PuSh Industry Series - Jan 29-Feb 5, 2023 - Presented with Talking Stick
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Saturday February 1

10:00 a.m. – 12:00 p.m. / Discussion: Slow Social: Around Sound (and Music and Drag)
with Gabriel Dharmoo

The Post at 750 (See map)

For general public. Free event with limited capacity. Advanced registration required. More info here.

Centred around an artist talk, Q & A, and open discussion with Gabriel Dharmoo, this event is part of The Only Animal’s Slow Socials, an ongoing series of gatherings that invite communities to connect through relaxed textile creation, environmental sound/music, and conversation, and Music on Main’s Around Sound, a long running series that features artist dialogues in an open, casual atmosphere.

Hosted in a textile installation by Barbara Adler, Slow Social: Around Sound (and Music and Drag) will explore how slow practice can sensitize relationships between people and place and set the stage for joyful climate futures. As you listen, The Only Animal will teach you how to create simple rope, aka ‘cordage’, from fibres you can find close to home, including fabric scraps, garden waste and leftovers from your hibernating craft projects. Materials and a beginner’s lesson will be provided. 

Gabriel Dharmoo is the creator and performer of Bijuriya (28-29 Jan at the ANNEX).

Dharmoo studied music at the Conservatoire de musique de Montréal, finishing with the highest distinction honoured. His works have been performed in North America, Europe, Australia, Asia and Africa, winning awards and wide acclaim. He has toured extensively as a vocalist.

Music on Main Logo
The Only Animal logo
A south-asian drag artist wears a gold, crushed-velvet leotard with matching knee-high high-heeled boots. The artist is caught mid gesture and mid word, reaching out with a look of shock on their face. In the background, an array of wigs perch atop a small cluster of mannequin heads.

12:00 p.m. – 1:00 p.m. / Off-Programming: Left of PuSh 

Left of Main (See map)

Anything Whatsoever (Katie Ward)

Presented by Plastic Orchid Factory

Left of PuSh is Plastic Orchid Factory’s festival platform intended for dance makers working in the margins to share “experiments-in-process” with a public. Established in 2018, and running parallel to the PuSh International Performing Arts Festival, Left of PuSh offers a responsive and meaningful opportunity for dance artists to introduce their work and practice to peers and networks of curators, programmers and visitors to PuSh from around the globe in a non-transactional context. 

Sliding Scale: Advanced registration highly recommended. Refreshments available; tap to pay only, please. Left of Main is regretfully only accessible by stairs. Please get in touch at plasticorchid@me.com if you require assistance. 

Plastic Orchid Factory Logo

2:00 p.m. / Industry Track Festival Performance

De glace (From Ice)

Roundhouse Community Arts and Recreation Centre (See map)
Running Time: 60 minutes
This performance will be followed by a 30 minute talkback with the artists.

Step into a frozen otherworld where the bonds of friendship transcend the mortal realm in this mesmerizing tale for audiences of all ages about two girls bound by an unbreakable connection. More show info

A figure wearing a warm coat and a long braid stands in silhouette within a cube of hazy glowing purple light. The atmosphere is cold, as though the cube might be a block of ice.

2:00 p.m. / Alternate Industry Track Festival Performance 

Lasa Ng Imperyo

The NEST (See map)
Running Time: 75 minutes

In a surprising fusion of theatre and gastronomy, this live cooking demonstration guides audiences through Philippine history in Tagalog, prompting reflections on how colonial legacies shape today’s global food market. More show info

3:30 – 5:30 p.m. / Dramaturgy Dialogues 

Roundhouse Community Arts and Recreation Centre (See map)

Presented with Playwrights Theatre Centre

Join this forum of local, national, and international dramaturgs and performance-makers in sharing formal and philosophical approaches to dramaturgy. Participants will engage with a curated series of provocations that expand dramaturgy beyond standard play development or academic applications. This collaborative space is intended to develop dramaturgical toolkits and working methods while honouring the diverse contexts that shape each participant’s practice. More info here.

Province of Quebec logo

5:45 p.m. – 6:45 p.m. / Off-Programming: Gaurav Bhatti Studio Showing

Scotiabank Dance Centre (See map)

Co-presented by New Works and The Dance Centre 

PuSh Industry Series Delegates who work in a dance presenting, programming, producing, or curatorial capacity are invited to see a work in progress excerpt showing of Gaurav Bhatti’s Bulleh Shah: Seeker of Light which will premiere on March 29, 2025 at Scotiabank Dance Centre. 

Limited capacity, please RSVP by January 30, 2025. Register and more info here

Gaurav Bhatti (he/him), a dancer-choreographer, trained in Kathak under gurus Saveeta Sharma, Lata Bakalkar, and Aditi Mangaldas. He’s performed internationally with the Aditi Mangaldas Dance Company and interpreted works by Akash Odedra and Gauri Diwakar. Gaurav’s choreography merges classical Kathak with other dance forms and uses narrative structures familiar to contemporary dance audiences. He’s currently apprenticing under Aditi Mangaldas and attending workshops led by Akram Khan and Mavin Khoo.

The Dance Centre

7:00 p.m. / Industry Track Festival Performance

Seeing Double: Walking at Night by Myself

Scotiabank Dance Centre (See map)
Running Time: 50 minutes

Stripping the psychological horror genre down to its bare bones, Walking at Night by Myself confounds the senses, transforming a nighttime walk into something sinister. More show info

Two blurry figures run in different directions on a dark stage against a striped backdrop like faded yellow wallpaper. The edges of the blurry figures are tinted with red and green light, lending them the quality of a digital glitch.

8:30p.m. / Industry Track Festival Performance

Seeing Double: K BODY AND MIND

Scotiabank Dance Centre (See map)
Running Time: 75 minutes
This performance will be followed by a 30 minute talkback with the artists.

K BODY AND MIND is a cyberpunk blockbuster channeled through minimalist and machinelike theatricality, offering a mind-bending reflection on tech-assisted immortality.

Two asian performers stand on an empty stage under unforgiving light. The first woman wears a severe, focussed expression, underscored by her futuristic structured grey top. In the background, the second performer, dressed in matching garb, faces away and reaches above her head.

9:00 p.m. – Midnight / Festival Lounge Bar

The Post at 750 (See map)

We listened to the call for more informal networking spaces and have turned our office studio into a lounge and games bar for our artists and industry professionals. Get to know folks over foosballs and highballs!

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