Marlene Millar

Maboungou: Being in the World

For over thirty years, Montréal-based dancer, choreographer, and philosopher Zab Maboungou, of Franco-Congolese origin, has galvanized the contemporary dance scene with her radically regrounded conception of time, the body and the self.

Bhairava

“Bhairava” evokes facets of Shiva, the Lord of Dance, as both the destroyer of evil and the guardian of time. He is fierce and drives terrible deeds, but he is also the Divine Protector and Supreme Guardian; his intention springs from pure compassion. In this work, carried by a strong and deeply evocative musical score and by the singular energy of the ancient site of Hampi, dancer and choreographer Shantala Shivalingappa embodies the presence and distinctive qualities of Bhairava. With her technical mastery and refined expressivity, she alternates between moments of precise symbolic gestures and more abstract body language surging from the powerful and omnipresent persona of Bhairava, creating a vivid incarnation of the deity.

Byron Chief-Moon: Grey Horse Rider

Actor, dancer, and choreographer, Chief-Moon is founder of the Coyote Arts Percussive Performance Association, and member of the Blackfoot Confederacy, member of the Blood Band. Through his art and his life, Chief-Moon's story is one of cultural survival. Themes of his dance creations begin with his people's traditional stories, his attachment to the land and his community, as well as the inner conflict he faces in existing within the Aboriginal culture and the wider community. The documentary also explores his identity as a First Nations two-spirited gay man and a father of three adopted children. His art and his life cross boundaries. Challenging the cultural construct is never easy; but Chief-Moon does.