Our Main Building and galleries will not be open to the public for Nuit Blanche. Access to “Hopes and Fears Assembly” will be on the northwest side of the Main Building.

November 11–13, 2022

31 (TouchX + I am the Child of…)

Kaeja d'Dance

Ontario

Play Video TouchX

Mio Sakamoto. Photo by Drew Berry.

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.

Venue

Harbourfront Centre Theatre

231 Queens Quay West
Toronto, Ontario
Canada

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Keywords DancePerformanceTechnology