BY KIRSTEN BOLTON
for ArtSpring
Visiting ArtSpring for the first time on Tuesday, May 13, yet with individual performers who have been here before, comes Vancouver-based Raven Spirit Dance to present Braiding the Land, a trio of contemporary Indigenous performances that follows three powerful female narratives exploring the physical, the spiritual, the rhythms of nature, resilience and legacy.
“The collection traces the connections between vast ancestral landscapes and the human body through movement,” said co-artistic director Michelle Olson from Yukon’s Tr’ondëk Hwëch’in First Nation.
The solo piece Frost Exploding Trees Moon is the journey of a woman following her trap line in the woods and from her temporary camp site, looking at the stars in silence, she contemplates the physical and spiritual. How does one house one’s spirit?
Spine of the Mother began as an innovative collaboration with Indigenous artists in Canada and Peru. The metaphor of the Spine of Mother Earth is a name given by Indigenous Elders in South America to the Andean mountain range that spans from the base in Argentina, through the Americas, and ends at the tip of Alaska. The piece seeks to trace the inner terrain of connection, spirit and breath through this shared corridor.
Finally, Confluence is a dance work that weaves perspectives, histories, landscapes and bodies together to create a tapestry that speaks to the resilience of Indigenous women through the journey of a rushing river. Music includes a track from Dyet and the Love Soldiers who performed at ArtSpring last season.
The company also looks forward to featuring Steppin’, an energetic contemporary Métis jig solo by Jeanette Kotowich, a Treaty 4 territory Saskatchewan dancer who creates work that reflects Nêhiyaw/Métis cosmology. Those who attended ArtSpring’s April 2024 Matriarch’s Uprising series of performances and workshops will remember her lively presence celebrating movement, healing and Métis culture.
Diverse ancestral heritages represented in this ensemble also include Omushkegowuk Cree (Moose Cree First Nation – Treaty 9), Ojibway, Ktunaxa, Coast Salish, mixed with French, German, Welsh, Scottish and European Jewish.
For 20 years, Raven Spirit has created and produced contemporary dance rooted in Indigenous worldviews, perspectives and practices. While the medium is contemporary dance, the troupe is known to incorporate other expressions such as traditional dance, theatre, puppetry and multi-media to tell stories that resonate.
By sharing this work on local, national and international stages, Raven Spirit reaffirms the vital importance of dance to the expression of the human experience and to cultural reclamation, while inspiring engagement and dialogue.
From the earth to the stars to the innovative collaboration with Indigenous artists in Peru, the evening, which begins at 7:30 p.m., promises to be an experience to remember.
A Q&A with the artists will be held after the performance, led by Rosemary Georgeson, a Coast Salish and Sahtu Dene filmmaker and multi-media artist from Galiano.
Thank you to the late Joan Farlinger and Salt Spring Coffee for supporting this performance.
Tickets cost $35 for adults and $5 for youth, with $15 Angel tickets available on request in person at the box office or by phone while they last.