Join host Olivia C. Davies in this Talking Truths Circle Conversation & Feast with choreographers Amelia O’Leary, Ivanie Aubin-Malo, Michelle Olson, Olivia Adams, Samantha Sutherland, Sandra Lamouche, and Sophie Dow as we speak our truth and share our experiences as creators of Contemporary dance. In our version of an Indigenous-led “lunch & learn”, all are welcome to enjoy this contemplative and expansive artist conversation where we lean into each woman’s lived experience and learn more about the inspiration behind each of their festival presentations. Hot lunch prepared by Chef Heat Laliberte of the Vancouver Aboriginal Friendship Centre Society.
Get TicketsScotiabank Dance Centre
677 Davie St, Vancouver, BC
Judith R Marcuse Studio
Level 7
Suggested Donation $10 – $20
Olivia C. Davies
Olivia C. Davies (Anishinaabe) creates and collaborates across multiple platforms including choreography, creative writing, augmented and virtual reality, sound design, and story-weaving, often investigating the body’s dynamic ability to transmit narrative. She is the Managing Artistic Director of O.Dela Arts and Matriarchs Uprising and mother of Daisy and Aurora.
As a special pre-show offering to our Friday evening program, join Raven Spirit Dance co-artistic directors, Michelle Olson and Starr Muranko in conversation with choreographer Olivia Adams and artist Arabella Walker in this Talking Truths Circle Conversation: International Interconnections. Free!
Scotiabank Dance Centre
677 Davie St, Vancouver, BC
The Birmingham Studio
Level 3
Free!
Michelle Olson & Starr Muranko, Raven Spirit Dance
Michelle Olson is a member of the Tr’ondëk Hwëch’in First Nation and the Co-Artistic Director of Raven Spirit Dance. She studied dance and performance at the University of New Mexico, the Aboriginal Arts Program at the Banff Centre and was an Ensemble Member of Full Circle First Nations Performance. Michelle works in areas of dance, theatre and opera as a choreographer, performer and movement coach and her work has been seen on stages across Canada and most recently, overseas at the Kia Mau Festival in Aotearoa. She has a MFA in Directing from the UBC Theatre and Film Department and is currently teaching at Langara’s Studio 58.
Starr Muranko is a dancer, choreographer, Mother, and Co-Artistic Director with Raven Spirit Dance. Her work explores the stories carried within our bodies and the deep connections between land, ancestry, and memory and emphasizes the importance of creative collaboration. Featured works over the past 20 years include Tracing Bones, Chapter 21, Spine of the Mother, before7after, dance films and collaborative work Confluence which have collectively been shared across Canada and internationally.
Since 2005, Starr has been honoured to dance with the Dancers of Damelahamid where she was mentored by the late Elder Margaret Harris and is currently Artist-in-Residence with Ballet BC alongside longtime collaborator Margaret Grenier. An experienced facilitator, Starr offers powerful workshops that invite community into personal story and movement as pathways of connection and remembering. She honours her Omushkegowuk Cree (Moose Cree First Nation – Treaty 9), French, and German ancestry in all that she creates.
