City Stilts (Winnipeg)

Emily McDougall learned to walk on stilts in 2017 and was surprised by how much she enjoyed it. Emily then took every opportunity to learn from a variety of instructors until she found herself at a Carpetbag Brigade Physical Theatre workshop in Arcosanti, AZ. It was there at Stiltasana and Global Stilt Congress V that she fell in love with the world of stilt dance. The sense of connection and artistry fostered at these workshops was so inspiring that she has since endeavored to bring that feel to her home city of Winnipeg MB. Emily is excited to see that many more people in her community are becoming enthusiastic about stilting and hopes to facilitate larger workshops in the future as the numbers grow. In Winnipeg, Emily hosts a semi-regular stilt meet up called Stilt Wednesday where people can come out to practice stilting outside in different outdoor public locations.

Marcia Tofer - Artistic Director from Dream Dance Circus (Grande Prairie)

Marcia Tofer uses balancing pots, palm torches, dragon staff, staff and fire-eating wands to create dynamic, exciting performances. As a flow artist dancer, Marcia is deeply interested in a transformative energy of constant motion, and using that energy to dedicate to the practice of creating a vibrant artform. Her movement style borrows from the vocabulary of the Middle East, both earthly and serpent-like, leaving the viewer with the desire to dance for themselves with equal and refreshing candour. Marcia and Allara collaborated to bring the "Trails of Light" costumes to life. The costume build took 4 months of full-time energy and commitment.

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