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Explore Magazine •

A Surprise Double Proposal on Canada's Bruce Trail

The best time to sign up for an adventure is a bottle of red wine deep into watching the International Banff Film Festival on a cozy couch, right? While viewing the incredible feats of ultra-distance athletes and extreme climbers, my partner Sadie turned to me and said she had always dreamed of running the entire Bruce Trail. I grew up hiking the path with my father but had never thought of hiking the entire thing until that moment. I simply said, “Let's do it!”
The Dance Current •

Fearless Physicality: Athleticism in Toronto’s professional wrestling scene

Grown men in tights that aren’t ballerinos?! Must be the century-old art form of professional wrestling! Its blend of dramatic storytelling and raw athleticism has a unique way of keeping audiences on the edge of their seat.

Most of us associate professional wrestling with its 1980s camp, the golden age of Hulk Hogan and André the Giant. But this underground subculture is still going strong, as today’s professional wrestlers mix different performance techniques into their matches. Professional
Dance Magazine •

An Unexpected (But Surprisingly Appropriate) Career Transition: From Dancer to Pro Wrestler

Although the dance world has its fair share of divas, there is a different type of diva that's coming out of the dance studio.

"Diva" is the coined term for a female professional wrestler in the World Wrestling Entertainment organization. More than a few dancers—as well as gymnasts and cheerleaders—have taken their training and applied it to successful careers in this comical yet physically grueling art form.
Dance International Magazine •

Not A Trend - Krump in Canada

“This is not a trend. I repeat: this is not a trend,” says Lil C in the documentary film Rize, which follows the creation of krump, an urban dance style developed by a group of teenagers in Los Angeles. Lil C was correct. Since krump’s start in the early 2000s, this
athletic art form, with its strong sense of culture and community, has grown to gain an
international following. Ceasare "Tight Eyez" Willis and Jo'Artis "Mijo" Ratti, widely considered the co-founders of krump, both started dancing through a style termed clowning, in which they performed hip hop moves with their faces painted like circus clowns, and entertained at children’s parties, and public events.

Chronological Order

The Dance Debrief •

Review: Les corps avalés (Harbourfront Centre / Compagnie Virginie Brunelle)

Compagnie Virginie Brunelle's Les corps avalés, the latest addition to this year's Torque Season presented by the Harbourfront Centre, is a beautiful contemporary dance performance that explores the intricacies of human connection (and disconnection) through a range of emotions, sensualities, vulnerabilities and relationships.

No second is wasted in the sixty-five-minute show. Choreographer Virginie Brunelle, along with seven dancers, take the audience on a journey through different vignettes,
The Dance Debrief •

Review: Human Measure (Canadian Stage / Cassils)

Through the development of the cyanotype being created live on stage, there is a range of different movement sections. At times solo performers move in agony as they spasm and grip their bodies. At others, they are a part of an ensemble, moving with the same intense energy, yet their anguish is expressed through synchronized and captivating contemporary choreography. A recurring motif of performers lying still on the floor, barely visible to the audience in different fetal and folded positions i
The Dance Debrief •

Review: 8 Count - Delightful Moments of Dance Cinema (Fall for Dance North)

New to the Fall for Dance North festival this year is a short dance film series titled 8 Count: Delightful moments of dance cinema. 8 Count is one of the many events in the Fall for Dance North robust 2022 lineup, now in its eighth year, which includes performances, podcasts, and social gatherings - and it is a unique addition at that. The programme of seven short films provides a great mix of pieces meant to entertain, educate, evoke and inspire.
The Dance Debrief •

Review: Porch View Dances (Kaeja d'Dance)

What is more of a Toronto community event than being led around the city by a quippy drag queen to see contemporary dance works performed by diverse families and friends?

Porch View Dances (PVD), presented by Kaeja d'Dance, is an annual community dance event in its eleventh year. It engages everyday people to tell stories, create movement and perform on porches, lawns and parks in Toronto's Seaton Village. Still transitioning back to its live format, this year’s event is hybrid in nature, with one live performance, four dance films, an AR experience and a final participatory movement exercise.
The Dance Debrief •

Review: Legacy Tap Dance Concert (dance Immersion and Canadian Stage)

Full of feeling, soul, personality and creativity, Legacy Tap Dance Concert brings together two Canadian tap dance legends, Travis Knights and Lisa La Touche, in performance and choreography. Together, they perform with a group of tappers, movers and a full band under the musical direction of on-stage drummer Danny Milwalkee. This moving and grooving outdoor show takes place in the beautiful High Park Amphitheatre, and is presented by dance Immersion in association with Canadian Stage.
The Dance Debrief •

Virtual Review: Let The Elephants Dance (Annual Fundraising Gala 2022)

Crossman is the emcee for the night and gives quick intros to each piece. One of her works is up first, some beautiful contemporary choreography on two of her young students to Carry by Ruelle & Fleurie. They rise and fall. They grasp their legs and collapse to the floor after performing leg extensions and technical turning sections. A beautiful introduction to the night!

Shrink, by Sadie Cahill from Brick House Productions, in collaboration with her dancers, is about the struggles dancers face
The Dance Debrief •

Review: Grin / Minors, Movement, and the Gathering of Data (The Theatre Centre and Battersea Arts Centre)

Grin is a dance film directed and choreographed by Mele Broomes and features two dancers/collaborators, Kemono L.Riot and Divine Tasinda. It focuses on black love and subverting the hyper-sexualized gaze on African and Caribbean dance. The piece slowly builds over forty-five minutes from slight body pulses, tableaus and gestures to grooves, full-body swings and synchronized dance sequences by the duo. There is even some krump and hip hop vocabulary from Kemono L.Riot.
The Dance Debrief •

Snapshot Travel Reviews from London, England and Edinburgh, Scotland

Seder, presented by the Southbank Centre, was a one-night-only performance (Wednesday, April 20, 2022, at 7.45 pm). The performance follows Adam Kammerling’s stories of family rituals and survival stories, primarily focused on his grandfather, Walter Kammerling. Walter was a KinderTransport evacuee ( this was an organized rescue effort of Jewish children from Nazi-controlled territories during the nine months before the outbreak of the Second World War). Adam Kammerling is an award-winning slam
The Dance Debrief •

Travel Review: Elements of Freestyle (ISH Dance Collective / Sadler Wells) in London, England

A skateboard ramp lines the entire back of the stage. Throughout the performance, the set is moved multiple times, each time feeling like a level up in a video game primed for more and more action from these fantastic performers. The artists begin the show by running up and down the ramp in a canon formation. They perform freezes and tricks to an eclectic soundtrack of hip-hop beats, live on-stage music of cellist Annie Tangberg and violinist Vera van der Bie, and recorded interviews of the perf
The Dance Debrief •

Virtual Review: TOKA (Theatre Passe Muraille with lemonTree creations)

In addition, the staging is incredibly smooth. Performers use the entire space and brilliantly utilize levels created by the raked stage and singular on-stage staircase to build a different world. The smooth movement of the camera aids this. As a virtual theatre piece, the cinematography and editing by Kejd Kuqo are done in a way to make you feel like you have the best seat in the house. At times, audiences can see the stage in its entirety, at others, there are close-ups of the performers in in
Explore Magazine •

A Surprise Double Proposal on Canada's Bruce Trail

The best time to sign up for an adventure is a bottle of red wine deep into watching the International Banff Film Festival on a cozy couch, right? While viewing the incredible feats of ultra-distance athletes and extreme climbers, my partner Sadie turned to me and said she had always dreamed of running the entire Bruce Trail. I grew up hiking the path with my father but had never thought of hiking the entire thing until that moment. I simply said, “Let's do it!”
Riffs •

FUTURE FANDOMS ft. The New Labour of Digital Platforms on Superfans

No longer are the days when a superfan can get by in the physical world. Now, superfans buy NFTs of their favourite musician's merchandise or songs, buy virtual land next to their favourite artists in the metaverse, or even get plastic surgery to look more like their idols. Now you can buy donuts, wings, hamburgers or chicken nuggets, all based on your favourite artists' preference. Is it not available in your region? Then you can purchase the used packaging from others online for a hefty fee.
HipHop Dance Almanac •

Derogatory Dancing: Heteronormative Inscriptions on Female Hip-Hop Dancers in Breaking and Commercial Spheres

Message requests through Instagram raise the hairs on the back of my neck. As professional commercial dancers, we are told to keep our social media accounts public based on their use as a virtual resume and for the potential to receive dance jobs through the platform. These are not dance world myths. Many friends have received massive contracts from major companies like Sports Chek and
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