Up next: Serpentine, coming to WCD with worldwide critical acclaim!
WCD exists to create and present contemporary dance.
Our work gathers people together to appreciate, share, create & contribute to the development of contemporary dance.
Up Next: Serpentine!
"Sometimes things need to be insisted upon...repetition is powerful because it insists, because we remember and we absorb." - Daina Ashbee, for Serpentine
"Ashbee’s work is unafraid, brutally honest, and unequivocally effective."
- Didier Morelli, for ESSE about Daina Ashbee's Serpentine at La MaMa, New York
Friday, November 25 at 8pm Saturday, November 26 at 8pm Sunday, November 27 at 4pm - Artist Talk to follow Sunday matinee.
Advisories: Full nudity, mature content, no explicit sexuality,
recommended for 18+
Photo credit: Carlos Cardona
Choreography: Daina Ashbee
Dancer: Areli Moran
Subscribe Today!
Please join us for WCD’s 58th Season!
New creations, internationally acclaimed work, and a spectacular lineup of dancers and collaborators!
Artistic Director, Jolene Bailie, is excited to present a
relevant and compelling season. "With a focus on new creation and live performances, we welcome a season of internationally acclaimed choreographers and a fantastic line-up of spectacular dancers. We are delighted to introduce Daina Ashbee’s work to Winnipeg audiences, commission Idan Cohen, and engage as an all-Winnipeg team for my upcoming new creation.”
Bailie goes on to say, “Through dance, we tell stories. Some stories are about ourselves, some are about others, and some may be abstract ideas or expressions of music. Dance can be said to be the story of the soul. WCD’s work continues with relevancy and optimism, as we continue to dance the stories of the soul."
Can’t make a weekend showtime? New this season, WCD has added Thursday preview performances for all subscription series shows!
Regular: $85 - includes all three shows! Senior/Artist/Student/Low Income: $65 - includes all three shows!
Season subscriptions can be purchasedHERE or by calling the WCD box office at 204-452-0229.
All performances are at The Rachel Browne Theatre; an accessible venue with priority seating and an inclusive washroom. Please call ahead to reserve mobility devices.
Already a subscriber? Thanks so much! We are looking forward to seeing you!
Special thanks to Marcelle Lussier at Urban Ink
for designing our season postcard.
About Serpentine
Serpentine comes to WCD with worldwide critical acclaim! A relevant and powerful work with a unique audience experience!
The installation performance, created by Daina Ashbee, vibrates with the essence of Ashbee’s dark and feminine pieces. Serpentine is an intense summary of three previous works; Unrelated (2014), When the Ice Melts, Will We Drink the Water? (2016) and Pour (2016).
The research explores the occupation of space/time/attention in what becomes a cathartic solo for the interpreter based on insistence.
The piece includes original electric organ composition by Jean-Francois Blouin, which is both disturbing and powerful. The juxtaposition of the haunting electric organ and the slow, sensual movement that escalates in its violence, is confidently, beautifully, and earnestly performed.
Serpentine features a unique and intimate audience experience with seating right on stage, up close and personal.
Artistic Direction, Concept, Choreography & Scenography: Daina Ashbee
Interpreted by: Areli Moran
Original Sound Scape Design: Jean-Francois Blouin
Photo credit (left): Ian Douglas
Photo credit (right): Arnaud Caravielhe
Introducing Daina Ashbee
Daina Ashbee is known for her radical works at the
edge of dance and performance.
Drawing on an imagery imbued with her personal history, Ashbee traces the contours of a vulnerability that transcends genders.
Recognized as one of the most promising young choreographers of the next generation, Ashbee’s work has been presented to international acclaim in 15 countries and over 35 different cities. Her works have been performed at some of the most prestigious festivals, including The Venice Biennale – and on the world stage – in Canada, France, Spain, Belgium, Norway, Costa Rica, Finland, Greenland, Germany, Italy, Switzerland, and Mexico.
A 2019 Bessie award winner for outstanding choreographer in New York City, Ashbee has won a multitude of prestigious awards and, at the incredibly young age of 31, had two separate retrospectives of her performance artworks; one in France and the second in Montreal.
Photo credit: Patrice Mathieu
Improvisation Workshop
In conjunction with Serpentine, WCD is thrilled to present a
workshop with Daina Ashbee!
Monday, November 28 - 10am - 1pm
Please view the trailer below for footage from a
previous workshop in Costa Rica.
Beginning with a gentle warm-up that carries us closer to our body’s presence. We explore rituals that lead us to places of calm and of trance. Exercises encourage us to activate an innate wildness, a liberating calm, and guided improvisation concepts bring us to our own creative processes or serve us as we are guided into Ashbee’s unique choreographic repertoire.
As a group, we seek harmony and coherence within the concept that our bodies and minds behold unlimited potential for creative exploration, yet we are often confined to one space, one time. Our reservations become our tools as we require structure as much as we do freedom. Moving meditations open our connection to our subconscious mind, resulting in a creative clarity and deeper connection to our sensations.
The workshop is open for all levels, 18 years and up.
Masks that cover the nose and chin are required.
Rent our Space!
Please view our welcoming video for an overview of our facility.
Thank you for being a part of WCD’s community and
appreciating the power of dance.
It’s because of our community that we’ve been able to create and produce contemporary dance in Winnipeg since 1964.
Donations made today help us start the 22/23 season on
more stable footing.
Donations help make dance possible. Donations help make shows possible. Donations help make new creations possible. Donations help provide professional training for dancers. And donations help keep the Rachel Browne Theatre open for a wide variety of shows.
If you have the means, please consider supporting WCD.
Photo: Leif Norman
Choreography: Jolene Bailie
Dancers: Andrés Jiménez Mejía, Sophie Milord, Thomas Oberlin, Juanita Garzón Parra, Alexis Taylor, Ellice Kynman, Justine Erickson
Thank You to Our Donors
WCD gratefully acknowledges and appreciates the support of our community, including patrons, season ticket holders, donors, funders and volunteers.
WCD is grateful for the ongoing support of the Canada Council for the Arts, the Manitoba Arts Council, the Winnipeg Arts Council, The Winnipeg Foundation and our season donors.
Thank You to all those who have generously donated right at the beginning of our 2022-2023 Season!
CONTRIBUTORS $10 000+
Ruth and David Asper and family
CREATORS $1000+
Patricia Philpott, in Honour of Ellice Kynman
Prairie Architects
PERFORMERS $500+
Blair Philpott
Wanda Koop
SUPPORTERS $100+
Lorne Sunley
Nicole Zajac
Ruth Thomson
Ian Weedmark
Chris Turyk
Bonnie and Jim Bailie
ENTHUSIASTS under $100
Angela Olivier
Jennifer Litchfield
Martha Barwinsky
Sheena Stemler
Anonymous
Sponsors:
Photo: Leif Norman
Choreography: Jolene Bailie
Dancers: Alexis Taylor, Ellice Kynman, Sophie Milord, Andrés Jiménez Mejía, Justine Erickson, Thomas Oberlin, Juanita Garzón Parra
With the generous support of the Canada Council for the Arts, the Manitoba Arts Council, the Winnipeg Arts Council
and the Winnipeg Foundation!
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