Photo: Bray Jorstad
Paper Mountains
'Paper Mountains' is a work that explores how we hold memory through movement. The piece uses choreography created during many months in solitude, and translates that movement on to other bodies, spaces, and paper planes, to describe a fragmented story of loneliness, desire, and rage.
The inspiration for 'Paper Mountains' drew from seeing videos that my collaborators and friends were posting online of themselves dancing alone during the COVID-19 lockdown. All of the dances in living rooms, kitchens, parking lots, and nature, were all very different, yet they all seemed to be products of true listening. I was inspired to share these intimate and lonely moments with more people, and so I collected the videos I had taken of myself dancing over the year, re-learned the dances in these videos, and then transposed that material into a collection of choreographed ensemble scenes.
From these dances born from isolation, there was an overarching theme of loneliness that surfaced. Slowly over time, these choreographies that I had built over a year (on video), started to describe a story not only about myself and the pandemic, but a visual diary that reflected a story about my family breaking apart, and the ebb and flow of our attachment and detachment to each other's lives. In a time of so much change and aloneness, I found the choreography described these states physically.
Anya Allegra Saugstad
Photo: Bray Jorstad
Choreographer: Anya Allegra Saugstad in collaboration with the performers.
Key Artistic Collaborators:
Performed by Daria Mikhaylyuk, Eowynn Enquist, Nasiv Sall, Sabine Raskin, and Shion Skye Carter.
Musician/sound: Stefan Nazarevich
Lighting Design: Andie Lloyd
Performance type: This work is built for a theatre. This is adaptable to outdoors and alternative spaces. Full Length work.
How do you define this work: Contemporary dance, Live performance.
Length of performance: 60 minutes
Audience type: General Audience
General Technical Requirements: 'Paper Mountains' requires a Marley floor (preferably white Marley), lighting, amplification and sound system with a sub woofer. The work was created with two walls but can be modified to each space and can replace the walls using walls of light.
'Paper Mountains' was created for a warehouse space or theatre and can be adapted to many different locations. The work requires Marley floor but otherwise can be adapted to fit in large rooms, warehouse spaces, theatres, or unique venues.
Does the work require tech residency: The work does not require a technical residency. 'Paper Mountains' will have a technical residency at The Dance Centre mid 2024 before it's premiere in Vancouver.
Number of Performers on tour (including choreographer): 6
Number of Support Staff on Tour: 1
Availabilities: 2024/25 season, & 2025/26 season
Anya Allegra Saugstad (She/her) is a dancer and choreographer based in Vancouver BC, on the unceeded territory of the Sḵwx̱ wú7mesh', Stó:lō and Səlílwətaʔ/ Selilwitulh, and xwməθkwəyə̓ m First Nations.
Anya and her company create live, digital, and site adaptive performance works that foster space for emerging femme artists to tell their stories through movement. Anya is interested in creating vigorous and physically exhausting choreographic stories that express rage, strength, and urgency. Anya encourages her collaborators to show rawness and vulnerability as femme presenting bodies in performance. Anya has danced with Vanessa Goodman and her company ‘Action at a Distance’ and toured through the USA, Canada, and Germany performing ‘Core/Us’ and ‘Graveyards and Gardens’. Anya has created work for ArtsUmbrella, LamonDance, and Simon Fraser University. Anya’s work has been presented through The Scotiabank Dance Center, The Rotary Center for the Arts, F-O-R-M film Festival, The San Francisco Conservatory of Dance, and Vines Art Festival as well as self presented works, performances, and tours. Anya received the Iris Garland Emerging Choreographer Award in 2023/24 for her work ‘Paper Mountains’.
Performance History & Upcoming Performances
September 2022: Soft premiere of 'Paper Mountains' at Vista Point Studios to invited guests.
Mid 2024: World Premiere at The Scotiabank Dance Centre with full tech and lighting (2 performances).
Project Details
Community Engagement
Community workshops for young dancers and adults:
- Workshop consists of guiding participants through an improvised warm up, teaching repertoire from the company, and skill building in collaboration and choreographic creation.
- Age ranges can be anywhere from 10 years and up to adults with dance experience. Also open to improvisational classes for adults not in dance but interested in somatic movement practice.
- 1.5-2.5hr classes
- Fees are based on CADA East rates at $75-$100/hr
- Workshops are taught by Anya Saugstad with one dancer from the company
Through touring we would love to engage with young female identifying or non binary dancers who see themselves going in to professional dance as a career. We are interested in setting up a mini mentorship type opportunity for individuals from the community to spend time in rehearsals and the theatre with us. They would be invited to shadow the work in rehearsal, or be an outside eye and give notes, help in the theatre, and be given time to connect and meet the company with time for one on one conversation. As a company of emerging femme and non binary artists, we are interested in sharing our knowledge and paving the way for femme voices in performance. Growing up, I know that having the experience of working with professional female choreographers at an early age was completely inspiring, and an important part of creating the work I do now.
Contact information
Anya Allegra Saugstad, anyaallegra@gmail.com
Website: AnyaSaugstad.com
Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/anyaallegra/?hl=en (@anyaallegra)