Nicole Mion

Springboard Performance
Calgary
Quiver (premiere)

Choreographer: Nicole Mion
Interpreters: James Gnam (Vancouver), Jenn Jaspar (Calgary)
Music: Kimmo Pohjonen
Lighting Design: David Fraser

On first look quiver is a physical experience. But it is also the name of the container that holds arrows or a musical instrument. The choreography is the quiver for holding both sharp and beautiful experiences and a map to be navigated in performance, bringing to life internal and external worlds in a series of carefully considered frames and containers.

Quiver is a solo set on two performers, where the choreographic material is traded back and forth in creation. It has been a fun way to create, consider transmission, and look at creation with fresh eyes in new frames with the two interpreters.

Quiver was made possible with support from the Alberta Creative Development Initiative (CC/AFA), Alberta Foundation for the Arts and a Burnaby Arts Centre Creation Residency.

Nicole Mion is an artist and curator who creates for the stage and screen. She is a sought-after director and contemporary choreographer, specializing in contemporary performance, new media, and dance. She is Artistic Director for Springboard Performance where Nicole curates the Fluid Movement Arts Festival in Calgary and the Interrarium multi-disciplinary creative residency at the Banff Centre for the Arts. Her choreography and film work has been seen in numerous festivals around the world. Recently she co-created ContainR, a video installation and live performance event housed in a reconfigured shipping container theatre for the Vancouver Winter Olympics, which addressed her interest in reconsidering how art can engage with audiences. She has created numerous solo choreographies for Luciane Pinto, Stephen Thompson and Andrea Gunnlaugson, among others.

Jennifer Jaspar, originally from Saskatoon, began her training in classical ballet. She graduated from the University of Calgary in 2002 with a BA in Contemporary Dance. Jennifer is an independent dance artist in Calgary and has worked for numerous Alberta choreographers. She has performed in DSW’s Artist in Residence, Alberta Dance Festival, Edmonton’s Feats Festival, Fluid Movement Festival and the Prairie Dance Circuit. She is a dancer for M-body and was recently involved the in creation and performance of The Land Quartet.

James Gnam is a Vancouver-based performer, improviser and choreographer. He received his training at the National Ballet School of Canada and in 1998 began working with Les Grands Ballets Canadiens de Montreal. In 2003, he joined Ballet British Columbia where he performed in works by Jiri Kylian, Twyla Tharp, Mark Morris and Lar Lubavitch; and created roles with choreographers Crystal Pite, John Alleyne and Simone Orlando. As a freelance dance artist, James has collaborated with several artists. In 2008, James and his wife Natalie LeFebvre Gnam incorporated the plastic orchid factory. Since then, the factory has engaged in creative residencies at the various centres in Canada and its work has been presented in Canada and the U.S.

WHEN AND WHERE

Engineered Air Theatre
Friday, October 21
Sunday, October 23 — Sunday post-show artist talk
7:00 PM
$31 Regular | $26 Students