DADAO 2025-2026

DADAO 2025-2026

We just out here Loitering!

Loitering is a dance-theatre duet that questions why every moment must have purpose. Rooted in street and contemporary dance, it explores drifting without direction as quiet rebellion and tender joy. Memories of skipping school, wandering malls, and chasing places we might never reach become metaphors for resisting productivity’s grip. Through playful partnering, grooves that break apart, and bodies leaning into uncertainty, the work asks why some are free to linger while others are judged. Beneath its surface, Loitering probes our inner wandering - daydreams, hesitations, unspoken fears, finding truth in simply being, without needing to arrive anywhere.

Punit

Punit is a first-generation Indo-Canadian dance and theatre artist based in Surrey, BC. His practice spans contemporary and street dance forms, with training from Sophia Sosa, Natasha Gorrie, Marissa Wong, Arash Khakpour, Deanna Peters, and Lesley Telford.

His recent collaborations include projects with Nasiv Sall and UK-based artist Jamey Wamey. As a performer, he has worked with the Falling Company and ᐋᐧᐸᓇᒐᐦᑯᐢ✨ collective. Punit has created and presented original work in Vancouver with New Works Dance, Dance West Network, Up In the Air Theatre, Vancouver Asian Canadian Theatre, and Chalk Dance Collective. His solo work SubHuman has toured nationally to Prince George (Method Dance Society), Edmonton (Miles Zero Dance), and Halifax (Kinetic Dance). He is a recipient of a Canada Council award for dance research.

Punit is currently developing the duet We Just Out Here Loitering!, supported by Dance West Network’s DADAO program, and is a recipient of Dance Victoria’s Crystal Dance Prize (2025–26) for research in London, UK.

Contact:
Punit,
punitt487@gmail.com

Photo: Carla Alcantra, 2024

Details:

Year of creation: 2025

Choreographer: Punit and James Olivo

Key collaborators:
Choreographers : Punit, James Olivo (Jamey Wamey)
Performers : Punit, another artist TBC

Audience Type: Elementary (Gr. 1-7), Youth (Gr. 8-12), Families, Young Adults, Adults, Seniors

Length of work: 30 minutes

Preparation time required on site: 5 minutes

Technical requirements required on-site: Standard speakers for music

Space required: Any space works (adaptable piece)

Availability: I’m fully available to tour across BC. While I hope to tour my other works too, Loitering feels right for now as it’s outdoors, rooted in a universal experience, and lets me literally loiter in each place as part of living the piece. I want to collaborate with local dancers wherever possible, given 4 to 5 days to connect and rehearse, or bring someone with me. Beyond performing, I hope to offer workshops or informal sessions to build real connections. Touring will help me grow my practice, adapt the work to new environments, and start a long term path of creating with communities across BC.

Community Engagement

Open to facilitating a community chat and a improv movement class for people of all abilities.