• Performances

Graveyards and Gardens

Showing on Jan 28–29

Playing at Online

Vanessa Goodman (Canada) & Caroline Shaw (USA)

With this work, Vanessa Goodman and Caroline Shaw offer many pleasures, but two are of special note. Firstly, there is the chance to see a visual and sonic album emerge before one’s eyes: what these two artists make will live on, and this live-streamed genesis is, among other things, a powerful display of the creative process. The second pleasure is a unique, revelatory melding of movement and sound. In Graveyards and Gardens, what is heard and what is seen do not merely complement each other, as they might in more conventional dance performance; instead, they are fused in such a way as to make their effects seem indistinguishable.

The performance takes place among 400 feet of orange sound cables and an arrangement of plants—nature and technology being another synthesis the artists explore. Things begin with a long passage featuring an array of sounds—some come from tape decks, some from a record player, some from old Edison wax recordings. This auditory wash slowly diminishes until only one part is left; the energy then shifts, and dance mixes with music until they become one. Entrancing, enveloping, and ultimately liberating in its innovations, this is experiential art at its best.

An adventure with dual destinations, this Walk guides listeners through East Vancouver and Amherst, Massachusetts simultaneously. Artists Caroline Shaw and Vanessa Goodman converse in real-time as they travel through a graveyard and a stretch of local forest. The dialogue is accompanied by ambient sounds—both natural and electronic. There’s a strong spectral tone to the journey(s), with memory and the knowledge of unceded land looming large.

Starting point:

If you are experiencing this walk in Vancouver, please visit Mountain View Cemetery.

If you are in Massachusetts, please take a walk in the forest.

Featuring: Caroline Shaw, composer, voice & violin, and Vanessa Goodman, choreographer

Accessibility: The East Vancouver route goes into the graveyard over a grassy patch and a curb with no ramp but if you enter from 33rd in the middle of the graveyard there is a ramp and the sidewalk turns into a driveway with no gradient adjustment.

PuSh Walks is produced by Ben Lange, Audio editing by Ashley Daniel Foot

Listen on Spotify, Apple, or wherever you get your podcast.

A talkback will take place on Thursday, January 28 at 8:30 p.m. PST, following the second performance of Graveyards and Gardens, facilitated by Peter Dickinson. Everyone is welcome to attend!

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Artist Bio

Vanessa Goodman (Canada)

Vanessa Goodman is the Artistic Director of the Action at a Distance Dance Society. In her work, she uses dance and choreography to explore humanity in all its complexity—and to expand the range of possibilities for artistic inquiry.

Vanessa Goodman lives on the unceded and ancestral territories of the Coast Salish peoples.

Caroline Shaw (USA)

From working with the Los Angeles Philharmonic to producing for Kanye West, musician Caroline Shaw has covered a lot of territory in her career; what unify her creations are the spirit of adventure and the desire to innovate.

Caroline Shaw lives on Mannahatta in Lenapehoking, homeland of the Lenape people.

Venue

Online

This performance will be streamed online through Music on Main. Once you purchase your ticket you will receive further communication directly from Music on Main to attend the performance.

Showtimes

  • January 28: 4:30 pm7:30 pm
  • January 29: 4:30 pm7:30 pm

January 28–29, 4:30 p.m. & 7:30 p.m.

Tickets

Thursday, Jan 28, 2021 & Friday, Jan 29, 2021 | Livestream | 4:30 p.m. & 7:30 p.m. (PST)

featuring:
Caroline Shaw, composer, voice & violin
Vanessa Goodman, choreographer

Tickets from $15.

For more details please visit: www.musiconmain.ca/graveyards-and-gardens

 

Access

Icon signalling a deaf or hard of hearing friendly performance

This show combines music, sound, and dance where the dancer translates the sound with her body. Please email access@pushfestival.ca for the introduction with additional info from the artists.

Icon signalling a relaxed performance (casual or low sensory)

Extra live: This show is Extra Live, meaning it is always a Relaxed Performance. There are some moments where the light flickers, please check out the visual story below:

Graveyards and Gardens VISUAL STORY

VLOG about Graveyards and Gardens

Credits

CO-PRODUCED by Goodman and Shaw PRESENTED BY Music on Main and PuSh Festival CO-COMMISSIONING PARTNERS Music on Main and EMPAC CREATED WITH the generous support from The Canada Council for the Arts, British Columbia Arts Council, Lēna, Banff Centre for Arts and Creativity, Action at a Distance, SFU Woodwards and COV.

This presentation has been generously supported by the Downtown Vancouver Business Improvement Association.

Partners