Overview
Kaeja d’Dance celebrates 31 years with two new dance works created by Artistic Directors Allen and Karen Kaeja. Grounded in memory, Karen Kaeja’s TouchX and Allen Kaeja’s I am the Child of… investigate the complexity of our lived experiences. Community, perspective and a fascinating take on augmented reality technology generate evocative worlds in this double bill show. With over 25 collaborators, these works devise movement from deeply personal stories, examining the universal power of reflection, resilience and touch.
TouchX is a contemporary moving image of the thought, memory, fragility and ephemeral nature of touch. Directed and choreographed by Karen Kaeja, the dance work is a multi-sensory visual world of what remains in the body through wanted and unwanted contact, contrasted with when our hearts have been touched. An ensemble of dancers is joined by a brave collection of everyday community folk, who boldly take space in a complex world of protection, disassociation, fantasy, surrender and connection. TouchX holds a fertile immediacy and essentiality in a time when the human need for touch is unmistakable.
I am the Child of… embodies personal experiences, bringing them forward in dance. This multimedia production features physical investigations of childhood memories, resulting in unflinchingly honest stories of resilience. I am the Child of… is ever-changing, with structured moments interlaced with a responsive immediacy of movement, creating an unpredictable experience within every performance. Allen Kaeja collaborates with Bruce Barton and Vertical City to develop different perspectives and perceptions for the audience using augmented reality technology and multiple camera angles filmed live by the dancers. It’s a show where mobile devices are welcome and part of the viewing experience!
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About Kaeja d’Dance Company
Established in 1990 and driven by two distinct artistic forces, Artistic Directors Karen and Allen Kaeja, Kaeja d’Dance creates award-winning contemporary dance performances for stage and film that have toured the world for 30 years. Kaeja designs events that integrate community and professional dance artists and site-specific work to bridge their visions while the space between invites others in to be key collaborators. The company has performed and taught worldwide, created over 200 works and received over 40 national and international awards and nominations. They are committed to developing and exposing Canadian talent through festival platforms, training and mentorship.
About Karen Kaeja, Co-Artistic Director
Karen Kaeja is an Ashkenazi, Tkaronto-born, award-winning performer, choreographer, project instigator, dramaturg and mentor. She is the co-Artistic Director of Kaeja d’Dance with Allen Kaeja. Her awards include TAPA’s 2022 George Luscombe Mentorship Award, Dance Ontario’s Lifetime Achievement Award, CDA “I Love Dance” Community Award and Paul D. Fleck Fellowship for Innovation. A finalist for the TAF Celebration of Cultural Life Award, TAF Muriel Sherrin Award for International achievement, twice for NOW Magazine’s Best Local Choreographer and Best Dance Company and their top 10 Dance Artists, Karen has seven Dora Mavor Moore nominations. Commissioned and presented worldwide, she collaborates with many of Canada’s brilliant choreographers.
About Allen Kaeja, Co-Artistic Director
Allen Kaeja is an internationally recognized and award-winning Choreographer and Dance Film Director. The child of a refugee and Holocaust survivor, Allen has created 27 years of Holocaust-inspired stage and film works. Overall, he’s made over 210 stage works and choreographed and directed 35 films. Co-Artistic Director of Kaeja d’Dance with Karen Kaeja, he has received numerous national and international commissions and teaches Kaeja Elevations and dance film masterclasses worldwide. Allen’s stage and film work has been featured in commercials, films and festivals worldwide.
Credits
Touch X
Concept, Direction & Choreography
Karen Kaeja
Created with and Performed by
Michael Caldwell, Brayden Cairns*, Nickeshia Garrick, Jessica Germano*, David Norsworthy, Mio Sakamoto, Yui Ugai**, Irma Villafuerte
Composer / Instrumentalist
Greg Harrison
Lighting Design
Simon Rossiter
Set Design
Karen Kaeja and Sonja Rainey
Costume Design
Sonja Rainey
Dramaturgy
Pil Hansen, Shannon Litzenberger
Rehearsal Director & Project Coordinator
Jordana Deveau
Community Dancer Performers
Kate Ayer***, Peter Bannister***, Pieter Biessels, Susan Brown, Nancy Christie ,Rajvi Dedhia***, Jane Deluzio, Lori Eisler, Lori Endes, Anne Fleming, Abigail Hanson***, Christine Jackson, Beata Janiec,, David Keshen, Juliana Klein, Leila Lessem, Ellen Moore***, Ella Parsons***, Mary Anne Quance, Camryn Reiksts***, Maya Santos O’Keefe***, Cari Shim, , Margo Small, Harold Tausch, Patricia White, Phyllis Whyte, Angela Xu
Production Coordinator & Stage Management
Taylor Young
Assistant Stage Manager & Rehearsal Assistant
Briana Unger
Apprentice Stage Manager
Hunter Kennedy-Rullo
Assistant Lighting Designer
Theo Belc
Technical Coordinator
A.J. Morra
Vocalists
Frances Miller & Greg Harrison
Lyricist
Frances Miller in collaboration with Karen Kaeja
Musician
Amahl Arulanandam
Additional Vocalists
Company Performers
Wardrobe Assistant
Marianne Alas
Outside eye
Allen Kaeja
Photography
Drew Berry, Omer Yukseker
Scribe
Drew Berry
Video Documentation
Drew Berry
Process witnesses
Uche Ama, Blake Martin, Carmelina Martin, Sue Smith, Pamela Wong Shoebottom
* RBC Artistic Interns, ** Understudy, *** Courtesy of The School of Toronto Dance Theatre
TouchX is supported by the Harbourfront Centre Technical Residency Program, and creative residency/development engagements with Decidedly Jazz Dance, Mukogawa Women’s University – Japan and Atlantic Ballet Canada.
I am the Child of…
A collaboration between Kaeja d’Dance and Vertical City Performance
Concept, Choreographic Proposals and Co-Direction
Allen Kaeja
Dramaturgy, Textual Arrangement and Co-Direction
Bruce Barton
Created with and Performed by
Michael Caldwell, Rodney Diverlus, Aria Evans, Nickeshia Garrick, Karen Kaeja, Ethan Kim*, Geanderson Mello, Mio Sakamoto*
Composer
Edgardo Moreno
Lighting Design
Simon Rossiter
Costume Design
Cara Johnson
Production Coordinator & Stage Management
Taylor Young
Assistant Lighting Designer
Theo Belc
Assistant Stage Manager
Hunter Kennedy-Rullo
Augmented Reality and Digital Content
Toasterlab (Ian Garrett, Justine Garrett, Andrew Sempre, with support of Raechel Kula)
AR lobby instructions
Sumer Jawaid
Green Screen Videographer
Allen Kaeja
Green Screen Lighting Support
John Marsonet
Augmented Reality and Digital Design
Allen Kaeja and Ian Garrett
Producers
Vertical City Performance and Kaeja d’Dance
*RBC Artistic Interns
I am the Child of… is supported by the Harbourfront Centre Technical Residency Program and Banff Centre for the Arts and Creativity: Performing Arts Residency Program.
Access Info
If you require wheelchair or accessible seating, please contact our Box Office ahead of time at tickets@harbourfrontcentre.com or phone (416) 973-4000, Option 1 – Wednesday–Friday from 1-5pm.
For audience members who may be Deaf, Hard of Hearing, or otherwise have difficulty engaging with live and recorded sounds click here for text based support.
Dates & Times
November 11
7:30pm – Sold Out
110 mins
November 12
7:30pm
110 mins
November 13
2pm – Sold Out
110 mins
There will be an intermission of 20 minutes for each performance.
There will be a Q&A following the November 12 performance.