Clear in the River

Presented by Arts in Garden, North Van Arts, May 28, 2023

Choreography by Rachel Maddock

Performed by Nicole Pavia, Brianne Chen with an original score by Dean Edward Thiessen.

“Clear in the River” is a new 12-minute contemporary dance work based on a sensory response to the environment of Lynn Valley Headwaters, a place of special natural beauty. The movement is sourced from the movement of the river, the architecture of the rocks and trees and express the idea of "cleansing" or "clearing" the mind through being in nature. The work was created through site-specific rehearsals along Lynn Creek (an area referred to as Kwa-hul-cha by the Tsleil-watuth peoples) featuring two local dancers and a live musician, choreographed by Rachel Maddock.

My research for this work investigates our relationship with the land and how that has been informed/shaped by a Western colonial mindset. In "Clear in the River," I am working with creating movement from a sensitized (embodied) perspective—where the physical environment drives the expression and movement—and in that way gives back agency to the natural landscape.