DEZZA DANCE PRESENTS
FRIDAY AFTERNOON AT THE MANSION
JOIN US FRI FEB 14th, 1-2PM FOR PRESENTATION BY COLLABORATIVE CREATIVE DANCE & GUESTS RACHEL HELTEN + BEN HELTEN
POTLUCK SOCIAL TO FOLLOW (Bring a treat to share)
DEZZA DANCE RESIDENCY PROJECT WITH WEST POINT GREY COMMUNITY CENTRE
FRI FEB 14TH @ 1PM
WORKSHOP+ PERFORMANCE
FRIDAY, FEB 14th FROM 1:00-2:00PM | FREE
ABERTHAU MANSION/ WEST POINT GREY COMMUNITY CENTRE
4397 W 2ND AVE
We warmly welcome you to join us for an afternoon of movement exploration with dance guest Rachel Helten and Desirée Dunbar, or/ founder of Dezza Dance.
This is a dance residency partnership with Dezza Dance and West Point Grey Community Association.
FRI FEB 14TH, 1-2PM
OAK ROOM, ABERTHAU MANSION/ WEST POINT GREY COMMUNITY CENTRE | 4397 W 2ND AVE, VANCOUVER
Rachel Helten is a dance artist, choreographer, and teacher currently based on the unceded indigenous land belonging to the Coast Salish peoples, including the territories of the xʷməθkwəy̓əm (Musqueam), Skwxwú7mesh (Squamish), Stó:lō (Stolo), and Səl̓ílwəta/Selilwitulh (Tsleil-Waututh) Nations. (Vancouver, B.C.). In 2016, she completed her Bachelor of Fine Arts in Dance at Simon Fraser University. The cornerstones of Rachel Helten's creative practice are found in deep listening, collaboration, interdisciplinary methods and unearthing the stories that live within our bodies. Her work is often charged with a curiosity of how we interact and respond to our real and imagined worlds and how vulnerable states can transform and liberate us.
In like manner, Rachel has been blessed to be a part of processes that nurture these fascinations with a vast array of artists. In her experience as a student, she has worked with Judith Garay, Rob Kitsos, Dorotea Saykaly, Vanessa Goodman, Heather Myers, Gioconda Barbuto, Emmalena Fredriksson, Peter Bingham, Sarah Chase, and Crystal Pite. Her select credits as an independent artist are working with Desirée Dunbar, Tara Cheyenne Friedenberg, The Plastic Orchid Factory, The East Vancouver Opera and Voirelia: Psychology, Philosophy and Dance Hub. Her work has been presented at Goldcorp Centre for The Arts, Frederic Wood Theatre at UBC with Tara Cheyenne Friedenberg, Moberly Arts & Cultural Centre with Dezza Dance, Aberthau with Dezza Dance, The Dance Centre with Voirelia and 12 Minutes Max, The Cultch with Alley Theatre and 45 W where she co-produced a fundraiser for The Canadian Parks and Wilderness Society.
Rachel’s intention to aid in the emancipation and healing of herself and others has intimately transformed her artistic practice and lead her to various corners of the earth. Rachel gleaned insight from teaching dance at an art therapy centre in Quito, Ecuador. In addition, she has trained in Florence, Italy; Buenos Aires, Argentina; Cascais, Portugal, and Brooklyn, USA. Currently, she is on scholarship at Edam Dance with Peter Bingham. Rachel desires to honour our histories, personal stories and the poetry of nature through her work.
Piece Description
Our veins like her branches
Our veins like her branches is a love letter for mother nature. In this work, we embody our symbiotic dance with nature while mourning our violent separation from her, from ourselves and one another. In light of our current climate crisis, this subject weighs heavily on our hearts and minds. Through the mediums of dynamic movement, live electric guitar, and real-time digital projections we endeavour to share this story through a journey of ceremony, harmony, destruction, and redemption. We explore how this collective grief lives within our bodies and the undertones of loss, anger, and helplessness. While by the grace of our tenderness, connection, and bravery we uncover the truth of our unity and the love that lives within all things.
THIS DEZZA DANCE RESIDENCY CONCERT IS GRATEFULLY SUPPORTED BY WEST POINT GREY COMMUNITY ASSOCIATION & VANCOUVER PARK BOARD